So my wife had to go to Denver for training and since her portion of the trip was paid for I threw down some cash for my flight and 2 Broncos tickets and also 2 Rockies tickets. First off it was effing cold, we got off the plane it was 15 degrees and snowing on Friday and most of the day on Saturday. As some of may know the Rockies game got postponed to Sunday so we did a back to back sporting event day with some football and some playoff baseball. As we were walking up to Mile High I was comparing their tailgating to ours and it wasn't even close. Now mind you parking is much more spread out and the stadium is very close to downtown and they offer tons of public transportation to and from the game. So the Texans have the edge here, and by a big margin, but everything else doesn't come close. We walk into the stadium and we get some beverages, I get a Fat Tire and my wife gets a Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps. We get to our seats which were almost at the very top in a place they call "Thunder, CO" much like our Gridiron, TX but better. There is some leftover snow on our seats, which I thought was cool considering we never get any white stuff down here besides what the cartels bring across the border. The game was an AFL Legacy game so naturally each team had throwback jerseys on, they handed out throwback T-Shirts, and the program cover was straight from the 60s. At the beginning of the game they announced 50 of the greatest Broncos including players like Elway, T Davis, S Sharpe, Attwater, etc. They had a few people who have had season tickets since their inception in the 1950's and they got to shake each player's hand. The game started and the crowd was GREAT. In Thunder, CO the fans stomped their feet on the floor, which seemed hollow, it sounded as if thousands of people were jumping up and down on metal bleachers. At the very top of the stadium the wall that encloses the stadium is metal and people were banging as hard as they could to add to the "thunder." Each time the Patriots threw an incomplete pass the PA would say "Tom Brady's pass was..." and the crowd would say "IN-COM-PLETE" followed by the SFX of "WAHH WAHHH WAHHH." Even though he is only in his 2nd year and made a few questionable fair catches everytime Eddie Royal was back to receive a punt they chanted "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie." All in all the atmosphere was very good, there is something about an outside stadium that is great (mind you I would be miserable if it was 110 degrees instead of 32). The game went to overtime and the place ERUPTED and it spilled out into the streets. Fans were chanting "FIVE AND O, FIVE AND O, FIVE AND O" and walking down the ramp the fans would just randomly start yelling like crazy. After the game we walked from Mile High to Coors Field (little over 2 miles), and the whole way other people who were walking were still going crazy. The next day I woke up and talked to my dad and found out what happened to our Texans. One day we will be able to hand out throwback programs and wear our throwback jerseys. One day we will have fans that have had season tickets for 50 years. One day we will have a ring of honor that includes Hall of Famers. I can't wait for our team to have history and when we do have history I want it to be a winning history, not a losing one. I don't know what needs to happen to get to the level a franchise like the Broncos, but we need to get there, because it is oh so sweet. This experience was a great one as a sports fan, and I hope we all can experience it one day as a Texan. It starts this Sunday, let's go 11-0 to finish the season!
Thanks for posting your experience! Sounds like you had a great time. I'd love to check out an NFL game with fans like that instead of the piped-in crowd noise we get all the time.
