The Michigan Daily-Thursday, January 12, 1978-Page 11
Orange Fever
DENVER (AP)-Wait 'til next year, they would say, and it went that
way for 18 years in a row. Suddenly this IS next year for Denver-and
Broncomania is sweeping the area.
When the swaybacked old Denver Broncos won a berth in the Super
Bowl, professional football's championship game, it was as if someone had
made a Triple Crown contender out of a milk-wagon plug.
The team's color is orange. The name of a soft drink called "Orange
Crush" was adopted as a Broncos' trademark.
So orange rocks, an orange church and an orange apartment house
have sprung up in the Denver area. And the beverage company is working
extra shifts trying to meet demand for the tonic.
A parade in downtown Denver at noon last Friday drew between
60,000 and 100,000 Broncomaniacs to see their team at close hand.
Broncomania will hit a high point this Sunday when the Broncos
play the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl at New Orleans.
Denver television dealers report rentals have doubled for this weekend.
Colorado State Prison at Canon City has reshuffled Sunday's movie
schedule and dinner hour to accommodate inmates' viewing of the Bronco
title bid.
Four airlines have added Denver-New Orleans flights for this weekend.
The excitement is understandable. Since their beginnings as a team,
the Denver Broncos had hobbled about in pro football's cellar. Then-at
the end of last season-along came Red Miller, an obscure, veteran assistant
coach with the New England Patriots.
With Miller as coach, the Broncos whipped defending Super Bowl champ
Oakland in their first meeting this season. And by the season's end, they
had won their way into this Sunday's championship game.
During the regular season some remained immune to the excitement.
Residents of the Mile High Stadium area, for example, demonstrated
at the mayor's home and demanded he stop Bronco fans from parking on
their lawns and driveways on game Sundays. The city built a footbridge
across the South Platte River to provide added parking space access for
the 75,000 fans pouring in to each home game.r
After Denver had whipped Oakland in the American Conference play-
off finals, Gov. Richard Lamm declared last Friday a state holiday for
Colorado's 30,000 state workers and Denver Mayor Bill McNichols did the
same for city workers.
But when taxpayers learned that the state workers' day off would cost
$2 million in state funds, Lamm was bombarded with criticism. He and
McNichols hastily called off the civil servants' holiday.
On the other hand, there was the lady who sued the local bus company
when a commuter bus failed to show and she missed a game. The judge
awarded her the cost of the game ticket.
Broncomania has a more serious side. When three customers in a
Denver bar burned up the jukebox during a televised Bronco game, a fan
pulled the plug and, in the dispute that followed, he pulled a gun and shot the
music buffs. One died.
INITIAL YEAR FOR WOMEN'S TRACK:
Simmons has tough task
By JAMIE TURNER
There are approximately 20 head
coaches at Michigan who perform on
the intercollegiate level. Every coach
has his own special challenge or task in
order for his program to succeed. For
Bo Schembechler it is to defeat Ohio
State and win the Big Ten Champion-
ship ... much the same challenge faces
most of the others. Michigan's athletic
program is geared to championships
and it is very successful.
However, winning is not the im-.
mediate challenge for women's track
Coach Ken "Red" Simmons. Simmons'
task is not to improve last year's team
... there wasn't one. Simmons is faced
with building a competitive team from
scratch.
While not writing off the 1978 season,
Simmons frankly admits he's planning
for the future.
"You've gotta start somewhere,"
admits the 68 year old mentor, "and
we're going to take our lumps without a
doubt, but I just want to let people know
we're around and competing."
The woman Simmons is building the
team around is Darlynda Key, the only
member of the team who is currently on
scholarship. Key performs in both the
220 and 440 and is especially strong in
the long jump.
But a first-year program inevitably
consists on a catch-as-catch-can basis
with a coach accepting any athletes
who come out for the team. This lends
itself to problems relating to depth.
"We have some girls who show poten-
tial," Simmons commented, "but we
don't have high-jumpers or a shot-
putter, but the team has to start
somehow.
"I wish it was next year," sighed the
veteran of AAU women's coaching,
"we've got some great one's coming
next year. And once we all come to the
same level (as other, more experienced
schools) I have no doubt that Michigan
will be a power in women's track."
Simmons is the first to admit that
only time will mold the women into an
competitive unit. Recruiting takes up a
large mount of his time, as he constan-
tly sorts through his file of prospective
freshwomen. The job is not made any
easier by the rules of the AIAW
(Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics for Women) which are even
more demanding than the correspon-
ding set for men.
