What SuperBowl LX Can Teach Us About Colorado Politics

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan (*not a football player)

Last Sunday, millions of Americans watched one of the most lackluster competitions between two NFL teams in a long while. The stats indicate that the Seattle Seahawks outplayed the New England Patriots, consistently from start to finish. The score speaks clearlly: Seattle won and New England lost. 

I think SuperBowl LX was chock full of lessons that apply to Colorado politics. One team (Seattle) had a clear game plan, a competent and experienced coach and quarterback, and great players who understood their jobs and executed well. The other team (New England) didn’t. Both teams made it to the SuperBowl, but only one team won the SuperBowl. 

NOTE – I am not a fan of the NFL, sports expert nor successful politician. I’m a Monday Morning Quarterback who did not play a single down. But I took away a few lessons from this game and the culture/environment in which it was played. 

First, a few hard facts. CO Republicans been in many elections but have not won or held a major statewide office since 2016. They instead have suffered significant losses in every subsequent election. 

Last Republican Elected State Official: Heidi Ganahl (University of Colorado Board of Regents)

Last Republican Trifecta in CO (Governor, House and Senate): 2004

Last Republican Majority in CO Legislature: 2010

This chart illustrates which parties have controlled or dominated the State of Colorado since 1876. Until 1998, CO was fairly balanced with State control shifting between Democrats and Republicans. When I moved here in 1976, CO was one of the fastest growing, most fiscally sound, crime-free, healthy, family-oriented, opportunity-rich and business-friendly States in the US. Many thought that Republicans would continue to dominate CO for the foreseeable future. 

But something began to change around 2004. A dedicated team of Democrats, Liberals, Leftists and Social activists (many of whom now hold offices in our Democrat super-majority) began to meet, plan, work together and implement a big, ambitious, highly organized, well-funded and deliberate plan to win key elections. They are still using the same basic plan, tactics and strategy in 2026. Their plan is described in detail in a book called “The Blueprint – How Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans EVERYWHERE Should Care)” which was written in 2010. And every Republican and conservative should care and read it. But for some curious reason, they don’t. So, Democrats continue to win elections in Colorado.

Meanwhile, CO Republicans have lost elections by not changing strategy, meeting, planning, working together and implementing a big, ambitious, well-funded and deliberate plan to win elections. Instead, it seems that Republicans try to win by looking like Democrats. Democrats always do that better than Republicans. NO Democrat in CO (or any other State) is a genuine conservative. 

 What I find interesting (as a Conservative who is a registered Republican) is that Democrats told us exactly what they would do, how they would do it and have continued to use the same exact gameplan – but Republicans have neither paid attention nor created their own strategy to counter that plan. 

Now, back to the main point of this article: what lessons from the SuperBowl can be learned by Republicans and Conservatives in Colorado?  

Here are 10 takeaways that may be helpful to my favorite political team: The Conservatives. 

1. Football fans are like voters. They lose interest and tune out when they don’t get what they paid for and expected. For example, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ignored the majority of NFL fans, and inexplicably gave the half-time show to an America-hating musician who grabbed his crotch and humped as he sang sexually explicit songs in Spanish to a crowd who expected something a bit more…patriotic. The performance was obscene and unsuitable for kids and adults. Many loyal NFL fans were angry and disappointed. 
2. Believe how people spend their money, behave and vote, rather than how they respond to polls. That is what really matters. Many viewers switched to an alternative half-time program provided by Turning Point USA. That mainstream, All-American, overtly faith-based message was viewed by an estimated 20 million, and that number is growing daily. As of today, Kid Rock’s new song that celebrates America and faith in Jesus Christ is currently crushing Bad Bunny’s song on iTunes downloads. Kid Rock was likeable and Bad Rabbit was, well, bad. Bad Bunny has since disappeared from most of his social media. 
3. Customers don’t go away mad; they just go away. NFL fans spend big bucks on football and fan paraphernalia. Tickets cost a fortune. The average SuperBowl ticket was $8,131.98, with the cheapest tickets starting around $4,951 and the most expensive exceeding $51,000. Whatever your business, if you ignore the customer and give them what they don’t want, they will take their money to another business that will give them what they do want. The NFL lost on their sad attempt to sell an agenda to a lot of people who didn’t want it.
4. Sports and politics are based on the free market. You can like who you like and dislike who you dislike, and there are plenty of choices and competition is good. The more government tries to limit choices and compel behavior; the more the average person will resist and move away. Free choice works, compulsion doesn’t.
5. People will pay far more to be entertained than they will to be educated. Pro sports is all about money and entertainment. That’s why so much hype and pageantry is added to every sport. Without the hype, you’re just watching another baseball, football, basketball, soccer, hockey or other sporting event. For proof, watch clips of the first few SuperBowls and half-time shows. 
6. Everybody loves a winner, and in politics, winning is the goal. Nobody remembers who came in second. To be remembered you must WIN. The team that figures out how to win tends to win even more. In politics, the winners govern and the losers watch what happens.
7. A losing team must change its plan, leaders, players, tactics and strategy in order to win. The team with the best game plan, competent and experienced leaders and candidates, loyal constituents and great players who perform according to expectations and play together tends to win against the team that doesn’t. Status quo doesn’t work if your team is losing.
8. Vision and ambitious goals attract money and followers; but money does not attract either vision or ambitious goals. Good brands that deliver good products have very loyal customers. But money does not buy either love or loyalty. For a sports example, look at what the money-driven ‘Transfer Portal’ has done to college football teams, players, coaches and programs. 
9. When leadership loses touch and ignores the most loyal fans, players, sponsors and ticketholders – people go away in droves. That is happening today in sports, entertainment and party politics. In the old days of advertising, this was referred to as “the dogs aren’t eating the dog food.”  The problem is not that there aren’t plenty of dogs, or that dogs don’t eat dog food. The GOP needs a new recipe.
10. The largest and fastest-growing voter bloc in Colorado is neither Republican nor Democrat; it is Unaffiliated voters. These voters have left both major parties in droves. They don’t like what either of the two party brands have been delivering, so they are looking for something different. Case in point: love him or hate him, Mr. Trump changed the GOP, not vice versa. And that won the election.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS: I believe that mainstream conservative values, principles, issues and candidates – when presented clearly and unapologetically to most voters – can still win elections. A clear message delivered well to the right audience wins almost every time. I wrote the following article in May of 2025 and stand by it in 2026 and beyond. https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/05/minary-common-principles-of-conservatism-and-why-they-matter-in-colorado/  

AND ONE LAST IDEA: people don’t like to be forced into anything or told what to do, and they don’t enjoy chaos or confusion. They want something different and better. I hope that CO Republicans and conservatives can learn from their losses, listen to people, stop the infighting, agree, play on the same team, choose good leaders and candidates and win some elections for a change. If they don’t, Texas and Florida will be getting a lot more former Colorado citizens and conservative voters – and their money. 

Russ Minary is a retired sales executive, marketing consultant, small business owner, conservative and veteran. He has lived in CO for 50 years and resides in Douglas County. 

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.