Broncos Country is in flux, and that’s easy to see when you go to a game at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
There are plenty of new fans, lots of them wearing Patrick Surtain or Bo Nix jerseys. But these new fans aren’t Denver die-hards.
New Mile High Stadium wasn’t close to full on Sunday with the visiting Chargers in town, and fans flocked to the exits early. They missed a near comeback and basically all the good play from the Broncos, too.
Broncos Country just isn’t the same these days
Growing up in Denver, it was an honor to be able to attend one game a year at Mile High Stadium.
My dad–a working class Broncos die-hard–usually found two tickets for us to watch the orange and blue together. Sometimes in the South Stands, and others, in the nosebleeds.
In the early 90s, the Broncos weren’t a great team, they were mediocre at best. From 1992-1995, they averaged 8-8 every season. But we went, and stayed for the entire game, blowout or not. I savored every moment in the historic Mile High Stadium, where John Elway had played for a decade, where the Broncos won the 1977 AFC Championship Game, and where the Colorado Rockies and Denver Zephyr’s played, too.
New Mile High has never lived up to the hype, history, and lore that Mile High Stadium represented. Even if the new stadium is a better fan experience, with the massive TVs, wider seats, and more concession stands.
On Sunday, I had a chance to go to the Broncos-Chargers game with my brother, in town from Albuquerque where he’s attaining a PhD, and one of my best friends. We got there right before kickoff, delayed by traffic from Fort Collins, but still just in time.
I was somewhat shocked to see just how empty the stands were, at about 60% full at kickoff. The fans trickled in, and by the end of the first quarter, it was as full as it would get. Still, large sections of empty seats showed, especially in the upper deck.
When they announced the total attendance, just north of 70,000 were there in person. That meant 5,300 fans didn’t show up, or 7.1% of the stadium.
We booed, like Broncos Country is supposed to do, when they announced the no-shows. The ones that did show up mostly sat in their seats all game long, even on crucial third downs. That came as a surprise to Josh from Albuquerque, my new friend at the game, who had only been to playoff games before Sunday.
And then, when the Chargers extended their lead to 23-0 near the end of the third quarter, the fans fled to the exits.
This wasn’t a bitterly cold January game. It was 70 degrees in October, near perfect weather. Then again, maybe Broncos Country decided it was time to go mow the lawn one last time, or take the dog for a walk.
Ironically, that’s when the Broncos finally woke up offensively and made it a game. Growing up with the “Comeback Kid” John Elway at quarterback, you learn not to leave the game until the final whistle. Even if the Broncos are embarrassing themselves.
But don’t blame Broncos fans, the team has been terrible for almost a decade
The last time I went to a Broncos game in person was 2016, the day after Thanksgiving. It was a bitter loss to the Chiefs in overtime, including a play in which rookie Tyreek Hill “scored” to send it to OT. You can clearly see at 2:15:48 that Hill’s knee was down, short of the goal line, and time should’ve run out.
That was a close, cold contest. It was a night game, in late November. But the stands were packed. A win kept the Broncos playoff hopes alive, less than a year after winning Super Bowl 50. But Denver was robbed, Chiefs fans rubbed it in, and the Broncos haven’t been close to the playoffs again since.
And over those last eight years, the Broncos have been awful.
They’ve gone through four coaching changes, averaging 6.5 wins per season. Denver’s been one of the worst teams in football since their Super Bowl 50 win, and we’ve seen the effects on the fan base.
Broncos Country has little reason for hope in terms of a 23-point comeback in the fourth quarter. What little hope the fan base currently has is based on Patrick Surtain’s dominance–he was injured in the first quarter–and rookie Bo Nix.
Surtain’s injury hurt, on the field and in the stands. Especially as Justin Herbert sliced and diced Denver’s defense on passes in the middle of the field.
And Nix, the hope-bearer on offense, was awful for the first three quarters of play. It wasn’t just his fault. Denver’s missing three starting offensive lineman was evident, but Nix was also running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He had happy feet and ran from pressure that wasn’t there, at times. There was also no run game to support him.
Look, he’s a rookie. His ups and downs are expected.
But there was little to root for on Sunday, especially for a beleaguered Broncos Country, beaten down by seven straight losing seasons.
At 3-3, the Denver die-hards out there are still rooting for a playoff berth. Sean Payton and Vance Joseph have this team playing as good as they can despite being in the middle of a rebuild and having $85 million in dead cap to deal with.
In only three days’ time, the Broncos fly to New Orleans to face the Saints in a winnable game. Then, they play the terrible Panthers before three extremely tough games at Baltimore, at Kansas City and home for the Falcons.
If things go well, Denver could be 5-6 at that point. Then the Raiders and Browns present two more winnable games before the late bye.
No doubt, making the postseason for the first time since 2015 would be a big boost to the fan base. But with so many question marks, we all may be waiting another year for that chance.
And it may be many more years before Broncos Country builds back the intense home field advantage we all grew accustomed to in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.