Under the AIAW rules, no coach may
actively recruit a prospect unless the
prospect expresses an interest in
coming to that school. And then, the
coach may only "recruit" on campus
property or -by phone, virtually
eliminating any personal contact.
In keeping with those rules, Simmons
has to count on the reputation of the
university and his reputation as a coach
to lure top athletes, a reputation that
didn't begin until the age of 50.
It wasn't until retirement from the
Detroit Police Youth Detail in 1960 that
E SCORES
NHL
Detroit 6, Washington 3
College Basketball
Detroit 84, Iona 79
CenraI Michigan 102, Buffalo 73
Syracuse 83. Penn 8. 77
Iowa St. 82, Kansas St.77
Simmons decided to enter the world
that fascinated him from his childhood,
sports. Becoming a teaching assistant
and finally a professor within the phys-
ed department enabled him to teach
wrestling and track. But eventually he
found himself doing more and more
paperwork and moving further and fur-
ther away from contact with the
students.
Simmons left his job in hopes of get-
ting a coaching position. But all the jobs
were full, leaving him no alternative
but to go to the club level and the girls
program, his pupils ranging in age
anywhere from 8 to 30 years old.
"I was having a great time," Sim-
mons said. "But when I finaly made
up my mind that I wanted to coach
something-I went to the girls."
Simmons originated the Michigames
track club in 1960 and developed many
national champions, developing a
reputation as a starmaker. It is this
background on which he pins his hopes
on establishing Michigan as a com-
petitive team.
"I'm very satisfied with the situation
so far," stated Simmons. "I want to do
this (establish Michigan in women's
track) and I'm going to do it . . . I
think."
The
Peace
wa t osting -
forpyou.
a lorli fe you'v
wanted to do something im-
portant for the world. Now a
lot of the world needs you to
do it. We need volunteers with
skills and all kinds of practical
knowledge. Call toll free:-
800-424-8580. Peace
R corps"
~ A Public Serviced
T ewspaper&
The Advertising Council
NIGHT EDITORS:
JAMIE TURNER
ERROL SHIFMAN
WCHA
Standing
omemmummmomoMA.~
SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y
Bronco running back threatened
By The Associated Press
A telephone threat was made on
the life of Denver Broncos Jon Key-
worth, and stringent security mea-
sures were- taken to protect him,
Broncos General Manager Fred
Gehrke told the Associated Press
yesterday.
Gehrke said the threat was made in
Denver by a man whom Denver
authorities were investigating, and
he was confident that appropriate
action would be taken.
"WE'RE TAKING every step pos-
sible to protect him," Gehrke said of
the Broncos running back. "We have
one of our security people stationed
outside his room. He's pretty shook
up about it."
Gehrke said he did not know the
specific nature of the threat or to
whom it was made. He also said he
did not know why a Denver resident
would threaten a Denver player.
But he said all possible security
measures were taken, including the
opening of Keyworth's mail at the
hotel where the Broncos are staying
to prepare for Sunday's Super Bowl
game with the Dallas Cowboys.
NEW ORLEANS police sources
said they had not been notified of the
incident. The NFL got the word from
Denver team officials and had no
comment except to note that such
threats are not uncommon during
Super Bowl week.
Beer bowl
Beer will finally be slaking thirsts
in Miami's Orange Bowl, one of only
three National Football League sta-
diums where it has been illegal.
In a 4-1 vote, commissioners
rejected religious and moral argu-
ments that killed an identical propos-
al by Mayor Maurice Ferre last
summer.
But the opposition was still there.
"WE NEED to be selling orange
juice, not beer. Don't open this bowl
to drunks," said Leota Rasmussen,
an opponent and wife of a Miami
atnr
W L T
Denver 13 3 0
Wisconsin 12 4 0
Michigan Tech 10 6. 0
Minnesota 9 6 1
MICHIGAN 9 7 0
UMD 6 10 0
Notre Dame 5 10 1
Colorado Coll. 5 11 0
North Dakota 5 11 0
Michigan State 5 11 0
This Weekend's Series
MICHIGAN at Minnesota
North Dakota at Colorado Coll.
Denver at Notre Dame
Michigan State at Michigan Tech
Wisconsin at UMD
s
Pts.
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I
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Daily Photo by BRAD BENJAMIN
SENIOR WINGER Bill Thayer (25) reaches behind the net in an NCAA semi-final game last year. The Wolverines will have
to reach way back this weekend when they travel to Minnesota in order to snap a three game conference losing streak.
Memory
HOUSING DIVISION
RESIDENT STAFF JOB OPENINGS FOR 1978-79
INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
MONDAY, JANUARY 16-WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18,
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1978
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