The biggest name in Denver sports is stamped on the back of automobiles, not stitched on the back of a uniform.
Seven long years after No. 7 retired as quarterback of the Broncos, John Elway still rules this town, because nobody has been big enough to take it away from him.
But we’ve got the itch.
Denver needs a new sports hero.
Can Matt Holliday of the Rockies be the man?
The best darn sports city in America has been waiting too long for somebody in spikes, skates or sneakers to make us feel like winners.
It has been five years since Denver held a victory parade for a bona fide big-league team. That championship drought might be OK in Cleveland or Atlanta or someplace where sports are an excuse to drink beer. But not here.
We need a new hero.
Does Holliday, who speaks softly and carries a big stick, fill the bill?
Summer is the lost season of Colorado sports. Holliday can be the man who makes baseball matter 365 days a year.
Sure, we’ve got guys in the NHL, NBA and NFL with game. But what sells tickets and incites passion among fans is the next big thing.
This town is tired of the same old, same old.
Joe Sakic of the Avalanche is 36 years old. Looking good, he retains the ability to make women swoon, but his dominance on the ice is slowly slipping.
Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets wears two expensive shoes, available at sporting goods stores nationwide, but has won only three of 15 playoff games with Denver.
Jake Plummer seems to hold fame and its hassles in less esteem than he does barbers, while rookie quarterback Jay Cutler has his hands full wading through a Broncos playbook thicker than the collected works of Tolkien.
This town is praying for a sports hero to capture its imagination.
We’re so desperate, Denver is ready to embrace the Rockies, just as soon as we can figure out who they are without a scorecard.
Everybody loves and admires Todd Helton. But a year ago, shortly before his 32nd birthday, Helton was asking me for hair-coloring tips.
OK, I can take a joke, so long as Helton doesn’t mind me asking if there’s a little blue pill for his bat, which has lost its home run stroke.
The Rockies have been so bad for so long, now that the team has stayed in the pennant race almost all the way through May, it richly deserves a round of applause. But the cheers have not been very loud, because the franchise is begging, cap in hand, for paying customers of shattered faith to give Coors Field another chance.
General manager Dan O’Dowd finally figured out the most important element of a team that plays at altitude is its bullpen, gave pitchers a chance by soaking baseballs in the humidor longer and smartly raised talent on the farm for ownership too cheap to invest heavily in payroll.
The Rockies own a record of 22-19. How can anybody not be happy with that?
Nevertheless, Holliday was griping in the clubhouse just the other day that the team’s doubters are waiting for these upstart Rockies to fall down and fade away.
Not me.
I cannot speak for everybody in Denver, but for a change, I’m willing to bet many of us would like to have something other than a Broncos dress rehearsal to anticipate as the biggest game in town during August.
What Generation R needs is a face.
This town gave its heart to Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette.
All Denver asks is a new baseball hero we can trust, somebody who can make a 10-year-old boy proud to be seen in a Rockies replica jersey on the playground.
Pitching ace Aaron Cook’s recovery from blood clots in his lungs is an inspirational story, but he takes the ball once every five days. Clint Hurdle is witty, but so long as any franchise’s dominant voice belongs to the manager, there probably isn’t enough to talk about on the field to excite casual fans. With all due respect, Helton looks weary after carrying the Rox on his back for too many years.
Holliday owns big shoulders, a sweet swing and a name so wicked cool it sounds stolen from an Old West gunslinger.
Add the home run power that could do the Blake Street Bombers proud, and Holliday has everything needed to be a big hit in this town.
Denver’s heart is there for the taking.
Win it.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
