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Hey fellow Mane'ers and freaks! Its good to be home again in smoky and smoggy SoCal and see that things have not changed around here. Chiefs efense is still missing its D, their trolls still lurk, Fade fan sits squarely in last place and our Broncos have control of the AFC West! Sounds like some good times indeed!
I spent the better part of the past two weeks visiting Colorado and Wyoming for the fall colors and to see the Chiefs get absolutely manhandled by our Broncos... but more on that in a minute.
First, I gotta hand out props to our fine host Meck77, Disco and the OF1 crew for being such wonderful hosts for us wayward Bronco fans who live away from our beloved team. If it were not for their hard work, dedication and open arms, many of us would probably still be stuck watching the Broncos on the tube rather than see them in person. Salute gents! You did a fantastic job yet again and it was not to be forgotten!
We'll start this journey back two weekends ago, at Ontario International Airport in California. Not more than 45 seconds after boarding the plane, did I happen to spot a Broncos wearing dude, and just my luck, he is sitting right across from my in the aisle. Talk about great omens eh? It gets better. About a minute later, here comes a brash, loud, dude wearing CU Buffs gear. Methinks this plane ride is gonna be sweet! Needless to say, I dont even think I remember the plane taking off or landing since all three of us were talking football insessently over the course of the next 2 hours. Trouble was, we accidentely started in on Fantasy Football talk and got even more people sucked into the conversation. Pretty soon it was a roundtable discussion in section 1, seats A-F
Its amazing how confident we all felt about the upcoming Chiefs game and we all had an air of excitement about the game (or it could have been lack of oxygen too?). From that moment on, I had no doubt that if a group of fans on a plane had that kind of buzz going into Monday Night, that the stadium was sure to rock like no other night and that the Broncos 12th man would make their presence known. Even if the damned air waitresses were Raiders fans, nothing would spoil this ride into the Mile High City.
After landing, I had a chance to meet up with my bro's from Boulder and enjoy my first Fat Tire on tap in over a year over at K's China rooftop over in Boulder. Its amazing how much of a dirty old man I've become when seeing the beautiful girls in Boulder and realizing that most of these girls were born at the end of the Reagan Presidency. For god's sake, I think I have lint in my naval that is older than some of these girls (how's that for a mental picture?) Anyway, it was damn good to be back in the ol stomping grounds and see that the yuppie element has managed to overtake the couchburners on Pearl Street and on The Hill and kill off most of my favorite old school hangouts. RIP Tulagi's, La Iguana, and even the Frat boy heaven over at Nick's. One last sidenote to Boulder pubs, thank god for altitude. There is nothing like a cheap SoCal drunk like me being a lightweight and only having two beers at 5500 feet and feeling a buzz. Bless that lack of oxygen.
From the hangover from the opening salvo in Boulder, I managed to spend the next day watching the Buffs get destroyed by SoCal and Breck's Canes. So much for the Return to Dominence Barney... that offense was horrid that day. But at least I got to hang with my buds and relive errrr rehydrate the buzz that I sustained a mere 6 hours earlier in Boulder. There is something pretty special about a spinning head at 9:15 AM on a Saturday
My old Boulder crew
After recollecting myself and a fresh pint of blood I managed to sober my way down to Denver for a first meeting with the OF1 LoDo tailgate.
Arriving that night in LoDo brought back that familiar mix of both sports fans who poured out from the Rockies second-to-last home game, the post-graduate snobbery element scurrying into their favority tacky watering hole, the homeless peeps looking for handouts, and the aging, cologne-overdosing preppy fratboy looking to find some former glory at the dance clubs. And the OF1 was right in the middle of that lovely soup called Blake Street. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical heh...
