The Broncos are not going to mimic the Colts’ pleading to their fans not to scalp their tickets to rabid Pittsburgh Steelers fans.
The Broncos simply don’t think they need to.
“We trust our fans and expect them to show up and root for us,” Broncos vice president of public relations Jim Saccomano said. “That is the pattern of Denver fans.”
Saccomano said the team is confident most of the 15,000 individual tickets that were sold in 30 minutes Sunday afternoon will be used by Broncos faithful Sunday when the team plays the AFC championship game against the Steelers at Invesco Field at Mile High. The game, the first AFC championship game in Denver since the 1998 season, is set to kick off at 1 p.m. The vast majority of the tickets were sold locally, Saccomano said.
Last week, Indianapolis officials sent letters to season ticket-holders imploring them to keep the tickets and not sell them to Steelers fans so the Colts could keep the home-field advantage. Tickets for Sunday’s game, through brokers and Internet sites, are being offered for several hundred dollars.
Attention time
The Broncos no longer are flying under the radar. Quarterback Jake Plummer will be on the cover of the national version of this week’s Sports Illustrated. There will be regional covers for the other conference finalists.
The cover shot comes after Las Vegas sports books established Denver on Sunday as the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Suddenly, Denver, which was given little chance to beat New England by the national media, has gone from not getting any attention to pondering the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx.
Williams feeling stronger
Denver rookie cornerback Darrent Williams said he came out of his first game in five weeks feeling better than he did before the game. Williams said he believes he will be able to play even more against the Steelers than he did against New England on Saturday.
He played significantly in nickel and dime packages against the Patriots and returned one kickoff. Williams suffered a groin tear Dec. 11 against Baltimore.
“I got past the hump in the last game,” Williams said. “I think I’ll be even more ready to go this week.”
Footnotes
Plummer has earned a $250,000 contract bonus. He was to receive the bonus if Denver won the AFC West or if he made the Pro Bowl. … Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor made a bet on Sunday’s game. If Denver wins, O’Conner, who proposed the wager, will send Hickenlooper a barbecue package. If the Steelers win, Hickenlooper will send O’Conner six buffalo ribeye steaks. … Former Broncos receiver Triandos Luke signed with the Giants.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
