Once a fan, always a fan

[This blog entry is from Lindsay...]

I am and will always be a Denver Broncos fan.

April 28, 1983: I am born in Denver, Colorado
During my first season as a fan, the team finished 9-7 after losing as a wild card team in the playoffs.

August 1984: My dad set an example of what it means to be a fan by watching a preseason game (yes, not a regular season or playoff game, but a pre-season game) while my mom was in labor with my brother.
The team finished 13-3 and lost in the Divisional Playoffs.


1987: This is the year that I have my first memories of watching the Broncos game. We made it to the Superbowl and my parents decided to throw a party. The house was decorated with blue and orange streamers and banners and flags. I had pom poms to cheer on the team. We were psyched. However, the Broncos lost. Not only did they lose, they were demolished. The Redskins pounded them 42-10 in San Diego. After the disappointing loss, my parents and their friends decided to take out their frustrations by burning their Broncos' decorations and apparel. So they started a bonfire in my backyard to burn all of our Broncos' things. I remember being scared and sad and confused and as my mom was throwing things in the fire, I started to cry and told her I didn't want her to burn my things. I was a true fan from the beginning--win or lose I wouldn't abandon my team.

1988: Not a stellar year, the team finishes 8-8. 8 and 8 in '88. This is also the year that I get my Broncos sweat suit. (Picture to follow...) This was a classic 80's sweat suit and had the classic bright orange on the arms and legs. I was VERY attached to this outfit. In fact, I insisted on wearing it every day for a period of time. My mom had to wash it while I was sleeping because I really wore it every day for a while. Now that's devotion to the team.

1989: Is the third time a charm? Not for the Broncos. They made it to their third Superbowl of my lifetime only to lose again. They had another embarrassing loss, this time 55-10 to the San Francisco 49ers. There wasn't a bonfire this year, but there were a lot of disappointed fans in Denver wondering if the Broncos would ever win the Superbowl.

1993: I start understanding the rules of the game and start taking the losses very seriously. In fact, a Broncos' loss makes me so upset that I'm in a bad mood for the rest of the day. This prompts my parents to give me a "talk" about how winning isn't everything and I should realize that it's just a game, blah blah blah...Team finishes 9-7.

1994: Second and last season with Wade Phillips as head coach. The team stinks and finishes 7-9. I start praying this season for the Broncos to win before each game. For a while, I think it works...but then I realize that my selfish prayers for wins may not be the best way to support the team.

1996: The team rules...we win the division, we have high hopes for the first time in a LONG time. I give up going skiing for the weekend because there's a playoff game on. But the Broncos are upset by the Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs. I was so disappointed and upset that I cried.

1997: The most glorious season. The most memorable season. The season that I will forever remember. The glory days of Denver football. We squeeze our way into the playoffs as a Wild Card Team and start the "Revenge Tour". First we beat the Jaguars who had upset us the year before. Then we travel to Kansas City to play our hated division rivals and barely win 14-10. The next week brings us a win in Pittsburgh and we're headed to the 4th Superbowl of my lifetime. We are LARGE underdogs and are expected to be killed again in the Superbowl by the defending champs, the Green Bay Packers. The team wins! John Elway gets a Superbowl ring. Denver has it's first Superbowl championship. The city goes crazy. Fireworks explode all night. We all cry along with John Elway as he holds up the trophy. No one goes to school the next day because we're all downtown with our faces painted blue and orange at the Broncos' parade.

1998: Another good year. We nearly go undefeated. We plow through all the teams in the playoffs and win our second Superbowl. John Elway, the Superbowl MVP and quarterback since my birth, announces his retirement after the season.

1999: A rebuilding year. Even though we don't do so well, my family still goes to the early service at church when the team has an 11 am game (Mountain Time) so that we don't miss anything.

2000: I FINALLY attend my first Broncos game after years and years of pestering my dad to take me. It was my senior year of high school and I gave my dad a guilt trip for never taking me to a game in all of my years of being a fan. So my dad decides to take me to the game--only one problem, we don't have tickets. We go down to the stadium a few hours before the game to try to hawk tickets. But there's another problem. This just happens to be the last game at Mile High Stadium before it is torn down. No one, and I mean no one was selling tickets. After freezing outside for several hours, we decide to go back to the car and go home and watch the game. With the car in sight, out of the corner of our eyes we see two tickets in the air. Running over to the tickets, we find two guys who had their friends cancel on going to the game last minute. They're selling the tickets at face value. We buy them, get into the stadium, and sit down right as the team is kicking off. My first game in person was a great one and the team won the last game at Mile High.

2001: I learn what it's like to watch the team via the web. You know you love the team when you can get excited about seeing the score updated on ESPN.com while you do your homework.

2004: I get so keyed up while watching the team on Monday Night Football, that I scream, stand up on my couch, hit my head on the shelf above my couch, knock off the glass lantern on the shelf, and create a huge mess in my house. Oh, did I mention that this happened after midnight and woke up the 9 other people that I lived with at the time? Only one was a football fan and understood my pain when we missed our chance to win the game with a last minute field goal.

2005: I attend my second Broncos game--not in Denver, but in New York. Cheering for the Broncos in Giant's Stadium isn't the best idea. The fans throw bottles at my brother and me. They try to steal our hats. And our team loses a heartbreaker in the final seconds.
Later on Thanksgiving, my brother and I eat our dinner in 15 minutes so we can watch our Broncos win. Happy Thanksgiving? I think so.

My team just lost in the playoffs tonight. It was disappointing, but I no longer cry when the team loses. I scream when they win. I scream when they lose. I love them when they win and I still love them when they lose. I think the colors blue and orange go really well together. I know all the rules of football. I know what a safety is and why special teams can be so important and I know all about a West Coast offense and blitzing defense. I love football season and will even watch all of the pre-season games because I know it means the regular season games are just around the corner. August through January can have lots of ups and downs, but I love the months of football season more than any others. The day the season ends is sad...Particularly when it's in the playoffs. But there's always next season. And who knows what next season will bring?

I am and will always be a HUGE Denver Broncos fan.