1998 AFC Championship Game
In January of 1999 I remember sitting on the cold benches in the South Stands of the old Mile High Stadium with my uncle for the AFC Championship game against the NY Jets. It was cold, the wind was blowing hard. The hot chocolate we bought was cold by the time it was passed down the row to our seats.
To make matters worse, to begin the second half, the Broncos were down 10-0 and had played poorly most of the game. A blocked punt in our own end zone gave the Jets their one touchdown drive, of 18 inches. Things had not been looking good, but the atmosphere in Mile High was still electric. Everyone knew that this might be John Elway's last game played in Denver. The Superbowl was on the line.
Through out half time I remember the entire South Stands were stomping our feet on the aluminum flooring. Creating that old Mile High Thunder to rattle the opposing team who were in their locker room under our stands.
In the second half the fans became the 12th man. Everyone at the game could feel how we pushed our Broncos to come back and win the game. The old score board on the north end of the stadium would flash at us "SOUTH STANDERS ARE YOU THERE?" and again the stands would erupt with the thunder. The entire stadium would chant "GO....BRONCOS" across the stands at each other. When the Jets were driving down field I remember standing up and joining in the chants of "J-E-T-S,
J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S, SUCK SUCK SUCK" to mock the Jet's fans cheers. Every time Testaverde of the Jets threw an in-completion the whole stadium would yell "IN-COM-PLETE" along with the announcer. Had there been snow, fans would have been throwing snowballs at the Jets. (Which I don't approve of in fan behavior, but it shows the passion at the game).
Elway and our Broncos pulled off one of his best 2nd half comebacks and won the game 23-10 to send the Broncos to their second consecutive Superbowl.
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2005 AFC Championship Game
Flash forward now to the 2005 AFC Championship Game at the new Invesco Field at Mile High against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I flew home from school in Oregon to go to this game with my dad. The Broncos had the best record in the AFC and had earned home field advantage. Jake Plummer had become the QB the Broncos had been searching for since Elway retired and the entire city was hopeful for another chance at a Superbowl.
Again, I was sitting in the South Stands at the new stadium. The seats had backs on them and are the same as all the others in the stadium. At the opening kickoff the Stadium erupted with noise and cheering...for the Steelers. To look around the stadium at that game made me sick to my stomach. The yellow terrible towels were every where. You could see more yellow and black than the home town orange and blue.
There were no mocking chants of the Steeler's fans and no cheers of "GO BRONCOS". Instead there was piped in stadium noise. The advertising was instead doing the cheering. The Go Cars and Trucks.com ad had taken over the "GO BRONCOS" cheer. The stadium announcer was no longer saying incomplete for every in-completion that the Steelers threw, now he only said it on 3rd downs.
The Broncos went on to lose 34-17. Jake Plummer had a terrible game with 3 interceptions, and essential played his last game as the Denver starter. The Steelers fans proceeded to celebrate their Conference Championship in our home field.
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The Problem
In the 1990s Broncos fans were passionate. The Avalanche filled the Pepsi Center for every game. The Rockies set MLB attendance records. The Nuggets...well, they were awful but had a passionate and dedicated fan base.
In 2011 Broncos fans let opposing players jump into their stands to celebrate touchdowns. Can you imagine that being allowed in Green Bay? Now when the north end zone score board asks the south standers if we are there it is mostly received with silence. A poster of The Barrel Man hangs from the North East corner of the field, reminding fans of the loss of the greatest Broncos fan to ever live. Broncos Country has become split with Tebow Nation. Many fans attending the game just root for the young QB and are not true Broncos fans at heart.
The Avalanche can't even sell seats in certain sections despite having a great start to the season. Against Buffalo in the 2010 season chants of "Lets Go Buffalo" echoed through the Pepsi Center as if it were being played in Western New York.
Coors Field nearly always has whole sections empty. Games against the Cubs and Red Sox bring more fans rooting against the Rockies than for them. This would never happen in Boston or Chicago.
