The line to get inside Invesco Field and Mile High where Barak Obama is to deliver his speech at about 8 p.m. tonight stretched across the South Platte River and east under Interstate 25 viaducts.
By late morning, thousands of people crowding in for what has become an all-day spectacle.
Vendors with Obama T-shirts and Obama-Biden buttons and other political paraphernalia besieged the people waiting in line.
It was the height of politics and the height of celebrity. But many of those people — spanning all ages — said they were politically motivated to be at the event.
The point of devoting a full day to this event was “to see a change, and this is something on this level that is never going to happen again in Denver, with him being the first Black candidate,” said Josette Brashers, 30, a Petsmart dog groomer.
“We can’t stand another four years of being in a war and being in a recession. We need somebody in there to get us back to good.”
She and her husband, Mike, left their home in Brighton about 10:30 a.m. in hopes of getting into the stadium at 1 p.m. as it opens. They obtained credentials via the Internet.
Others flocking to the stadium scene included people without those coveted credentials.
Diehard Republican people-watching experts Mae Blanchard, 45, and Chris Hushion, drove to Denver from their homes near Elizabeth. They rode RTD light rail from Union Station to the stadium, even though they didn’t have passes to the event.
“I am a Republican. But I want to be part of it,” said Hushion, 60, a retired United Airlines customer service representative.
Even though there’s no chance she’ll vote for Obama, she said, “I want to be informed about what’s going on here. I would like to see some substance.
“Democrats supporting Obama said he would improve health care, pull the troops out of Iraq successfully, and seemingly solve world hunger,” she said. “I want to know how he will do all that. I’m looking for substance.”