Nineteen years after he retired as a Denver Bronco, Tom Jackson still bleeds orange. He just can’t show it.
ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” with Stuart Scott and analysts Jackson, Michael Irvin, Mike Ditka and Ron Jaworski hits town for the Broncos-Chiefs game at Invesco Field at Mile High on ABC (7 p.m., KMGH-Channel 7).
Believe it or don’t, Jackson, No.57 in the Broncos’ “Orange Crush” defense, is approaching his 20th year of TV analysis. It’s not all glamor.
His schedule for Monday’s game: Work the late show on ESPN Sunday night, hop a plane Monday morning, make phone calls to coaches, go to meetings in Denver, talk to the producers and gracefully slide in front of the camera just before game time. “Your schedule was better thought out as a player,” he said, laughing.
He doesn’t buy into the popular theory that Mike Shanahan’s coaching skills have diminished. “I’m a firm believer that great coaches and great teams, it’s a combination of things. I think that the stars were aligned in the late ’90s. The Broncos had outstanding coaching and they had really outstanding players. They’re still looking for those great players.”
Even booing doesn’t get him down, except for the time the hometown crowd hooted at the Crush and Jackson flashed the pro athlete’s semaphore. “I let my displeasure be known to the fans; I did something I probably shouldn’t have.”
Face it, fans in Denver are spoiled. “The expectations for the Broncos are high,” said Jackson, 54.
Does he still root, root, root for the home team? “Absolutely. I cannot do that nearly as publicly as I’d like just because there is a modicum of consistency that I have to keep with other teams as well as being objective about the Denver Broncos.”
Around the dial
More Broncos: Darrent Williams and Jeb Putzier join David Diaz-Infante and Charles Johnson on “Broncos Talk” (7 tonight, KOA 850-AM) … From ex-Bronco backer Bill Romanowski on “Best Damn Sports Show Period” on the biggest regret of his playing days: “The fight I had with a teammate (Marcus Williams). I threw a punch and right when I connected, his helmet comes off and a teammate gets hurt. That was wrong. When you hurt a teammate, you hurt your team, but ultimately you hurt yourself.” … FSN Rocky Mountain televises the first of 17 University of Denver regular-
season hockey games on Nov. 4 against Michigan Tech. Dan Kelly and former DU player Charlie Host back to handle the announcing … Latino ballplayers overcoming struggles on and off the field get their due on “Viva Baseball” (7 p.m. Friday, Spike). … Quotable: “How would you like to be a fan of the Minnesota Vikings or the Detroit Lions right now and be looking at that future for the next 14 games?” – Tom Jackson.
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
