FanPost

How I became a Broncos fan.....

How could you not be a Broncos fan seeing this? - Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Since everyone is jumping in on this contest, it's my turn to send in a submission.....

My Broncos journey started early in life. I grew up in Southwest Kansas where my hometown is about the same distance to Denver as it is to Kansas City. My family never traveled east and always traveled west in the summer. When the temperatures hit over 100 in June-August, going to a humid Kansas City was always a no-go. So my family would travel to Colorado and on occasion to Northern New Mexico (Red River mostly) for a week to two weeks in a camper. So the cool weather and high peaks of the Rockies was the first seed in my fandom.

The second seed took a little longer though. My younger brother was born with an eye issue and when he was 5, he had surgery to correct it. He and my folks traveled to Denver for the surgery in 1982. Because of school, my folks left me with my grandparents while they went out there. Fortunately, my folks brought back an orange Denver Broncos shirt with a #7 on it. I wore that shirt all the time until I couldn't fit in it.

For a time as a child during the 1980's, I didn't follow the game much and rooted for the good teams then such as the '85 Bears and some of the 49ers SB teams, but was not a full fan. What did happen was a game that locked me fully as a lifetime Broncos fan to this day....the Drive. I watched as John Elway willed a 98-yard TD drive to tie the Browns and force OT in the AFCCG. Watching that game made me a Broncos fan and I watched every Bronco game I could. Thanks to living in the Wichita, KS viewing area, I was tortured with Chiefs games all the time and I would at times get to see Denver half of the time. The only saving thing was a radio station in Garden City, KS that carried the Broncos all the time. I got to enjoy Larry Zimmer and Dave Logan give the play-by-play. That at least kept me sane and I vowed to leave Kansas as soon as I could and live in Broncos Country.

In the late 1980's the Chiefs were becoming more competitive and more people in my hometown started donning red all over the place. I was one of the few rebels that sported the orange and blue. It made for some harassment at times, but I was able to dish it out more often than not. Sadly the Broncos' success at that time always ended in embarrassing losses on the biggest stage. 39-20, 42-10, 55-10 are scores that are forever burned into my memory and the following day was always miserable. During the 90's, the team went into the wilderness for a few years with bad and mediocre seasons and saw two coaches fired. Then in 1995, the foundation was laid that made for a great run in the last half of the 90's and the twilight of Elway's playing career. Mike Shanahan returned to bring stability and discipline to a franchise hungry to win a Lombardi at least once. I was in college by then and I finally got to go to a live game at Mile High Stadium two times. I have a group of friends that took a trip to Denver in 1995 and 1996. The first game was the most special because we were able to get tickets close to the field in the NW corner of the end zone. I got to witness John Elway surpass 40,000 career passing yards and the feel of the old stadium rock with the noise.

In 1997, we all got to see the pinnacle of Broncos fandom in winning Super Bowl 32. It was a gritty dogfight which was fitting for how the franchise climbed to claim a championship. 1998 finally brought me to Colorado and another Lombardi was witnessed. It too was special, but not the same as the first title. I was also able to attend the final Monday Night Football at the old stadium. It was bitter cold and the Broncos came away with a game winning FG. With my fandom locked in, I am getting my kids trained up as Broncos fans too.

If God's not a Broncos fan, why are sunsets orange and blue?

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