Denver Diehard

• joined Apr 27, 2008
• last login Apr 14, 2013
• posts 11
• comments 584

Bronco Fan since I was a boy in 1969. I remember going to the Schoolyard in my new neighborhood down by Washington Park and kids were playing football. I asked to play and somebody say's "sure, your'e on our team". So I got in the huddle and 3 of the kids were arguing. They were saying "I wanna be Floyd Little, no - I wanna be Floyd Little!" It was the craziest thing. After they decided, we were going up to the line in the dirt and I asked a kid "Who's Floyd Little?". "Don't you know nutthin?" he said. Floyd Little was the best player of the Denver Broncos and he carries the ball.!

That night I went home and asked Dad who the Denver Broncos were. I've been a fan ever since. Back then it was hard to see them because they only had a few games on TV each year, but I would listen on the radio. It wasn't until around 1975 that all the games were televised.

I don't know why, but my Dad took me to Spurs and Rockets games, but never to a Broncos game. I got to see a lot of Bears games in the summer too, but rarely seen the Broncos on tv, As a kid I always had a good imagination, and it was easy to see the game in my mind while I listened to the radio. I'll never forget hearing those words on the radio in 1972, when the QB threw a great pass for a touchdown. The announcer said "Unbelievable pass folks, well it looks like Denver finally has a Quarterback, and his name is Charlie Johnson!" That was Charlies debut in Denver. He was an instant hit all around town and suddenly Denver started to be more competative. Since those days I have probably only missed one game each season due to an annual family trip in October, but I doubt that I have missed more than that. If I can't see the game due to no television, I'm sure to find a radio.

One of my hobbies is Broncos history and trivia. I still remember the old players and love to talk Bronco Football. When I was much younger I started a topps card collection of the Broncos and am fairly complete. In 1983, I started a duplicate set for my son who was one year old at the time. So each year a team set went to me and one to him. He's mighty proud to have that collection from the start of Elway's career. I always put the team set in his stocking at Christmas time and he's a great fan.

I believe that I came through the end of the era that Bronco Fans first became the original Raider Haters from the AFL days. Back then, Denver was always beaten by Oakland, but the Raiders played dirty and were mean, then they laughed at our team and the fans after giving Denver their twice annual Whipping. This is something I will never forget. It's more than a rivalry, it's personal to me when Denver plays the Raiders. As much of a fan that I am, I'll joke about taking a 2-14 season every year as long as the two wins are against Oakland. It really doesn't matter how long you have been a Broncos fan, hating the Raiders is contageous and is one of the best parts and most fun of being a true Bronco Fan.