Denver Broncos fans were screaming with joy Sunday night after their team won a wild, up and down contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers that at times left the orange faithful frustrated and anxious.
After worrying for more than three quarters about a battle that refused to leave back-and-forth gridlock, supporters were dancing, chanting and even crying tears of joy as they left Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
“It was a battle,” said Andrew Trujillo, of Pueblo, as he stood wearing a wig of curly orange hair with a smile plastered across his face. “We took care of business.”
PHOTOS:
“I never doubted my boys,” said Denverite Jackie Eiland of the 23-16 victory.
At the game’s half and with the Broncos trailing, fans huddled in the stadium’s halls nervously complaining about dropped passes and an offense that seemed incapable of stringing together plays. People stood in hushed groups trying to figure out what was going wrong.
“If we could catch a (darn) ball we would be good,” one man said.
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“We need to step it up,” said a woman.
But near the end of the fourth quarter, a crowd of nearly 77,000 that had been silenced by several successful Pittsburgh drives sprung back to life with roars that shook the stadium’s seats.
Running back C.J. Anderson’s plow into the end zone to give the Broncos the lead with just over 3 minutes left in the game set off a wild chorus of cheers that came minutes after angry boos. It was as if a switch had flipped.
“I was a little worried there for a bit,” said Lance Waite,Windsor.
Waite said coming into the game, like others he thought the Broncos would roll over the Steelers in a quick rout to the AFC championship game. From Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s first throw, however, Waite realized that wasn’t going to be the case.
“He sent a message to everyone,” he said.
Steelers fans were expected to come out in full force, but by game time Terrible Towel-waving supporters were scant in the seats and their cheers drowned out by a sea of tens of thousands donning orange.
“Thank you season-ticket holders for not selling (tickets) to fans for the other team,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock
Corina Moya, a Pittsburgh fan who drove eight hours from Artesia, N.M., to watch the battle, said she was disappointed by the lack of black and gold in the stands. She said she was expecting there to be a much larger presence.
Nevertheless, Moya had a positive outlook after the loss.
“I’m cool about it,” she said. “We (always) support our Steelers.”
Other Pittsburgh supporters said they were at least proud their team gave the Broncos a run for their money. Pittsburgh had more overall yards — 396 — than Denver.
“The whole city of Denver really didn’t think this was going to be a game,” said Brian Severson, a black and gold fan who came from Chicago to watch the game.
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The Broncos say 76,877 people — a sell-out crowd — attended the game. Just 79 people with tickets did not show up.
Fans say they plan to be even louder next week when the Broncos take on the Patriots for a ticket to the Super Bowl.
“We got this,” said Brittany Koklich of Centennial. “It’s in the bag, no problem.”
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
