Summer Kick-off

Several weeks ago we received an invitation to a Denver Broncos fan forum to be held last Tuesday night in the Broncos locker room. We RSVP’d yes, but we knew that it was always a possibility that we’d have to back out on the day of, due to work busyness, so we tried not to get our hopes up. But on Tuesday, Ryan and I both got off work a good time, and we fought horrible traffic to get downtown, but we made it with a minute to spare! I’m so glad we were able to go because we later found out that only 70 people were selected, at random, out of 70,000 season ticket holders. There were hors d'oeuvres and drinks, kind of like a cocktail hour, and they gave us each a nice team hat!

Joe Ellis, the president of the Broncos…

The main theme of the forum was “overall fan experience.” It was very interesting to hear from the PR person, the fan entertainment person (half-time shows), the IT person (responsible for cell phone coverage in the stadium), the head of security, etc. I am always interested in “production,” and it had never occurred to me that there was so much thought put into each element of the experience. They have a very impressive staff who knows what they’re doing. Joe Ellis is also extremely well-spoken and intelligent. If you’re a die-hard Broncos fan, click here to read an interesting press release about the event.

Here we are in front of Peyton Manning’s locker….

We have no proof that it’s his locker except that Joe Ellis pointed to it and said it was. I guess he would know. :-) A lot of people took their pictures in front of it.

Then we walked out onto the field to see some of the stadium improvements. We were kind of hoping that maybe Peyton Manning would be waiting for us on the field.

But as Ryan said, “No, because then you’d have a situation where Peyton is standing there waiting. And Peyton Manning doesn’t wait. Peyton Manning waits for no one.” :-)

It was a lovely Colorado summer evening, and they played the Lumineers over the loud speakers as everyone mingled and took pictures.

That is a very large Peyton Manning face.

The new screen is pretty amazing. And for you Broncos game attendees, you will be happy to know that we lobbied for more replays on the screens!

Most will be bored by these pictures, and I understand that. But I am posting them for people like me, who need a visual. :-) I really enjoyed seeing the locker room and where it’s located in relation to the field! I like to be able to picture what I can’t usually see.

I was standing right off of the field when I took this photo. When you walk beneath the seats, the locker room entrance is a door to your right, close to where the people are standing further in the distance. If you keep walking through to the daylight, though, you end up in the players’ parking lot. It’s all very compact.

When you walk under the seats on your way through, this is to your left….storage under the south stands (the locker room is now behind me):

And looking back from the players’ parking lot….

You’re welcome! Now you don’t have to pay $15 for a stadium tour! We were so grateful and excited to be chosen to participate.

We’re handling this coming season a little differently. My co-worker, friend, and fellow Broncos fan Luke bought half of the tickets upfront, since affording the entire season was becoming a little excessive and difficult for us. We think it was a good decision!

And hopefully this will be the Broncos’ year! Yay!