FanPost

GGN Thread About Nothing #134: Farewell To A Friend

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.

Thus did William Shakespeare describe the loss each of us felt this week with the passing of our internet friend, Mike Gomez, a.k.a. Bronco Mike.

I did not know Bronco Mike. I never met him. I did not know his family or his friends, his phone number or his address, or even what he looked like. But Mike was my friend. Such is the strange world of internet friendship.

Mike was my friend, as I'm sure he was all of yours. Mike loved his music. He loved his students. He loved his football. And he loved his Broncos. Of these things I am sure. If the measure of life is not in the paltry hours we strut upon the stage but in the fullness of which we partake life's bounty, the love we give in the brief time we have to give it, then Mike, for all the brevity of his 31 years, lived a full life. The fabric of the vast universe we all share has been rent asunder just a bit this week, and we are all diminished by it.

I knew Mike solely through SBN, so perhaps it is fitting that my final tribute to him comes in the form of a bit of doggerel I posted as a fanpost when I lost a bet to Mike regarding the Broncos. Nobody enjoyed talking a little trash about his team more than Mike, and he seemed to really enjoy reveling in winning the bet with me, so much so that if I recall correctly he posted this egg-on-my-face concession poem on MHR's front page. It made Mike laugh, and I was happy to do something in my lost bet that brought laughter to a fellow SBN writer. I re-post it here in tribute to Mike and his beloved Broncos. Maybe it'll bring you a chuckle too. I think Mike would have liked that.

Greetings Broncos fans. It is I, Smackdad, staff writer from your sister site, Gang Green Nation. I have come to pay tribute to the great Peyton Manning and your beloved Broncos. I have been inspired by the transcendent brilliance of the Broncos and Sir Manning (not to mention losing a bet to your own Bronco Mike on the outcome of yesterday's game). So, without further ado, I congratulate all of you and your superb team, and pay tribute in the form of some verse. I hope you find some favor in it.

Ode To Manning Magnificence (Or Orange You Glad You're A Broncos Fan?)

What media despised warriors are these

That run the Chargers down?

Why they are of royal line

Siblings of Peyton's crown

Heirs of King John the First

Along the narrow Elway

Come to trounce the pretenders

Under Prince Philip's sway

King Manning, always debonair

O! What vindication sweet

To send to sudden death's despair

The Chargers to defeat

What sublime arm, what noble brow

What calm and true demeanor

Much better with Orange Julius

Than Lucky Coby Fleener

Why were the Ponies so despised

Unloved despite their seeding?

Perhaps 'twas boredom in disguise

Acclaim is always fleeting

Let history record this day

The King was not alone

Defense arose and came to play

With hits of crunching bone

To overcome adversity

And turnovers twice

The defense strove to crush SD

And did more than just suffice

Yet no champion is ever crowned

Without facing the abyss

And Bronco Mike's true faith was tested

Would Peyton shoot and miss?

A mighty comeback from Gold and Blue

Onsides kick and fumble aided

Led direct to moment true

Would Royal Orange be upbraided?

Nay! Again I say Nay!

It was not meant to be

Not this day, this special day

Of football destiny

One final drive, toward football glory

The crowd at fevered pitch

King Peyton erased the Charger story

With throws of perfect pitch

Not once but twice third down was faced

Did King Peyton worry?

Nay, for this was Peyton's Place

Now covered with Peyton's Glory

Division rival vanquished

The Chargers duly slain

What further pain and anguish

Will the Broncos inflict again?

Two battles are yet unfought

Two teams to yet Orange Crush

History will show what wrought

The Broncos in a rush

To vanquish a pretender to the throne

A Tom invited for lunch

Will find too late, he is the meal

Confit of Brady Bunch

Then East young man! To Fair NJ

Smackdad's current lair

The Broncos will come to play

In frigid Jersey air

The NFC's favorite sons

On Metlife's altar offered

For Peyton's ritual sacrifice

They will be duly proffered

Then all Denver will rise up

In riotous cacophony

To celebrate the chosen one

King Peyton's SB trophy

The game is won, the tale is told

Smackdad has reached an end

May fate in languid time unfold

And prove to be your friend

Congratulations to Bronco Mike and all Broncos fans on your victory. May you crush the Brady Bunch like grapes and make them whine.

I leave you with a video of Mike jamming on his saxophone. Mike's solo comes a little more than 3 minutes in.

Farewell Bronco Mike. You will be missed.

This is a FanPost written by a registered member of this site. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and not those of anybody affiliated with Gang Green Nation or SB Nation.