Sports Authority Field

And here I am at Sports Authority Field! 

It should be a good one, as Peyton and company go against the Chargers at my first ever Thursday Night Football game. Unfortunately, Wes Welker, one of Manning's key weapons, is out, which means any op to tie Brady's single-season TD record tonight is less likely.

I flew out of NY this morning, met a colleague for lunch, and now am joining a retired former co-worker for the game.



This is my first new NFL venue of the year, and finishes off the AFC West for me. After this game I will have seven teams left to see. I focused on finishing off the baseball stadiums this year, so didn't make a lot of progress with football. I hope to pick up the pace next year, which should be easier, as I only have to see one team west of the Rockies (the Niners), and just three west of the Mississippi River. And speaking of west of the Mississippi, this trip preserves a streak of at least one annual trip west of the river that started back on 1991.

I typically avoid December road games because of the potential for flexing schedules and especially bad weather. But, I could only do this trip at this time of year to manage its dual purpose: I head to Breckenridge tomorrow, finally skiing in Colorado for the first time, and skiing outside of the northeast for the first time since 2001.

I knew I would have ski clothes with me, so wasn't too concerned about cold weather at this game, but it is considerably milder than expected. Of course, it isn't T-shirt weather either, yet I have my trusty team-neutral NFL shield shirt on. It's under several layers, though. I will certainly root for the home crowd, especially after what the Bolts did to Peyton's brother a few days ago.

I had to get up at 4:30 to make the flight to Denver. Thankfully, I slept a bit on the plane. With the time change, the game should end around 9:30, and I should be back at the hotel by 10-10:30 or so. That works out well, as I need to get up early again tomorrow, to catch the shuttle to Breckenridge!

Time to watch the game!

And thanks to Tim for leading me to the BBQ and craft beer stand! Great to see you.
Location: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, 1701 Bryant Street, Denver

Comments

  1. TomDecember 17, 2013 at 5:19 PM

    Yeah, well, it was a fun game for awhile. I had a couple of pints with Tim before the game, then headed down a level to where my seat was. Oddly, it felt a good 10 degrees warmer in that mezzanine level (perhaps because heat gets trapped below the overhang). Anyway, Peyton threw a TD early, then the Chargers took over. Peyton threw one more TD to make it seem like the Broncos would stage another late comeback, but then did a pretty good impression of his little brother, and sealed the game with a pick. Chargers win 27-20.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Revisiting the great state-border-crossing challenge

Image
When I posted this at the beginning of 2020, the pandemic hadn't cut into any travel plans and I hadn't really identified paths to getting to the last bunch of state border crossings I needed. However, after crossing a few more in the last year, being close but not too close to a few others I was missing, and especially talking to more folks interested in this idea, well, the quest has gained some traction. One of the things that remains both fun and frustrating about this venture is how recently it came into my consciousness. Decades of road tripping led me so close to some of these state borders I'm still missing. If I had any inkling this would be something I'd end up pursuing, at least another half dozen crossings would have been completed. But it's also a reason to go back to some of these areas, which works well with other travel goals. After all, I keep finding more things to do in many states—NPS sites, ballparks, breweries, etc.—so I know I'll be plann
Read more

New York counties, and then some

Image
 <I wrote this while on a flight to Chicago around this time last year, and just noticed it in my drafts much closer to finished than I recalled... 😀> At the start of 2021, one of my two posts was about my progress for reaching every corner of New York: I had set the goal of doing something in each of the state’s 62 counties. By "something", I meant an NPS site, a state park, a sporting event, a brewery or something else (for me, "something else" included the Corning Museum of Glass, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Howe Caverns, county fairs, etc.). At the time, 55 of them could be considered done. Since I had updated my other post of early 2021 early in 2022—the great state border challenge—it seemed appropriate to update my New York county post too, especially since it's now two years since I've completed that quest. Yes, I went 62 for 62 in June of 2021, when my quest was completed with a state park and brewery in Chautauqua, the state’s westernmost c
Read more

Tipping and ripping the cap

A belated tip of the cap to this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. I know the NFL and NBA Halls had their 2010 inductions more recently, and an eventual nodding of the helmets to the former may follow. It’s just that a recent conversation prompted this post. In this era of free agency, the need for players to don one team’s cap over another when their plaque is created seems to be something of a relic, especially when a player has left an indelible mark on multiple teams. Even if the bulk of his career or prime numbers rest mainly with one team, should that team be solely associated with that player when he gave another some great years? Conversely, if, say, a contract or personal quarrel leaves bad blood between a player and the team where his HOF numbers were earned, should that player have the right to select some team where he had less impact? Admittedly, most inductees do lean to one team or another in terms of career dominance, and Wikipedia, under the "Players with mu
Read more