Upon arriving to the sea of people, cars and lack of parking spaces, I managed to see the OF1 nestled into a hell of a prime location right in full view of no less than 7 different bars and nightclubs. I knew right then I would never find parking for my ride. Regardless, I pull right up to the OF1 and in my best tone yell out... "BRONCOS SUCK!!!!!" to which I was completely drowned out by Meck's massive sound system on the bus and their party and recieved nary a dirty look at all. Have you ever been on the hanging end of a high five and not recieved a response? That is essentially what my reponse drew from the bus tailgaters. What a bad start I mumble to myself as I try with every stitch of my being to find a parking spot. Finally, ten minutes later, I spot a handicap spot right across the street from my brothers and sisters on the OF1. Did I dare try? Oh hell yes I did! And at last, I was recognized by Disco, CBF1 and an unfamiliar, yet quite familiar red-headed lady who ran across the street, in full traffic to give me a bear hug. I knew right away that it was Blueflame all right!
From there, the next 20 minutes or so were a mesh of meeting some familiar friends from the Mane again. and keeping a watchful eye on the cop element on the street, making sure I did not get a ticket. After finding a better spot right in front of the bus, it was time to relax and drink a few more beers amonst the Mane'rs. Disco and Meck had the joint hopping on the bus and CBF1, Mr. Blue and Orangebeard all had a great time as we all screamed out 'Go Broncos!' out the windows to the yuppies, drunks, and homeless. We even had a fo shuoo playa screaming at us across the street who claimed to be a Raiders fan AND a Broncos fan. It was great watching Meck go confront the dude only to see the cops shoo the playa hata away before anything fun could happen. The only disappointment from that night was missing out on meeting Sassy and Hogan11 since they were running late from the airport.
The crew, and one of the Colorado Rapids defenseman
We wrapped up the fun at around 1 am and left for the home of the OF1.
By the time we got there, I was a tired babbling wreck. I had to be up in less than 4 1/2 hours so that I could go take the first pictures of the fall colors in the Rockies, when I discovered that the fun had just begun. Meck started the grill at 2 AM and planned on cooking a feast for us all. My god, did I already need a change of blood again to survive this? No. I finally declined to continue the fun and got myself a few measly hours of sleep before jetting at 6 AM for the mountains. But rumor has it, the party went on for a few more hours before everyone passed out. Oh to be young again
Mr. Blue in Meck's Bus hangout
Mr. and Mrs. Blueflame at 2 AM ready for more
Part II coming up...
I spent the better part of the past two weeks visiting Colorado and Wyoming for the fall colors and to see the Chiefs get absolutely manhandled by our Broncos... but more on that in a minute.
First, I gotta hand out props to our fine host Meck77, Disco and the OF1 crew for being such wonderful hosts for us wayward Bronco fans who live away from our beloved team. If it were not for their hard work, dedication and open arms, many of us would probably still be stuck watching the Broncos on the tube rather than see them in person. Salute gents! You did a fantastic job yet again and it was not to be forgotten!
We'll start this journey back two weekends ago, at Ontario International Airport in California. Not more than 45 seconds after boarding the plane, did I happen to spot a Broncos wearing dude, and just my luck, he is sitting right across from my in the aisle. Talk about great omens eh? It gets better. About a minute later, here comes a brash, loud, dude wearing CU Buffs gear. Methinks this plane ride is gonna be sweet! Needless to say, I dont even think I remember the plane taking off or landing since all three of us were talking football insessently over the course of the next 2 hours. Trouble was, we accidentely started in on Fantasy Football talk and got even more people sucked into the conversation. Pretty soon it was a roundtable discussion in section 1, seats A-F
Its amazing how confident we all felt about the upcoming Chiefs game and we all had an air of excitement about the game (or it could have been lack of oxygen too?). From that moment on, I had no doubt that if a group of fans on a plane had that kind of buzz going into Monday Night, that the stadium was sure to rock like no other night and that the Broncos 12th man would make their presence known. Even if the damned air waitresses were Raiders fans, nothing would spoil this ride into the Mile High City.After landing, I had a chance to meet up with my bro's from Boulder and enjoy my first Fat Tire on tap in over a year over at K's China rooftop over in Boulder. Its amazing how much of a dirty old man I've become when seeing the beautiful girls in Boulder and realizing that most of these girls were born at the end of the Reagan Presidency. For god's sake, I think I have lint in my naval that is older than some of these girls (how's that for a mental picture?) Anyway, it was damn good to be back in the ol stomping grounds and see that the yuppie element has managed to overtake the couchburners on Pearl Street and on The Hill and kill off most of my favorite old school hangouts. RIP Tulagi's, La Iguana, and even the Frat boy heaven over at Nick's. One last sidenote to Boulder pubs, thank god for altitude. There is nothing like a cheap SoCal drunk like me being a lightweight and only having two beers at 5500 feet and feeling a buzz. Bless that lack of oxygen.
