Broncos High Altitude "Head Game"

[jessup270]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/r...,6504283.story

I recently moved from the Denver area, after living there for 6 years.

At 5,200 feet, the thin air is no big deal, the Broncos like to make visiting teams think it is.

My mother in law is 82 years old, two artificial knees, a bad hip, 50 pounds over weight and high blood pressure. She gets off the plane from Florida and goes about her visit with zero problems.

Back in October she helped make the food for a wedding for 100 people attending.

[afan]

Let the mind games begin. Kind of like when the Ravens were known for the defense of doom. When it gets into a players head, they are toast. Ray Lewis' name made many a back just ordinary. The thought of him hitting them was all it took.

[Ravens2006]

I can only guess that not everybody has the exact same reaction, at least in terms of how much "discomfort" it causes them. Some players say it definitely causes a burning in your chest, especially early in the game. Some say it really doesn't do anything to them. On the positive side, I've heard a lot of guys say it tends to fade after the first quarter or so. Whether that's really true or not, I guess only world class athletes know for sure. I've only been through the Denver airport for a few hours at a clip, a few times, and didn't feel any difference. But I also wasn't sprinting every 30 seconds, or trying to tackle passengers while jumping over luggage carts. Though that would make the layover more interesting...

[Ravens2006]

For what it's worth, before this year when they went 7-1 at home... you'd have to go back to 2007 to find a season they were ABOVE .500 at home (and that was "only" 5-3).

I think Manning has more to do with their success at home this year than altitude...