Adam Wildenberg wore a relatively new, cone-zone orange, Peyton Manning Broncos jersey to Coors Field on Sunday afternoon. His father, Andy, sported a well-worn, blue John Elway jersey.
“I’m old-school,” Andy said, grinning and nudging his son.
Clearly, Sunday was a day for football, even at 20th and Blake, where the Rockies play.
Broncos jerseys — and other NFL jerseys — were sprinkled among the announced crowd of 26,102. One group of six fans compromised. They wore Broncos-orange ballcaps with purple CRs on the front. It was quite a fashion statement.
Inside the Rockies’ clubhouse, NFL games played on big-screen TVs. Michael Cuddyer, a huge Dallas fan, was anticipating its opener against San Francisco — alas, the 49ers beat Cuddy’s Cowboys 28-17. Injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, at the ballpark for treatment, was reveling in the Miami Dolphins’ 33-20 dismantling of the New England Patriots.
The Wildenbergs are super sports fans. They live in a loft at 16th and Blake streets, within walking distance of Coors Field, the Pepsi Center and Sports Authority Field, where the Broncos kicked off their season against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
The father and son were conflicted fans on a perfect September afternoon. After taking in four innings of the Rockies’ 6-0 victory over the San Diego Padres, they left their prime, fifth-row seats behind home plate to go tailgating in a parking lot at Sports Authority Field at Mile high. The only thing they didn’t do was venture south to Cherry Hills Country Club to join a crowd of about 30,000 golf fans watch Billy Horschel win the BMW Championship.
Andy Wildenberg has owned Rockies season tickets since the inaugural 1993 season. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day this season, something the Rockies do to honor their longtime fans. He still attends 25 to 30 Rockies games a season, but he conceded the Broncos were definitely the biggest game in town Sunday.
“We don’t have tickets to the Broncos game, but we want to be part of the opener,” said Adam Wildenberg, 21. “We got to a lot of Rockies games because we have the tickets and such great seats. Sometimes, like Friday night when (Tyler) Matzek threw a shutout, it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s good to see those gems once in a while. But it’s been very frustrating to be a Rockies fan.”
At Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, fans shouted “Let’s go Royals!” as the Chiefs were getting squashed 26-10 by the visiting Tennessee Titans. The Royals haven’t been to the playoffs since 1985, the longest drought in the majors.
The Rockies haven’t kept their fans waiting nearly that long, but the Wildenbergs pine for autumns such as 2007 and 2009, when the Rockies made the postseason.
“I come to the games because I love baseball, I enjoy the game and I have great seats,” Andy Wildenberg said. “But I’m totally frustrated. I don’t feel our owners treat this like a baseball team. I think ownership treats this like a business, No. 1, and as a team, No. 2.”
His son added: “I think the Rockies need to bring in a strong man like the Broncos did when they brought in John Elway (as executive vice president of football operations). I think the Rockies need to show the fans they are serious about winning.”
Adam Wildenberg wore a relatively new, cone-zone orange, Peyton Manning Broncos jersey to Coors Field Sunday afternoon. His father, Andy, sported a well-worn, blue, John Elway jersey.
“I’m old school,” Andy said, grinning and nudging his son.
Clearly, Sunday was a day for football, even at 20th and Blake, where the Rockies play.
Broncos jerseys — and other NFL jerseys — were sprinkled among the announced crowd of 26,102. One group of six fans compromised. They wore Bronco-orange ballcaps with purple CRs on the front. It was quite a fashion statement.
Inside the Rockies’ clubhouse, NFL games played on big-screen TVs. Michael Cuddyer, a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, was anticipating their opener against San Francisco (alas, the 49ers beat Cuddy’s Cowboys 28-17). Injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, at the ballpark for treatment, was reveling in the Miami Dolphins’ 33-20 dismantling of the New England Patriots.
The Wildenbergs are super sports fans. They live in a loft at 16th and Blake Street, within walking distance of Coors Field, the Pepsi Center and Sports Authority Field, where the Broncos kicked off their season against the Colts Sunday night.
The father and son were conflicted fans on a perfect September afternoon. After taking in four innings of the Rockies’ 6-0 victory over the Padres, they left their prime, fifth-row seats behind home plate to go tailgating in a parking lot at Sports Authority Field. The only thing they didn’t do was venture south to Cherry Hills Country Club to join a crowd of about 30,000 golf fans watch Billy Horschel win the BMW Championship.
Andy Wildenberg has owned Rockies season tickets since the inaugural 1993 season. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day this season, something the Rockies do to honor their longtime fans. He still attends 25-30 Rockies games a season, but he conceded the Broncos were definitely the biggest game in town Sunday.
“We don’t have tickets to the Broncos game, but we want to be part of the opener,” said Adam Wildenberg, 21. “We got to a lot of Rockies games because we have the tickets and such great seats. Sometimes, like Friday night when (Tyler) Matzek threw a shutout, it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s good to see those gems once in a while. But it’s been very frustrating to be a Rockies fan.”
At Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium Sunday, fans shouted “Let’s go Royals!” as the Chiefs were getting squashed 26-10 by the visiting Tennessee Titans. The Royals haven’t been to the playoffs since 1985, the longest drought in the majors.
The Rockies haven’t kept their fans waiting nearly that long, but the Wildenbergs pine for autumns such as 2007 and 2009 when the Rockies made the postseason.
“I come to the games because I love baseball, I enjoy the game and I have great seats,” Andy Wildenberg said. “But I’m totally frustrated. I don’t feel our owners treat this like a baseball team. I think ownership treats this like a business, No. 1, and as a team, No. 2.”
His son added: “I think the Broncos need to bring in a strong man like the Broncos did when they brought in John Elway (as executive vice president of football operations). I think the Rockies need to show the fans they are serious about winning.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
Updated Sept. 8 at 9:48 a.m. The following corrected information has been added to this article: Because of an error, Adam Wildenberg’s first name was initially omitted.