From the hangover from the opening salvo in Boulder, I managed to spend the next day watching the Buffs get destroyed by SoCal and Breck's Canes. So much for the Return to Dominence Barney... that offense was horrid that day. But at least I got to hang with my buds and relive errrr rehydrate the buzz that I sustained a mere 6 hours earlier in Boulder. There is something pretty special about a spinning head at 9:15 AM on a Saturday
My old Boulder crew
After recollecting myself and a fresh pint of blood I managed to sober my way down to Denver for a first meeting with the OF1 LoDo tailgate.
Arriving that night in LoDo brought back that familiar mix of both sports fans who poured out from the Rockies second-to-last home game, the post-graduate snobbery element scurrying into their favority tacky watering hole, the homeless peeps looking for handouts, and the aging, cologne-overdosing preppy fratboy looking to find some former glory at the dance clubs. And the OF1 was right in the middle of that lovely soup called Blake Street. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical heh...
Upon arriving to the sea of people, cars and lack of parking spaces, I managed to see the OF1 nestled into a hell of a prime location right in full view of no less than 7 different bars and nightclubs. I knew right then I would never find parking for my ride. Regardless, I pull right up to the OF1 and in my best tone yell out... "BRONCOS SUCK!!!!!" to which I was completely drowned out by Meck's massive sound system on the bus and their party and recieved nary a dirty look at all. Have you ever been on the hanging end of a high five and not recieved a response? That is essentially what my reponse drew from the bus tailgaters. What a bad start I mumble to myself as I try with every stitch of my being to find a parking spot. Finally, ten minutes later, I spot a handicap spot right across the street from my brothers and sisters on the OF1. Did I dare try? Oh hell yes I did! And at last, I was recognized by Disco, CBF1 and an unfamiliar, yet quite familiar red-headed lady who ran across the street, in full traffic to give me a bear hug. I knew right away that it was Blueflame all right!
From there, the next 20 minutes or so were a mesh of meeting some familiar friends from the Mane again. and keeping a watchful eye on the cop element on the street, making sure I did not get a ticket. After finding a better spot right in front of the bus, it was time to relax and drink a few more beers amonst the Mane'rs. Disco and Meck had the joint hopping on the bus and CBF1, Mr. Blue and Orangebeard all had a great time as we all screamed out 'Go Broncos!' out the windows to the yuppies, drunks, and homeless. We even had a fo shuoo playa screaming at us across the street who claimed to be a Raiders fan AND a Broncos fan. It was great watching Meck go confront the dude only to see the cops shoo the playa hata away before anything fun could happen. The only disappointment from that night was missing out on meeting Sassy and Hogan11 since they were running late from the airport.
The crew, and one of the Colorado Rapids defenseman
We wrapped up the fun at around 1 am and left for the home of the OF1.
By the time we got there, I was a tired babbling wreck. I had to be up in less than 4 1/2 hours so that I could go take the first pictures of the fall colors in the Rockies, when I discovered that the fun had just begun. Meck started the grill at 2 AM and planned on cooking a feast for us all. My god, did I already need a change of blood again to survive this? No. I finally declined to continue the fun and got myself a few measly hours of sleep before jetting at 6 AM for the mountains. But rumor has it, the party went on for a few more hours before everyone passed out. Oh to be young again
Mr. Blue in Meck's Bus hangout
Mr. and Mrs. Blueflame at 2 AM ready for more
Part II coming up...
And meeting Mrs BroncosBum was a treat too! After hearing so much about their wedding, I had to tell her that she was a sort of celebrity amongst us Maner's. I think I might have gotten Mr. 6263 in some trouble for that heh.
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