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Blog Entry 35 of 82 Baseball,football,the Grateful Dead,Jesus and me
Could be politics, religion, music, sports, family life or anything in-between and outside the lines. (I refuse to say "outside the box," even if my chosen line means exactly the same thing) Chronologically, I'm 40. The consensus among those who know me best puts me somewhere between 10 and 13 in terms of maturity. I love listening to Jimmy Buffett, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers and all acts Country (except the Dixie Chicks who offended my long-held,closed-minded view of decent behavior) I have deep, strong beliefs in all things I believe in and sometimes in things I don't. I pride myself in my contradictory nature even though it is a sign of weakness to change one's mind. I have been known to waver more than John Kerry talking about national defense, though I remain steadfast in my beliefs. I am prepared to argue to the death on one issue and one issue alone; Dickey Betts should be allowed back in the Allman Brothers. On this, there is no compromise. I believe in compromise in all other areas so long as the compromise includes everything that I want or believe in. In all seriousness, I am a lucky man, blessed with a wonderful family and an uncanny ability to not care about anything if the situation requires such. I believe that minds are like parachutes in that they have been known to fail their user, albeit with a slightly lower fatality rate. So that's me, or at least that's kind of me. I mean, I felt that way right before I didn't.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~billsblog

Choakland Faiders?

Contributed by: Bill Prather   on 9/17/2007

"The time is at hand. For today, victory is ours!" shouted Oakland Raiders fans, near and far. Twas not be. For Sept. 16, the diminutive thorn in the side of the evil one proved once again, revenge is the sweetest dessert, whether served cold, warm or even soggy, with lightning tossed in for good measure.

Wow. Maybe a run-on sentence, heavy on cliche' with a side of corny. How better to describe a football game? As part of my ongoing effort to become a Coloradan or Coloradoan, I've been trying to embrace the Broncos as my favorite team not named the Ravens.

My journey began Sept. 16. For starters, I donned an orange Champ Bailey jersey and headed to the Old Town Arvada park-n-ride to catch the BroncosRide. Eight bucks round trip. Good deal. You don't have to drive and you get in and out quickly.

I love a good tailgate as much as the next guy, probably even more but sometimes it's too much effort. For those times, or for those who ride the bus, there's the Broncos Barn on the south side of the stadium.

A fin gets you in the tent where all of the early games are playing on tvs strategically placed throughout. Brothers BBQ is offered for sale as well as various liquid refreshments. Not quite "stadium prices" but not cheap either. Get there early and get a seat at a table if you like. Very good experience and well worth my five bucks.

Sunday's game against the Raiders was quite the treat! I managed to secure a pretty good seat, although it was a single. A few people questioned how much fun I could have attending a game alone. Apparently, those people aren't football fans. This is Denver! Put on a Broncos jersey and you have 76,000 friends! Besides, I'm not lucky enough to have season tix, so I take what I can get.

It's my goal this season to attend every Broncos home game that I'm in town for. I will be away for the final two home games, but I did land ducats for the other six. I got a single seat for the Raiders, Steelers and Packers. At half price! You see, if you don't mind getting a single, you can almost always get a ticket. You just need to get them soon after the on-sale date. Check online and look at the half-price tix, first. You might be surprised!

Back to Sunday's game. I've been attending NFL games since I was a youngster in Baltimore. I've seen games in over a dozen cities. I've never been at a game that was suspended for any reason. Despite the threat of lightning, that was cool! Besides, I really needed to hit the restroom and the 25 minute break meant I didn't miss a play!

How about that finish! Coach Shanahan must have really irritated ol' Al! Good for him. It's also nice to see Janikowski blow it.Guy has a million-dollar leg and a five cent head. Why do they always seem to play for the Raiders?

Quote of the day goes to Broncos fan Denise who said, "Dallas is where they go when they get out of prison. If they can't make it there, they go to Oakland." Well said, Denise!

I'm looking forward to the upcoming game with Jacksonville. I should be over it by now but I still harbor some resentment toward that town for getting the expansion team that Baltimore deserved. Oh well, we have a championship, they don't! Denver has two! Also, my Al Wilson #56 jersey should arrive by then. As a Ravens fan, I'm partial to bad-ass linebackers. Sure wish Al was still playing. Starting Sunday, I'll have my own little tribute going.

Who knows, if I keep having so much fun, I might take the ultimate step and purchase a personalized Broncos jersey! I just don't know what I would put on the name line. Maybe you can help. I'm cheap, so I'll buy the replica. I don't think I can get away with spending $290 on the real thing. I'm still getting the, "You're spoiled" speech from my wife about all the tickets. (Yes, I am spoiled and I LOVE YOU, HONEY!)

Anyway, you can get 10 characters on the replica. So far, I'm drawing a blank. I don't want to be boring and just put my name on the back. It should be something witty, or at least descriptive of me. (This is a family forum, so I guess many of you won't be able to share your ideas on that one!) I'll offer an example: on my home Ravens jersey #52, the name line says, "Ray-fans." Perhaps it's silly, but I like the way it sounds. On my away jersey (a fan must always have both, the proper jersey must always be worn, lest you unwittingly cause your team to lose) #58, KOLTZ on the name line. The reason is two-fold. One, if you say it, it comes out, "Colts." As in Baltimore. Those guys in Indy need to change the name. Second, and most important, when the Baltimore Colts were going through a tough time, my Dad took to calling them the K-O-L-T-Z. So it honors my Dad as well. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

Come on, Denver! I know there are some creative people out there!

I'm sure after one or two more games, I'll be ready to take that next step toward Broncomaniac! Please help! Just attach your suggestions as comments at the end of this column. Meanwhile, enjoy some of the more interesting folks I saw at the Raiders game. I've attached a few pix! (Some of the funnier ones can't be included here)

Perhaps more-to-come after the Jags game.


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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
Submitted By: Micheal Gieger
posted on 9/20/2007 @ 12:50:29 AM
Rated Blog Entry
Nice article Bill.
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Submitted By: Erin Feese
posted on 9/18/2007 @ 4:27:11 PM
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Nice pics -- Go Broncos!
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Submitted By: Sarah Paige
posted on 9/18/2007 @ 2:08:11 PM
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Welcome to Denver, Bill! Glad to see you're quickly converting to Broncoism. I write about football from the female perspective on my blog: http://denver.yourhub.com/~AskAWoman
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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Bill Prather

Arvada , CO

Bill Prather has posted 82 blog entries and 328 comments since joining on 7/15/2006. Bill Prather 's average blog rating is 4.45.
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