FanPost

Dear Mrs. Bowlen and Mr. Ellis ... From a Broncomaniac (Revoked) Season Ticket Holder

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

March 13 2017

Annabel Bowlen, Owner

Joe Ellis, President and CEO

c/o Denver Broncos

Dear Mrs. Bowlen and Mr. Ellis,

Good day. I’m writing in regard to your newly announced Broncos policy to cancel season ticket-holders’ accounts without warning – because an outside attendance audit determined that we’re essentially "not real Broncos fans." This is very humiliating and this cannot be farther from the truth for most of us.

I’ve never had the privilege of meeting either of you, but by all accounts, you are truly decent people who care and appreciate your customers. Besides, my parents always taught me to give people the benefit of the doubt. So I’m hoping that you can help me, as well as many other unfairly revoked season ticket-holders who should've, at the least, been given an opportunity to explain themselves.

A little perspective why I’m personally upset about the current actions: I’m more than an avid Broncos fan – I’ve been called a "Broncomaniac" and "Broncos Superfan" by local and national media during recent Super Bowl weeks that I’ve visited (11 of last 16). I do whatever I can to pay forward the Broncos orange-and-blue and represent Broncos Country proudly. If you Google my name and "Super Bowl" or "Broncos," a plethora of article links will result. In Houston, I actually lobbied key Hall of Fame voters on behalf of TD (even made an impromptu speech!).

In this context, please allow me to explain how both your actions and assumptions, however well-intentioned, are misguided and hurtful to affected fans like me:

1) You’ve dismissed longtime customers of yours’ – I’ve heard of 50+-year STHs being revoked – without giving them an opportunity to respond. Assuming the worst in your loyal customers is not the Broncos organization that I know and love.

2) Given your family’s personal circumstances, it is surprising that no benefit of the doubt (empathy?) was given to these fans the same way you deserve. Life can be cruel as you know – people have unexpected, often-horrible health issues, life events (birth of child, family member death, divorce, job loss, etc.), relocations (often involuntary), and even safety concerns (more on the latter, later).

3) Why penalize STHs for using your specified fan-to-fan site, NFL Ticket Exchange – when you imply use of another site when a ticket buyer acts inappropriately will cause STH revocation. This punitive action also applies if you sell your tickets at face value to a Broncos fan whom you don’t know extremely well. Following your STH terms, for that reason, I have ONLY offered my extra tickets to people I can personally vouch for; otherwise they MUST go on Ticket Exchange as you have insisted.

4) The onus on revamping a broken system should fall on the Broncos. For example, could you facilitate STHs (who know they can’t attend a full season in advance) the ability to resell at face value a half-season (designated by a certain date) to waiting list members (rights remain STH’s, gives new fans access, new fans pay the processing/reissue fee)? Or like the Pats, restrict who can buy-sell on NFL Ticket Exchange to minimize broker access? Or, better yet, impose a per-game or season NFL TixEx ticket limit?

On a personal level, your STH revocation policy is especially frustrating – because I proactively asked the Broncos for help regarding safety concerns and it was not meaningfully addressed.

· I was assaulted (unprovoked punch to back of my head, I almost fell to next row) in January 2016 (AFC Championship) by a fellow STH who is usually inebriated and whose conduct is usually more annoying (spilled beer-food in/on us). I’m tolerant until there is intentional physical contact.

· In my Broncos outreach, I explained I was uncomfortable being seated near this person again (all past guests expressed reluctance, too). And that my only solution was to resell my tickets on Ticket Exchange, then repurchase games (unless a better solution). The Broncos' "help" was that Security would "watch" in the future if we both attended.

· My "solution" to avoid conflict-confrontation and ensure safety proceeded. I resold all tickets on NFL Ticket Exchange by September, then repurchased 5 home games plus 1 road game (family-health issues prevented 1-2 more games). With seats in secure location, I treated 3 people who had never been to a Broncos game and/or in good seats (it was an amazing experience for them and joyful for me!).

· On Friday (March 10), I received the "revocation email" despite finding a good-faith solution and still attending 5 home games (plus 1 roadie). How frustrating..knowing you had my circumstances (in writing) on file for a year and were empowered to verify my 2016 Ticketmaster-NFL Ticket Exchange purchases.

Mrs. Bowlen and Mr. Ellis, I sincerely hope that my story and ideas may help to change the Broncos’ policy to be fair to all involved. In watching you both from afar, I know you both to be decent people who love and respect Broncos Country the way I do. I’m hoping you’ll do the right thing going forward to resolve what has become a very humiliating experience for me and many others. Right now, my Broncos enthusiasm and spirit is zapped.

Best regards,

Ron.....aka a "real Broncos fan" raring to root on his Broncos onto another Super Bowl title


This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.