Things I’m looking forward to vs San Diego

As you all know I’m heading to Denver tomorrow and plan on attending our game versus the Chargers. So, in honor of getting to see my first Broncos home game, I’ll list some of the things I’m looking forward in regard to the experience of attending the game.

For those of you looking for an insightful player and/or coaching preview you’ll have to rely on Kyle and Earl this week. :)

1. Shopping!– Packing with plenty of room!
If you are satellite fan like me, you probably run into the same issue when it comes to buying your Bronco-related clothes and accessories — you can’t find any. I’m sad when I walk into our local department stores only to find rack after rack of Tennessee Titans and UT Vols merchandise. That’s expected as those teams are the local franchises; however, I get frustrated because I KNOW that in Denver these racks would be filled of Orange & Blue.

Many of you remote fans probably shop for your Bronco-fix like I do – either ebay or the authorized NFL online shops. However, these are extremely expensive. I mean, I’m just not the type of guy that buys $75 polo shirts.

So, I’m looking forward to some thrifty shopping in Denver. Heck, I might even try to hit some thrift stores to find some old jerseys or championship t-shirts or baseball hats (you can never have too many of those!). I’d love to come back with so much Denver Broncos stuff I can’t fit it all into the suitcase! :)

I also have my office at work to think about. I’d love to fill my office with tons of goofy Denver Broncos stuff!

2. All-for-One– Strength in numbers.
If you’re from Denver and/or go to games regularly you probably won’t get this one…

Out in the rest of the world, us Denver fans are the odd ones out. When my WHOLE company office (350 people) got to dress down for a charity day here in Knoxville, I was the only one with Blue & Orange on. The rest of the throng wore Vol’s orange and white. And when I go to my favorite family sports bar to catch a game not on the local cable channels I’m often the only person in a room full of sports fans cheering for the Broncos.

So, this weekend I’m looking forward to being in the majority for once! I’m looking forward to NOT having to explain why I’m a fan of the Denver Broncos in Knoxville. I look forward to being just another number in a sea of Orange & Blue. I look forward to being like everyone else, rather than the odd guy out… It will be a nice change. :)

3. Making-up with Miles – Can it be done?
As some of you know from my time at MyDenverObsession, I ended up getting myself in a bit of a tiff with our mascot Miles. I posted a rather nasty blog entry about my thoughts on Miles. I was not kind and it wasn’t long before word of my rant reached Miles. Now Miles has his own blog… don’t ask. And he wrote a rather scathing retort to my post. If you read either post you’ll see that I apologized for the rude nature of the post, although my position on mascots in general hasn’t changed.

One of my missions while in Denver is to find Miles and get a nice picture of two of us making up… I still don’t like mascots, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. :)

4. Celebrity Stalking?– probably not
I’m not big on celebrity watching and I’m even less into autographs. I’m a fan of the game and I love my Denver Broncos, but having a player (who doesn’t know me from Adam) sign something in passing isn’t the keepsake I really want. I understand that signatures add value to collectibles – but I since don’t collect collectibles I fail to see the point. Not to mention, I find the act of selling merchandise that has been signed or personalized kinda scummy.

On the other hand, I would love to bump into Andrew Mason or any of my fellow fan bloggers while out in the big D. I’ve at least corresponded with them and I think it would be neat to finally meet up face-to-face and chat if there’s time.

So, unless you count Andrew Mason as a celebrity, I’m probably going to skip any player stalking and just watch the game. :)

5. The Stadium Experience– Live is better!
There are many things that distinguish the stadium experience from watching at home. But one of the signature Mile High stadium traditions would be the home crowd chanting IN-COM-PLETE after failed passes by the opponent. I’ll be cheering hard for Rivers to throw a bad pass often so I can contribute!

Also, seeing Thunder run across the field with the large Denver flag will be cool. I’ve seen clips on TV, but the real thing has to be cool. I lived in Tampa for three years and although you might see the pirate ship cannons fire off on TV, you have NO IDEA how loud those things are until you’re there!

On a sad note, I understand that the barrel man is no longer donning the barrel any more for health reasons. I’m sad that I missed my chance to see him in all his glory! :(

AND AS ALWAYS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO A WIN: Come guys, I don’t want my first home game to be anything but a blow-out win! :)

Go Broncos!

-Jonathan Douglas
–BroncoTalk.net