A day before it will host the Broncos 2012 preseason home opener, Sports Authority Field at Mile High opened its doors to players, coaches and fans for the inaugural Kickoff Luncheon.
The event was attended by every player on the roster and each member of the coaching staff. Vice President of Corporate Communications Jim Saccomano said the presence of every player made Friday afternoon memorable for everyone who attended.
“It’s really cool,” Saccomano said. “In the history of the team there have been different luncheons that have been done by different organizations, or pep rallys. But to have one in which all the coaches and all the players attended, they were all introduced and got to sit among the fans. And the fans of course bought tables, a lot of them by companies, and the Broncos charities got the money for that, which is a great thing. It really was a big event that seemed to go really well and hopefully it’s the beginning of another tradition.”
An hour after their final practice of this year’s training camp, the Broncos hustled over to their home stadium in time to enter the luncheon one by one to the applause from fans of all ages. The players sat at tables with fans who were able to get to meet their favorite players and eat lunch with them. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard said he enjoyed being able to connect with his fans.
“It was a great atmosphere with the fans and stuff,” Woodyard said. “They got a chance to really tell us how they feel about us. You get to chance to really appreciate everything that they go through throughout the season, putting the effort in and cheering for us. It makes us appreciate them a lot more.”
The participants packed the west end of the United Club Level of Sports Authority Field. Before the meal, fans enjoyed several unique opportunities. The two Super Bowl trophies that Denver won in 1998 and 1999 were on display for fans to take pictures with. Former Broncos players Billy Thompson, Karl Mecklenburg and Simon Fletcher were on hand to sign autographs, as were the cheerleaders. Both Miles and Thunder were also there for fans to take pictures photos with.
At the conclusion of the event, several lucky fans walked away with autographed Broncos memorabilia, including helmets signed by quarterback Peyton Manning and Vice President of Football Operations John Elway. The prizes were awarded to winners of both a silent auction and a raffle, with proceeds going to various charities including The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.
One of the highlights of the luncheon was a series of fan questions answered by Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway and Head Coach John Fox. The first question Fox answered was about how much the fans help raise the excitement level for the football team.
“I know in practice, training camp can be rough,” Fox said. “It can get a little bit monotonous, a little bit grueling. It’s the dog days. The fans do a great job for our players, and particularly at training camp practice. I can’t speak enough about our fans at our scrimmage that we had at the stadium. It was incredible to have 40,000-plus fans there. Our games are arguably the best home-field advantage in the National Football League.”
In an answer to a question about the difficulty of the Broncos’ schedule, Elway pointed out that no team in the league has it easy.
“Any time you win your division you’re going to get a tough schedule,” Elway said. “I think when you look at the NFL and you look at the margin of error within the NFL, everybody has a tough schedule. Anybody can beat anybody on a given weekend.”
Later, Fox talked about the difficulty of adjusting from the college game to the NFL. But he said he still expects big contributions from his rookie class.
“At the end of the day it’s still (football) and a lot of rookies make a big splash right away,” Fox said. “And we’re counting on our rookies to do the same thing.”
One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was prompted by a gesture from Elway. When asked about his favorite moment in football history, Elway paused and smiled.
“In football history,” Elway said, hesitating and smiling. “Right there, without a doubt,” he added, pointing at a picture of him in action during one of his Super Bowl victories.
The game im worried about as far as Pre-season injureries would be next wk. Man the 49s defensive front was unstoppable, hope they dont get to manning.
I think Brock should be the number 2, if anything happens to manning our season is over anyways, misewell just play him get him some live play and let manning coach him from the sidelines as far as reading defenses.
First time I ever had Sonic Burger I was on vacation in Texas as a older teen. I think that they are alright. I`ve had way to many burgers that are similar to Sonic. Boring, I`d rather have their Coney Footlong Chilli Dog with lots of cheese and unions., and Tater Tots to go with it. HaHa!!
I like the chicago dog from sonics also, but I just think their food is very bland to me. we have a couple here in victorville.
They have In n out in pheonix now
Ya, they are all over Colorado too.
