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Good morning, Broncos Country!
There is no doubt the event was downright bizarre.
Fifty years later, that still is the case.
It was on this date in 1967 the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders played a preseason game at North Platte High in North Platte, Neb. The Omaha World-Herald had a fun story on this on Saturday, and fans should read about the history.
It's hard to believe now, but the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos played a 1967 preseason game in North Platte https://t.co/dCxDCRJ62V pic.twitter.com/91lLEslhio
— Omaha World-Herald (@OWHnews) August 26, 2017
From the story:
Kent McCloughan, the Broken Bow, Nebraska, boy who played cornerback for the Raiders in the 1960s, recalls how odd it was.
“I can remember people saying ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ ” said McCloughan, now 74.
The Broncos need to do this again; especially since training camp is no longer in Greeley. Yes, they do tours of different parts of the state, but expand on that.
The organization would pick a city with facilities and amenities capable of holding an event like this and give the fans/community the chance to experience the Broncos. My thought was to use communities with college stadiums, so Laramie, Wyo., Spearfish, S.D., Missoula, Mont., Chadron, Neb., Salt Lake City or Provo, Utah, Albuquerque and even Grand Junction.
Let’s say War Memorial Stadium is the choice for a preseason game. Imagine what that would do for Broncos fans from Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and perhaps Montana. Imagine what that would do for the Laramie economy as well.
Let’s say Spearfish and Black Hills State is the choice. The people of West River wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if the Broncos came to the Black Hills to play a preseason game. It would give fans from across South Dakota, northern Wyoming, Nebraska and perhaps North Dakota a chance they may never get. Looks like James Merilatt and Andrew Mason agree.
I'd love to see this. Or even at college venues. Packers used to host games in Madison; Broncos played Packers there as recently as 1999.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 26, 2017
These locales have the facilities/amenities to support the games, teams and fans to pull this off. In terms of the game, it could be the first or fourth of the preseason. On top of that, the Broncos also could hold practices at high schools in the area and open them up to the public like they do training camp.
If Broncos Country knows no bounds, this is the perfect way to continue to grow the fanbase but also help local economies in the process.
It worked 50 years ago, so at least look into it and see if it’s possible today.
Broncos Tracks
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AFC West Tracks
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With two preseason games in the books, it’s again time to predict which players are going to make the final roster.
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A knee injury to Kansas City Chiefs running back Spencer Ware may or may not be long-term, but it points to the constant state of flux when it comes to NFL running backs and leaves rookie Kareem Hunt as the evident starter pending Ware’s return.
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Although Cordarrelle Patterson has yet to make his kick-return debut with the Raiders, he says he's ready to make some long runs when the time comes.
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The excuse that ‘it’s the preseason’ doesn’t fly when talking about the Raiders defense. They were among the worst defense in the league last season (26th), unable to stop the run or the pass.
NFL Tracks
Julian Edelman and Spencer Ware's injuries show how dangerous the preseason can be - SBNation.com
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Where is Chip Kelly? Find him on ESPN’s college football broadcasts in 2017 - SBNation.com
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Joe Thomas is embracing the hell out of this graphical error about him - SBNation.com
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