IS JAY CUTLER RIGHT?
Broncomania has waned in recent years
By James Merilatt
So, Jay Cutler doesn’t think Broncos fans are on par with Bears fans, eh? At least that’s what the former Denver quarterback recently said on a Chicago sports talk show, calling football fans in the Mile High City a “6,” while grading those in the Windy City at a “9.” Interesting, to say the least.
Before we all start taking shots at Cutler, however, consider the situation. He’s the new guy in town, trying to butter up to the fans and score points with the local media. He was only saying what he was supposed to say. I mean, really, did anyone honestly think he’d say the opposite? Even as a guy who doesn’t seem to care too much about public perception, Cutler’s not that much of a masochist.
That said, he did stick his foot in his mouth, no matter how he tried to spin it away over the weekend. “It's quite a bit different,” Cutler said when comparing the atmosphere in both cities. “Just the fans and how passionate they are; that’s probably the biggest difference.”
Yep, that one’s pretty straightforward. He was taking at shot at Broncos fans. But here’s the thing: He may have a point.
Before the emails start flying in, telling me that I’m an idiot columnist who sits in the press box and has no idea what he’s talking about, let me provide a little background. The 2009 season will mark the 40th in which my family has had Broncos season tickets and the 30th in which I’ve camped my fanny in my third-level seat for every home game. The team has provided the map for our family’s autumns, as we’ve planned events around home games and vacations based on road trips. We live and breathe the orange and blue.
The fact of the matter is that Broncomania ain’t what it used to be. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not.
Last week, more than 13,000 people showed up at Invesco Field for a free practice that was open to the public, and the turnout shocked everyone. The Broncos were expecting somewhere around 3,000. What? That’s laughable. And a little hard to believe.
In 1987, 63,000 people showed up at Mile High Stadium for a rally before the team’s departure to Pasadena and Super Bowl XXI. About that many showed up in 2001 for the final event at the venerable facility, a flag football game featuring John Elway and Joe Montana. Yet the team was expecting only 3,000 people to come watch the current guys scrimmage? And they were pleasantly surprised when more than 13,000 – less than the number that would consistently come out to watch similar events when the team held training camp in Greeley – showed up?
Maybe that’s what Cutler was talking about. Last week sounds like what you’d expect in a city where the fan base is about a “6.” That sounds like the kind of support you’d see in Jacksonville, Atlanta or Houston. And the 23,000 who showed up in some small town in Illinois to watch the Bears scrimmage seems like the kind of turnout you’d expect from a “9.” The numbers don’t lie.
Denver just isn’t the same town it used to be. It’s not as blue collar as it was once upon a time, meaning the people who provide the heart and soul of a fan base are outnumbered by those who go to the games to be “seen.” It’s inhabited by more transplants than in decades past, people who have allegiances to their old teams instead of the Broncos – and thanks to inventions like DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket,” they don’t have to make the switch. And it’s more active, meaning thousands of people who could be busying themselves with all things Broncos-related are too busy hiking, skiing or doing whatever other outdoor activity is en vogue.
But it’s not just the city that’s changed; the Broncos aren’t the same franchise, either. In the past 10 years, they’ve done a tremendous job of building a wall between the team and the fans. Corporate sponsors and television dollars are what matter now. The fans are simply a necessary evil – something that helps justify the money raked in from the fat cats, but not the core customer that needs to be cultivated. Consequently, Denver now has a $400 million stadium that is a worse experience for common fans – seats moved to bad locations, long bathroom lines, higher ticket prices, terrible parking, etc. – than the old Mile High, all in the name of attracting big money for suites and club seats; training camp has been moved to a location where access to the fans can be controlled, closed to the public on some days, and players can avoid having to sign autographs, while the high rollers get special VIP treatment; and the fans are forced to interact with second-tier players, while the stars are set aside for marquee events and the head coach mostly talks to the team’s “official” stations.
As a result, Broncos fans have lost their enthusiasm, at least in the rabid manner in which it once existed. Gone are the days when people showed up simply because the event has been colored orange and blue. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
People in Denver are smart enough to realize that they’ve being treated shabbily. They have an allegiance to the Broncos, but it’s not a blind one. If the love isn’t a two-way street, they pull back a little bit; they find something else to occupy their time.
So don’t be mad at Jay Cutler. He simply pointed out the obvious. Be mad at the people who may have killed the golden goose, the team who turned a fan base that was a “10” into a “6.” And hope they can figure out some way to rekindle the magic. Because it sure was fun when Broncomania was in its heyday.
