How did you become a Broncos fan?

[Draft Crazy]

Who was the player?

 

[nflbronco]

Who was the player?

# 64 Mike S

I can't spell his last name off top of my head.

 

[cdumler7]

# 64 Mike S

I can't spell his last name off top of my head.

Are you talking about Mike Schnitker? Played for Colorado in college?

 

[RobToxin]

Simple question, right? Share your story on how you became a Broncos fan. Most fans at least my age and older have endured some pretty lean times and disappointing losses, but three Super Bowl wins and ascending to become the premier team in the AFC West has made it all worth it! Some of us weren't born and raised in Colorado and made our choice as a fan during the lean times. How did it happen for you?

Here's my story:

I became a Broncos fan on a whim in 1987. I lived in the Los Angeles area and despised the Los Angeles Raiders. At the time I also loved the "California" Angels (remember those days, anyone?) and loathed the Dodgers. (Loathing the Dodgers set me up nicely for when the Rockies began play. See note at bottom of post.) My parents were not sports fans and the financials were on the margin. We never had money for ballgames, so my fan dome was limited to local TV channels. One day we were at a friend's house for dinner and the Broncos @ Raiders was on TV. I wasn't familiar with the Broncos but knew I hated the Raiders because their colors had become gang affiliated. I watched the Broncos pull a 23-17 win and decided they were my team. As providence would have it we moved to Colorado the very next year.

If your memory serves, the Broncos finished 1987 10-4-1 and a disappointing loss to the Redskins in SBXXII. To a new fan that was a big letdown. An even bigger one game two years later with the 49ers. While I doubted the Broncos had much of a chance in that game, I wasn't expecting a 55-10 final. The early through mid 1990s were "meh" as a fan. I recall a low scoring AFCCG loss to the Bills and a few years later a heartbreaking upset loss to the Jaguars. But remember: My family were not sports fans and we did not even have analogue or local tv when we moved to Colorado. I listened to some games on the radio and read post game reports in the paper, but this is a frustrating way to follow a team, pre-internet proliferation of daily lives.

Then to top it off, at the time of the 1997 playoffs, my grandfather was running at our church a pre-Sunday evening service youth hour. And because he had no use for the Broncos, he didn't cancel it for the Super Bowl. My mom made me go and I didn't get to watch that game live. I was so mad. I did get to watch XXXIII the following year but I can't recall why.

I graduated high school in 1999 and a month later was at Recruit Training for the Marine Corps. The entire 1999 season was a loss to me. I didn't watch a single game nor did I get a chance to look at the standings all that much. Military trainers didn't seem all that concerned we were missing out on how our teams were doing. I was generally aware the Broncos kept losing close games that year and wasn't surprised it was a down year. By December that year I was on a plane to Japan for my first assignment. Because I had a clerical type job I could on Monday mornings sometimes follow Broncos games on the game casts, and other times I would come in and the first thing I would do is read the post game reports.

I returned to the U.S. at the end of 2000 and tuned in to the Ravens 21-3 win in the WC round of the playoffs. I was still hyped that the post-Elway Broncos had managed an 11-5 season and featured a stellar offense. I was looking forward to the 2001 season, which proved to be an injury plagued disappointment. That team finished 8-8 and because I was in Southern California watching games was hit and miss. Some weeks I could get to a sports bar, some weeks GF consumed my time.

In 2002 I moved to Colorado again to start a commissioning program for the Marines. I lived in a mid-rise in Denver and tuned in to every game. In fact, despite being a fan for 15 years by that point, 2002 was the first season as a fan I could actually just sit in my apartment and watch every game. And that's exactly what I did.

I'm still in the Marines and as you can expect, I move around a bit. After school I was on the East Coast, but the 2006 Broncos were considered contenders (before disappointing us all) and I was able to catch a surprising number of games that season despite being in a very challenging post-commissioning school for officers.