In n Out has been in Arizona for awhile now. They are in Dallas Texas now. Thats wild!!
just googled alittle history
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=in%20n%20out&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&ved=0CG4QFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FIn-N-Out_Burger&ei=FgAwUKjsNKG1iwLA_4HIBA&usg=AFQjCNHlGIwaPohD_wYKnGcvZnecVg03vg
yah i didnt know that strand just thought they were local LA
Cool to know their history. I knew about them being established in 1948. Lots of locations.
Wow theirs some great history in their WOW didnt have any idea
4 hrs to go people, or 240 min or 14,400 seconds im sooooooo stoked for this game.
Miller, they just got to Dallas less than a year ago. My cousin out there called me 1 day and said, You`ll never believe this, I just drove past a brand new In n Out Burger. I gotta make a U-turn. LOL! I said, your kidding right?! His reply, The line outside is a mile long and so is the Drive thru. So what does that tell you. LMAO!!
LET-HER-RIP!!!!!!!!!
Its such a cool Navaltie joint also, ive always had a couple of their shirts, my whole life. They just sell that whole 50s scene I love it.
I guess thats what happens when you turn 51, all the old things start looking good to you LMAO
I have about 6 or 7 different ones. I even have one that says Arizona on it. Heck, I gotta get one that says Texas. LOL
get 2 from texas ill buy one from you bro, I go to Arizona 3 times a wk I could get us one, heck your only an address away lol
I could get you one from Victorville, everybody would always ask you, where n the hell is victorville LMAO
Ya, like Mock 1`s, Nova`s, Cuda`s, and Camaro`s still showing some *MUSCLE*, now what I mean?! LOL
Sounds like a plan bro. HaHa!!
Isn`t Victorville in the desert.
I need to invest in a orange jersey. So i’ll rock my orange Broncos shirt tonight! Even better that I live in Oregon amongst Seahawks.
SEACHICKENS!
Yeah your right strand!!
A little bit of some fun is all.
ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!
I get it double out here!! They hate on me bc I’m a LSU fan and a Broncos fan. Oregon fans are still bitter that my Tigers beat their ducks. While Seachickens fans just hate the Broncos from back in the division days. I loved when I had my Louisiana license plate along with my Broncos stickers all on my car!
Ready to log onto the NFL Preseason site, connect that computer to the big screen, and get my Orange n Blue scream on!
Its time to Rock n Roll!!
Let’s get ready to rumble!!!
What time is the game where you’re at? It shows here at 7 mountain time. Is that the time or is it delayed?
I know it starts 9 eastern time on Fox.
Countdown to kickoff!
1. Looking forward to see how Peyton Manning does.
2. See how all our RB`s do including Xavier Omon.
3. See if our D can continue to tackle and swarm the ball.
4. Continue with no missed tackles on D.
5. Watch for a diamond in the rough or two to stand out.
6. See how our ST play in all phases.
7. Finish the game with no serious injuries.
sounds like a pretty good list to me strand! To me, number 7 is most important……it’s horrible to lose guys to injury anytime, but even more so in a meaningless game.
I’m expecting a great game from Peyton and the other number 1′s. The D is going to have their motor going all game!
agreed #7 nis the most importantbut i cannot wait to see OMON again
2hrs, or 120mins or 7200 seconds its bronco country count down.
Excited for the game tonight! Was really pleased with the preseason opener. Looked like we had a some good depth, which is extremely important. Hope we continue to play well against Seattle tonight. Excited to see Peyton play a full quarter. And I hope Osweiler and Weber look good so we can get rid of Hanie.
Looking forward to the battle at RB as well. For whatever reason, I am not a huge fan of Ball. We shall see how they all look tonight.
Feels weird to blog, after not doing so since the new blog page was revealed. Seems like people are more excited about Peyton now, then they were when we signed him. Good news!
GO BRONCOS!
And my old name was denver0723. Had to change it, because I was unable to sign on the blogs with it. Could sign in and use everything else, but when I signed on the blogs it never took. Oh well though. Change can be good