And poor Nuggets fans can't even cheer for their team because of the lockout. Not that they could actually afford to go to a game if there actually was a season.
So the question is, are Denver Sports Fans just band-wagon fans? Have Denver Fans just gone soft? What has happened to some of the most feared fans in the country? And how can we fix it?
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A Solution
In the Rockies 2007 run to the World Series, I heard from friends who attended the playoff games how electric Coors Field was. During the Nuggets 2009 run to the Conference Finals it was the same at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche's Stanley Cup years always packed the Pepsi Center. I am under the impression that many Denver fans are Band-Wagon Fans.
I also think that advertising taking over cheers in the stadium has made fans apathetic to cheering for their home team. It has taken away much of the creativity that fans previously had. For the Broncos, the new stadium took away many of the old traditions fans used to have at Mile High.
To fix our fan base, the Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies and especially the Broncos need to take a page from the supporters of Denver's
other football team...erm...soccer team. The Colorado Rapids.
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Class VI, The 'Pid Army & The Bobbies
The fan experience in the Terraces & Supporters Sections at Dick's Sporting Good Park at a Colorado Rapids game is probably the best you will currently find in Denver.
It all starts in the Tailgating Lot hours before the match begins. The Supporters Tailgate is a free BBQ and tailgating party for anyone attending the game. For a small donation you get great food fresh off the grill and access to a keg of a local micro-brew. You get to meet other fans, and talk sports with people who are very knowledgeable. Pick-up games of soccer, frisbee or football break out on the fields surrounding the lot. Occasionally the supporters of the opposing team are challenged to a game of soccer to determine which group of fans are the best.
Then the Supporters gather and march into the stands singing and chanting for the home team.
Once in the stands, the fans become the 12th man for the Rapids. Sections in the stands have, as the NFL would call them "Super fans" who lead songs and chants to cheer on the Rapids. Each player on the 'Pids has his own chant that fans will start up when he makes a good play. My personal favorite song encourages the boy's on the field to score a goal when they are down.
"Colorado here we go. We need to score a goal. Put the ball into the net and we will all go mental."
Sure, the stadium is never full. But the fans that are there are dedicated and loud. In section 108 every time the opposing team's mid-fielder closets to the section touches the ball all fans jeer and boo at him. He is constantly heckled throughout the game. In this year's wildcard playoff match section 108 booed Rodgers, of Columbus, so much that the entire stadium picked up on it. The MLS announcers on ESPN even noticed and did not know what Rodger's had done to anger the fans so much. The same happened earlier in the year against Philadelphia and earned their mid-fielder a yellow-card. After the game Philadelphia expressed their frustration with the fans jeering.
“This is the core of the Rapids fan base,” says the head of Class VI Supporter group, Bodmer. "These are the guys that bleed burgundy no matter what goes on – win, lose, cold, hot. They’re always here, every game.”
The Rapid's players appreciate the fan support. At the end of every game, win-lose-or-tie, the players show their thanks to the fans in the supporters sections by coming over to the stands and talking with fans.
“We don’t have the numbers that some of the teams in the league have, but we have some passionate fans and some faithful groups,” defender Drew Moor said. “They definitely make it tough for the other team when they come in here. I know a lot of them by name, I’m Facebook friends with a bunch of them and tweet with a bunch of them. They make it fun.”
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The other teams in Denver need to take a page from The Rapid's and create supporter's groups. A passionate, loud and dedicated group of fans who are always at the game to cheer for their favorite players. These types of groups encourage traditions in the stands, which have mostly been lost at Broncos games. The old South Stands used to have traditions that formed over the years, but the new stadium lacks this. A supporters group in the South Stands could do wonders for improving the fan experience at Broncos games.
Sure, there are lots of challenges for teams that have more supporters than the Rapids do in starting these groups. But I think that it's something that if done right could make the games a lot more fun. Even when the team is losing, if you had a good time in the stands with your friends then the games are more worthwhile.
