Colorado; Sporting Mecca
Denver, Colorado has long been a sports town. Ever since the Broncos joined the AFL’s Western Conference in 1960, Denver (and populated regions throughout the great expanses of Colorado) has taken pride in its teams and in representing those teams where it really matters; at live home games. Other big cities from coast to coast and up and down the Mississippi can dish out all the “cow town” crap they want but, when it comes right down to it, all that means is that we’re wild out here in the wide open west. Every Sunday during football season big cornfed honkies and scruffy mountain men and hardnosed city dwellers and blitzed college kids pack the stands of Mile High Stadium to represent a culture of oddly diverse (but always hardcore) fans united by the orange and blue. Because Denver is, first and foremost, a football town.
If cities could fall in love (which they can), Denver’s first was the Broncos. The team and the city grew up together over the last half century, and the histories that define both entities are intertwined throughout. A Denver native, I was raised to bleed (predominantly) orange and to silently revere the magnificent oranges and blues of the Rocky Mountain sunset as a reminder that we live in a beautiful and blessed state… and that God is a Broncos fan. But in my lifetime this city has blossomed into a full-fledged sporting mecca. The Avalanche came into their own right away; a veteran team that found itself quite suddenly in possession of one of hockey’s all-time greatest goaltenders. Denver was ready for them when they came, a hockey town since the 80’s thanks to the hapless five-year experiment that was the NHL’s Colorado Rockies, but also thanks to the one year wonders that were the Turner Cup (IHL) winning Denver Grizzlies. The Avs took The Stanley Cup in their first season (1995-96) and the furvor that followed was the catalyst for the complete re-making of Denver as a sports town. The Broncos doubled up with back-to-back Superbowls in the following two years, and the Avs brought The Cup back to Denver in 2001. But this is no two-team sports town. The Nuggets made NBA history in the 1994 playoffs, beating the top seeded Seattle Supersonics as an 8th seed in the first round of the playoffs (and then taking the Utah Jazz to seven games before getting knocked out.) And the Colorado Rockies fought their way into the 1995 MLB playoffs as a wild card, beating the Braves in just one game (the only team to beat the Braves on the way to their World Series Title) but contending each game closely throughout the series. And all the while fans packed seats and screamed and clapped in unison, because Denver is a sports town.
If you’ve ever been to a Broncos game on Sunday, you know how it feels to be part of the singular massive organism that is Broncos Nation. If you were at The Tiebreaker that finally and unequivically landed the Rockies a playoff berth, you know how it feels to be a part of sports history. The fans at that particular game were rabid with excitement, from old timers (my fifty year old father included) to young pups (my four year old son included) everybody gave the team every ounce of energy they had. Even those that were newer Rockies fans understood that Coors Field, like all places of sport worship in Denver, is hallowed ground reserved only for those who are willing to give their heart and soul to a team in return for that team’s best effort in the game. Every player on that Rockies bench had to feel the collective power of the scene and behold it with awe, just as I did from the upper deck. The stadium was alive. When the Rockies went down two runs in the 13th on a (typical) terrible performance by Jorge Julio, I saw perhaps a handful of fans walk away in disgust. Those fair weather few deserved their fate, and I imagine many of them could hear from a mile away as they approached their cars the explosion of heartier fans reveling in that impassioned come-from-behind victory in the bottom of the inning. The stadium emptied into the streets, normally sane and level-minded individuals tearing up and down Blake with the carefree exuberance of a child. I remember stating earlier this season that Denver was a baseball town waiting to happen. It happened. It was glorious.
And that short history of Denver sports is just the tip of the iceberg. Our minor league hockey and lacrosse teams have been winning championships with regularity for the better part of this century, and even soccer has found a niche in the Colorado sporting community in which to thrive. The broad sports market in the Denver Metro area has spawned a minor league team every twenty miles from Denver to Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs is an impressive sports community unto itself. The proliferation of burgeoning cities along the I-25 corridor has ensured that the Colorado sports market will continue to grow as major cities across the country stagnate and are forced to come up with lame marketing strategies to bring people to their games in markets long over-crowded with mediocre teams.
This is sporting country out here. And whether it’s the ample open spaces and culture of fitness or some more subtle draw, Colorado continues to attract and keep sports fans of all types. So I’ll tip my hat (a Rockies hat today) to Colorado sports fans and the proud tradition that they represent. The many teams that we are so proud to lend our collective will and energy to have made this a great place to be a fan.