I was stationed at Camp Pendleton (just north of San Diego) from 2007-2010. I caught most games during that stretch (except 2009 when I was overseas). In 2010 I was assigned to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA and that was the first year we subscribed to DirectTV. I've had Sunday Ticket every year since.

I lived on the East Coast outside of Washington DC since 2012, and I swear, Sunday Ticket is a thing of beauty!

I'd say my fandom as a Broncos fan survived despite the odds: Not being from Denver originally, limited access to media and broadcasting of games, parents not interested in the game, etc. (BTW, my parents, while not avid fans, are both Rockies and Broncos fans now. I've sort of swayed them.) I spent the first half of my years as a fan, even SB winning seasons, having to catch what I could of the Broncos, often missing some of their greatest moments. It's one of the reasons I now make sure my wife knows the Broncos schedule or won't commit to anything during football season without asking me. During our Southern California days the Broncos were slated to play on MNF and I was excited that I'd get to see them play. Beginning Wednesday the week prior I started making MNF party plans. Wings, beer, etc. I rambled on incessantly about it to her. Then on Sunday someone at church invited us to dinner the following night. My wife said OK and then broke the news to me on the way home. I told her to go and have fun but I'd be watching the Broncos. She face palmed about agreeing and forgetting about the game, but she didn't want to go back on our commitment after saying we'd go. I told her I'm not going, so she needs to decide. Bless her heart: she knows better now.

Now that we have Sunday Ticket there have been rare instances I've passed on watching a game, but there has to be a really good reason. For example, during last year's 16-10 win over the Raiders I was at a theme park with my kids. The weather here was just too nice to be inside. Ironically enough, I was also sick that day and probably should have been inside. But family time cannot be recovered once it is gone, so I agreed to go instead of watch that game.

So that's my basic story as a fan. I sometimes forget I've been a fan for nearly 30 years. Despite the early days being a bit lean, once I latched onto the Broncos and football fandom I was definitely hooked.

So let's hear your stories of how you became a Broncos fan.

NOTE: In the pre-internet years and pre-Colorado Rockies years, moving to Colorado spelled the end of my MLB fan hood. It was just too hard to follow the Angels via a 1" column note in the sports page of the paper. I lost interest in MLB until the Rockies arrived in 1993. The Rockies playing in the same division with the Dodgers was perfect: My loathing from my LA years fired right back up and today if there is any sports organization I loathe as much as the Raiders, it's the Dodgers!

Although not a Bronco fan, I do relate to some of your story as I was in Army Basic Training when the 1985 NFL season began and only got to see one game before Thanksgiving of 1985.

Was a Cowboy fan then and saw the Cowboys lose to the Bears 40something to nothing.

I was like "damn, I got off post freedom for this?"

This was when I was in AIT.

 

[nflbronco]

Are you talking about Mike Schnitker? Played for Colorado in college?

Yeah great guy too. He had a beautiful German Shepherd dog named EE and a hot wife/ex wife Marilyn

 

[Draft Crazy]

Cool story Paul.

 

[MileHigh64]

I grew up in the great state of Montana. Not having a team there, most in the area pulled for either the Vikings or the Broncos (closest teams). I chose the Broncos at a young age. The same situation exists up there today but you now have to add in the Seahawks to the mix. Of course, there are many who like the Cowboys, Dolphins, Packers, Giants, Steelers, etc. In a non NFL market like that, you usually pick your team when you are young, based on who is winning Super Bowls at the time. It was always the Broncos for me, even though the team wasn't very good when I was growing up. Yes, I'm old!

I've lived in Denver for 20 years and have been able to experience 4 Super Bowls and 3 Super Bowl victories while I've lived here. It's nearly impossible to live in Denver and not become or be a Broncos fan. Of course it was really easy for me, since they had always been my team since the early 70's. My personal favorite game was last year's AFC Championship Game. Not only did we punch our ticket to the Super Bowl but I got to witness first hand the final Manning vs. Brady matchup. It was one of the best days of my life.