DENVER — The last time Von Miller did this, he led the Broncos to a Super Bowl.
Just sayin’.
“I wanted to stack everything in my favor,” the future Hall of Famer said on Thursday at UCHealth Training Center. “So taking a break from social media is something I decided to do.”
Hey, no wonder 32-year-old Von looks like Super Bowl 50 Von. He’s doing something that would make the whole world a better place. Prior to a critical season for his own playing career and the Broncos franchise as a whole, Miller kept the main things the main things and mostly detached himself from social media.
“It feels good to just worry about family, football and my son and being a great teammate,” he said of a self-imposed social media blackout.
Here’s a riddle: Aside from their status as the star athletes on the Denver sports scene over the past decade, what do Peyton Manning, Nolan Arenado, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikola Jokic have in common? Yes, they’re totally rich. They also aren’t active on Twitter, Facebook or other social media platforms. Whether that’s pure coincidence or a method to their greatness, it’s something.
“I think you’re on the right track that a lot of the greats aren’t involved in social media,” said Ryan Colby, a Denver-area athlete mental health specialist and mental health counselor.
For girls and boys who aspire to break Peyton’s passing records or win MVP awards like the Joker, it’s always a good idea to mimic the greats, including their approach to social media.
Log off.
If not forever, once in a while for a long while.
Couple years ago at Coors Field I asked Arenado, the former Rockies star third baseman, why he steers clear of social media.
“Not really my thing,” he said.
These days $260 million contracts are his thing.
Those four megastars show $490 million in career earnings, a pretty good endorsement for treating social media as an unnecessary evil. That’s what social media is, too, a toxic and fake universe that serves as an awful representation of the real world. Don’t take it from me. Take it from the greatest pro athletes of Denver’s last decade who logged off or never logged in. Here, put it simply: mainstream media often base their coverage decisions on what social media thinks, and this silly industry has fallen flat on its face. Then you’ve got Peyton, Nolan, Nate and Nikola staying far, far away.
Which business model looks like the better idea?
“I’ve never seen Nikola Jokic once take a picture of himself and post it,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said last season.
Colby, a former college athlete who works with athletes on their mental health, said it’s no surprise Miller and his ilk often avoid social media when tunnel vision is paramount. They thrive in reality, the “here and now,” he said.
“I would argue there are far more negatives than positives (with social media),” Colby said. “One of the arguments for it is it connects people. Yet at the same time we’ve seen the feelings of loneliness are less in people who don’t use social media. You’re more focused on yourself and the here and now. And that’s real connection, real interpersonal connection.”
You know who’s in the here and now?
Von’s in the here and now. He’s been the Broncos’ best player with 4.5 sacks, 17 quarterback pressures and has the Broncos at 3-1 with a biggie Sunday in Pittsburgh. He still will (or his people will) occasionally post a hype video or photo, maybe from a win against the New York Jets or from a fly fishing trip on the South Platte with teammate Malik Reed. Then he logs off and doesn’t look back. Miller first debuted the social media blackout in 2015 on a tip from Lakers megastar LeBron James.
“We were able to get the No. 1 seed and I told myself, ‘Hey, I’m getting off social media.’ We didn’t know if it would truly be Peyton’s last year. All the signs were saying this might be Peyton’s last year,” Miller said. “I just wanted to maximize my opportunity of having a No. 1 seed going into the playoffs. So I did a social media blackout. We went on a tear in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl.”
He added, and this is good, “I always identified that with being helpful to me and my mental health. I wanted to bring it into a season like this (one) where I’m trying to get the most out of my game.”
Von’s not scrolling anymore. He’s not obsessing anymore. Folks inside the building believe this is the most stress-free Von in a long time, no small feat with a 2-month-old son at home.
“I just kind of minimized my focus. Social media will always be there. Whenever I need it, I get on there and post something and get right back off,” Miller said. “Honestly, it does feel really, really good to have an even mindset no matter if we win or lose. I can come into the facility and be the same Von everybody needs me to be.”
Von’s the best Von he can be, and he’s not doing it for Likes. The great ones here never have.
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