Denver Broncos (NFL) 2017

Team:  Denver Broncos

Year:       2017

Game:     New England 41 Denver 16

Rating:    8
Cost Index:  High
Tickets:  Moderate

Stadium:  Sports Authority Field

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Air Force, Colorado State, Colorado, Wyoming
Don't Miss:   The Highland Neighborhood, city of Denver in general

Avoid:  If there is something to avoid in Denver I didn't see it

Attendees:  Bones, wife, Polychronopolous, The Lees, BMills

Denver: We were in Denver for the weekend, I had only been once and that was over 10 years ago. Denver is interesting because it is growing leaps and bounds.  It's working toward hitting it's peak, but it's not there yet.  It's on the rise. 

We had a good time eating and drinking. There were five of us in one pod and another five in another, we were all staying at Airbnbs in the Highland neighborhood.  The first night there we had some excellent Ramen at Uncle, got some drinks at Williams-Graham (the Mick Jaeger changed my opinion on drinks....if you can make a first class drink using Jaegermeister the possibilities are endless).  We also made a trip to one of the dispensaries to get that out of the way.

On Saturday I went to the Colorado-USC game in Boulder.  This is covered in another post.

Pre-game: We did some day drinking downtown.  Nothing special to report there.  Also grabbed a couple of beers at Brian Common Brewery right outside of Sports Authority Field.

Game:  The Patriots kicked their ass fueled by Denver's horrible special teams.  There was a fumbled punt, a kickoff returned for a TD and a blocked punt.  These mistakes rendered the game noncompetitive.  The atmosphere was very good for an NFL game.  The fans were really nice, I didn't see any obnoxious shit.  Though the fans did seem a bit resigned because the Broncos have fallen so far, so fast.  Their defense is very average, we've already covered special teams, the starting QB is Brock Osweiler.  I would not mind coming back here for a big game.

Stadium: Sports Authority Field at Mile High.  Not bad for a newer NFL stadium....but it's still an NFL stadium.  Not a lot to comment on here.  Very vanilla.

Post Game: This was a night game and Denver is not a late night spot.  There weren't many options for a drink after the game so we went back to our Airbnb.

Game Recap:  http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400951690

Colorado (PAC 12) 2017

College:  The University of Colorado

Year:       2017

Game:     USC 38 Colorado 24

Rating:    8
Cost Index:  Average
Tickets:  Easy, game was not sold oud

Stadium:  Folsom Stadium

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Air Force, Colorado State, Denver
Don't Miss:   Ralphie's run!  They have it at the beginning of each half as long as Ralphie is in the mood

Avoid:         Nothing to avoid, but don't plan on tail gating.  

Attendees:  Bones, Wife, Cousin, Polychronopoulos

Pre-game:  This game was part of a family trip combined with the Patriots Broncos game.  We stayed in Denver, which is about an hour away.  The game was in the afternoon so there wasn't a lot of pregame activity.  We got there about 90 minutes before hand and had food and a beer at the Rayback Collective, which is an outdoor space with food trucks and beer.  Nice place, was not crowded but didn't spend enough time there to have an opinion.

Game Experience:  It was a good time. Definitely not one of college footballs most intense game day sites but it had it's moments.  They have a field house attached where you can BUY BEER.   The only catch is that you have to drink it on the concourse, you can't bring it back to your seats.  The game was against USC and didn't sell out...I get that Colorado is down this year compared to last but you would figure they would get out for USC. 

I definitely wanted to see Ralphie's run.  It was cool.  It's not the War Eagle flying down but it's still pretty good. 

Stadium: Folsom is a jewel.  The design is cozy and the backdrop of the mountains definitely adds to the atmosphere. The stadium expansions

Post Game: There wasn't a whole lot of incentive to hang around after the game.  Neither the tailgate or the bar scene looked

Overall:  Good, but not great spot.  I would consider going back again under the right circumstanced (Both teams would have to be ranked).

Recap:  Game Recap:  http://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=400935319