A review of 2 Broncos Sports Bars in Phoenix

I want to the thank members of the Broncos in the Desert Facebook Group for giving me the locations of the Sport Bars that host Broncos Fans in the Phoenix metro area. Since I’ve only been here since May, I didn’t know where they were.

Yesterday I went to the Whisky Row in Scottsdale and watched the first half of the Chargers/Bills game and was planning to stay for the Broncos game afterwards. I'm from Wyoming so I wanted to see Josh Allen's first start as the Bills QB. When I got there a little after 10 there were no Broncos Fans in the bar. Granted the game didn't start until after 1 pm but I expected to see more fans there.

One of the bartenders at Whiskey Row was a Tampa Bay fan. He had that game on their biggest screen and the volume pumped for his benefit. He was a good kid but he was driving me nuts, he was yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs on every single play. He had way too much testosterone flowing through his veins and in my opinion was a huge distraction to the other people that were there to watch the games. Personally, if I’m the owner or manager of the bar I’d ask the bartenders to dial their enthusiasm down a notch, they’re there to serve not to be obnoxious cheerleaders.

Furthermore, as the owner of the Broncos Sports Bar if they were not playing, I’d have the game of the day on the biggest screen in the bar. In my opinion, since the Broncos are in the AFC West, the best and most important early game was the Chiefs/Steelers game or even the Bills/Chargers game not the Bucs/Eagles game. No serious Broncos Fan gave 2 hoots about the Bucs/Eagles game. I'm speaking for myself here but as a Broncos Fans I prefer to watch the other AFC West games first over the other games.

Frankly the noisy bartender was annoying me so much and since there we little to no Broncos Fans there I decided to leave at half time and try the Ginger Monkey in Chandler. I had a lot of windshield time in my Camaro SS yesterday but hey, any windshield time in the Camaro is fine with me.

The Ginger Monkey was packed with Broncos Fans and as one fan in a Facebook group told me the food was way better. It was, the garlic parmesen wings were awesome. The menu at Whiskey Row was just your average bar food in my opinion. I had a breakfast sandwich at 10 while I was at Whiskey Row, it was okay but at Ginger Monkey when I bought the wings later that afternoon were far better than the sandwich. I could see the other food the waitresses were bringing out to the fans at Ginger Monkey and it all looked delicious.

I talked to one Broncos fan at Ginger Monkey and he said that Whiskey Row puts the Broncos game on every screen once the game is on. Having heard this I kind of wish I’d have stayed because that wasn’t the case at Ginger Monkey.

So… bottom line, after going to both I liked them both, but I wouldn’t go to the Whiskey Row unless it was right before the start of a Broncos game. As for Ginger Monkey I’d go back there also but I’d go early enough to get a good seat since they mix other games throughout the bar.

I have a 55-inch big screen and the NFL Sunday Ticket so the best seat in the house is still at home but occasionally an outing to network with Broncos Fans is always fun too.

As far as a football weekend goes I couldn't of asked for better. The Wyoming Cowboys put a W, the Broncos beat the Raiders, the Patriots lost and my fantasy team is likely to win tonight to secure a 2-0 record in my fantasy league. WINNING!!!

BRING ON FOOTBALL!!!

Since moving to Mesa in May of this year I’ve spent most of my time adapting to the new lifestyle, making friends with my neighbors, driving Whinnie and enjoying the greater Phoenix metro area. My focus has not been as dialed in on College and the NFL Football as in years past because of the protest nonsense last season. Hopefully the NFL gets a handle on it this year. Given that, I'm excited about the upcoming season, if they get it cleaned up. 

I'm also pumped up for the NFL Fantasy Football season. I’m into the 16 consecutive year of the league I host on Yahoo. I haven't won the darn thing since 2009, maybe this is my year.

The Denver Broncos and the Wyoming Cowboys is and will always be my 2 favorite football teams but this season I’ll be keeping my eyes on the Arizona Cardinals and especially the Buffalo Bills and the development of Josh Allen.

