Russell Wilson Unveils Substitute for 'Broncos Country, Let's Ride'

The Denver Broncos QB finally seems to have dispensed with his catchphrase that became a lampoon.

The first time Russell Wilson used his catchphrase "Broncos Country, Let's Ride," fans were excited by it. By the end of the 2022 season, Denver Broncos fans cringed every time the beleaguered quarterback doggedly uttered those words.

Since the 2022 season ended, we haven't heard Wilson use that phrase. And now that Broncos training camp has arrived, he seems to have a new maxim: 

"Go Broncos." 

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As far as inspiration goes, Wilson isn't digging too deeply on his new line. For years, he used to utter "Go Hawks" at the end of press conferences as a 10-year starter for the Seattle Seahawks. 

Wilson is looking for a new lease on life, with Sean Payton now calling the shots in Denver. Purportedly, toward the tail end of his tenure in Seattle, Wilson pined for Payton to replace Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. 

"Last year is last year," Wilson said on Friday after the first full practice of Broncos camp. "It wasn't anything that I ever wanted in terms of the expectations of how I expect to play every day. But you take the good with the bad, you take the highs with the lows, you take the mountains with the valleys. You understand that there's always going to be [low] moments. One of the things I learned a long time ago, and actually, Bill Cowher told me this a long time ago. I was a rookie. He said, 'You've got to respect and love the journey even when it gets tough and even when you're at the highest of the highs.' I think that I've always understood that. So I think the best thing that we can do as a team is continue to do everything we can every day and just continue to stack one day at a time. And those days will add up to something special." 

Wilson is aware of the media firestorm Payton created after blasting ex-Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett earlier this year in an incendiary interview with USA Today. Payton has since walked the comments about Hackett back, but in that interview, the new Broncos head coach defended Wilson and scoffed at the notion that he's "washed" or hit a point-of-no-return wall, blaming the "parents" in Denver last year for "allowing it to happen." 

Wilson took a philosophical view on Payton's remarks, which put a target on the head coach's back in defense of the heretofore under-fire QB. 

"Coach Payton has been the best, in terms of just really stepping in and really leading our football team," Wilson said. "Obviously, he's a World Championship coach. A Super Bowl champion. He's won a lot of games. He's been in a lot of playoff situations. I've played against him before. Been great matchups over the years... I always had high regard for who he is as a coach, as a man, and as a competitor as well. He's leading our football team in the right way, so I've got a lot of love and respect for Coach Payton and where we are right now." 

You've got to wonder how much Payton's influence has dictated the merciful disappearance of "Broncos Country, Let's Ride." My educated guess would be a lot. 

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