DENVER — In the hours after news spread that Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen had passed away, the players who had known him well picked up their phones.
They texted. They called. They took to Twitter and Instagram.
There was some sadness in their hearts as they remembered the man they knew as "Mr. B," but as they started recalling the moments that endeared him to them, they were overcome with a different feeling.
"It's a sad day," Terrell Davis said Friday, "but it's a time to celebrate the man's life."
Sometimes that brought together former Broncos who hadn't talked to one another in a while. Ring of Famer Rod Smith hadn't spoken with Anthony Miller in at least a year, but Miller called him up and the stories started flowing, taking the day in a direction that Smith hadn't expected.
"You know what the crazy part is? We're all sharing stories. It's cool," Smith said Friday. "... Anthony Miller called me today. He was sharing a story. All of us who talked today, we're all just talking about stories. And he reminded me of another story. He told me how he was with Mr. Bowlen, and Mr. Bowlen had a leather jacket on. And he said, 'Man, that's a cool jacket!' Next week, in his locker was a leather jacket. He just mentioned it. And that's what Pat would do. When you don't think he's paying attention, he's paying attention to everything."
Stories like these, and broader stories of years spent with Mr. Bowlen, were exactly what people wanted to share in the wake of his passing. Below, you can find social-media posts from past and current Broncos with their memories of Mr. Bowlen.
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