Allen was sacked 5 times in the Bengals preseason game.

Allen was sacked 5 times in the Bills 3^rd preseason game against the Bengals. I watched the highlights and it was clear that Allen was not getting rid of the ball fast enough and the speed of game and the Bengals D was overwhelming him. The Bills OL wasn’t doing a great job either. I worry that like many Rookie QB’s Allen will get put through the meatgrinder early, get hurt and lose his confidence. Like no other Wyoming Cowboys Alumni ever, Allen has the potential to be a superstar if he’s brought along slowly. Once he develops the game between his ears he’ll be unstoppable with his physical skill set. If… he can survive the beatings he’s likely to face early in his career.

It was disappointing to see the Wyoming Cowboys D just totally collapsed in the 2^nd half of their home opener against Washington State last Saturday. The Corners and Safeties for the Cowboys have been the worst part of their team for years. They can’t cover and are very poor tacklers. There was plenty of blame to go around for the loss but until the Cowboys can play D for 4 quarters they could be in for long year in Laramie.

Red-shirt freshman QB Tyler Vander Waal couldn’t elevate his game either. He had less than 100 yards passing. Again, the Cowboys O in the second half was a total train wreck but I hope he picks up his game soon. He’s a tall kid at 6-4 and a light 210 pounds but he's no Carson Wentz or Josh Allen just yet, that’s clear.

 

Cardinals uni I bought David for Xmas in 1980.

As for the Cardinals, which has been my favorite NFC since their days in St. Louis in the early 70’s, I hope their team makes advances too. My kid Brother David, also a Cardinals fan, called me the day the NFL schedule was released in April and told me he wanted to come to Phoenix to watch the Broncos/Cardinals game on Oct. 18^th. So, I look forward to seeing that game with him, but I’ll have to root for my Broncos even though I’m an official Arizonian now.

Since I’m only a 6 ½ hours from Albuquerque my other football adventure this season will be to travel to watch the Cowboys/Lobos game on Nov. 24^th.

So… bring on football and end the protests! GO BRONCOS! GO WYOMING COWBOYS! GO CARDINALS!

The NFL Must Address The Protests NOW!

Granted the Cowboys were 5-6 going into last nights game against the Redskins and Elliot is out the lineup until Christmas Eve but that can’t explain all these empty seats.

This photo was taken at the kickoff. There's thousands of empty seats. Zoom in on the photo and see for yourself.

Anyone that has been in denial about the effect of the protests or the image problem the NFL has with its players right now is being blown completely out of the water.

Week after week the owners and Goodell refuse to address it. Giving the players $89 million to set up a slush fund for black social justice programs was the dumbest move ever. Especially if the players still have a right to protest this year.

Maybe they’ll agree to stay in the locker room next season when the anthem is played but the damage has been done. I’m wondering if the players will find a way to protest after the anthem is played and before kick off. I don’t trust them to do the right thing.

Goodell and the owners must get an agreement signed by the NFL players union THIS year, not in the offseason, to ban all political protests on the field before, during and after the game period.

If they don’t do it this season the NFL is going to experience an enormous loss of fans next year. Also, if Goodell doesn’t spearhead the effort to get an agreement this season he should be fired at seasons end.

There’s so much turmoil and division in our country with politics today. I’m sick and tired of my favorite game being a forum for more of the same with the racial hatred and division.

The players have every right to free speech and community service off the field but on it they need to end the protests NOW! If not I won’t support the Broncos or the NFL next season and whatever happens to the game, the players, the owners and the commissioner will be responsible for it.

NFL Owners spurn NFL Sunday Ticket Cancelation

Since the NFL owners didn't have the guts to stand up for the anthem yesterday I canceled the NFL Sunday Ticket this morning. 

If you knew me personally you’d know how much Broncos football means to me. I'm heartbroken and devastated that the game I love has been turned into the theater of the absurd and ridiculous.

I planned to hold out until the end of the season but I just can't continue to support the Broncos, the NFL and the league players if this is their official position. 

I've had the Sunday Ticket since 1998 when I moved out of the local tv broadcast area for the Broncos. I've missed maybe 3 Broncos games going back to the mid-70's. Football has been like a religion to me since I was 6 years old, a place to go to enjoy a game and forget about all the worlds troubles if just for 3 hours.

No more...

I want to thank Obama for setting back race relations 40 years when he called for the insane "Beer Summit" at the beginning of his presidency. It was the spark that ignited all the race hustling that has followed since. Then he doubled down on every justifiable Police shooting and created this culture of hatred for law enforcement. Prior to his Presidency we had made real progress but it's all been erased and now it's spun wildly out of control.

I can't think of time in American history that I've ever seen such a misguided and unnecessary protest as this anthem nonsense. 

And it was all started by one selfish player looking to be traded from his team because he lost his job. This is an iron clad fact and cannot be denied, it has zero to do with police brutality. He used the race card as a fake cause to bring attention to himself period, end of story. Now it's went completely nuclear and for no good reason at all. The left-wing media has poured gas on the fire by supporting the players and blaming Trump. I don't give 2 hoots about what Trump says this isn't about Trump. It's about showing the ultimate disrespect to our veterans who fought and died under the flag for our freedom and dishonoring our brave men and women in law enforcement.

Work still needs to be done on racial equality but not at the expense of the anthem. It's the ultimate insult to use it as a soap box.

All of my Broncos clothing, caps and memorabilia will be stored in a box until this has come to a complete stop. I'm a forgiving person and I will come back to the game but not until every football player in the league stands for the anthem and shows gratitude for living in the greatest country God ever created. 

In 2017 the Denver Broncos will rise or fall on Offense

I watched the Bears preseason game and was glad they pulled out a win all be in preseason.

I think the first series of the game showed the biggest strength of the team which is the secondary. 

Yes, overall the Broncos D will be good again this year but not without issues. They have to play better against the run. The DL and the LB's have to step up with a better pass rush as well. Von Miller can't do it all and you can bet he's likely to be the primary focus of offenses that face the Broncos. If he lines up on the DL expect him to be doubled teamed on every play. 

The Broncos offense however is the big question mark. We can only hope that Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy has a good game plan for the players available. McCoy must know that Siemian and Lynch are equally flawed. Siemian may have a better head for the game than Lynch but Lynch has better athletic ability.

Personally I don't see Siemian ever achieving superstar status at QB. I believe the Broncos should consider starting Lynch even though he hasn't looked good in camp or this first preseason game.

The only way the game between his ears will improve is by playing time. If the Broncos were actually considering bringing in another QB this season then that doesn't inspire confidence in either one. If that's the case I think Lynch should be the opening day starter despite his growing pains.

I know the Broncos have improved their OL but it remains to be seen if they can pass protect or run block better than last year when the games count. If they improve that helps whoever starts but Lynch has better scrambling ability than Siemian if they can't protect.

It is a team game after all and the teams fortunes can't rest solely on the QB position. The RB's have to get the ball to the second level once a hole is open. Hopefully CJ, Charles and Booker can elevate their game. Obviously if the Broncos can establish a decent running game it'll help take the pressure off whoever starts at QB.

At WR Thomas has to have more production and he has to reduce the number of dropped passes. He has to make the tough and easy catches. Hopefully Sanders continues to contribute. I'd argue he was the teams most valuable player on offense last year. At TE hopefully Green must make more of a contribution as well.

As it stands today I don't have high expectations for the Broncos this year because of their offense. The defense should play well enough but the big question is can the offense put up points on quality defenses? Today I'd say no but as a diehard I'm optimistic they can.

I believe it's the Raiders division to win this year. The Broncos aren't likely to make the playoffs as a wildcard. The Broncos have to find a way to beat the Raiders and win as many divisional games as possible or they'll be on the outside looking in come the postseason.

It could be a long season for fans if the Broncos get off to a bad start. My axiom is expect the worse hope for the best especially on offense.

GO BRONCOS!!