The Broncos have never "held such a tenuous grip on Denver ... as evidenced by more than 12,000 empty seats in Empower Field at Mile High" last Sunday against the Chiefs, according to Mark Kiszla of the DENVER POST. It was a "damp and dreary 26 degrees" at kickoff Sunday afternoon, but it "wasn’t just the season’s first blast of winter that kept fans away." Kiszla wrote seldom, if ever during the last 50 years, have the Broncos "been so consistently easy to ignore." Nuggets C Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA champs "might be the most likable hoops team on earth." The Avalanche "boldly seek to hoist the Stanley Cup" for the second time in three years. Colorado football coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs "stole the Rocky Mountain thunder from the Broncos in the opening month of football season." Kiszla noted the one commandment "chiseled in stone during the 38-year reign of Pat Bowlen as owner of Colorado’s most beloved sports franchise was to never take that love for granted." Broncos coach Sean Payton however "achieved what was long-thought impossible: He made the Broncos very hard to cheer for and easy to disregard." With the Walmart family fortune behind CEO and controlling owner Greg Penner, the Broncos "can afford to do almost anything they want with this football team -- except lose the attention of the most loyal fans in the NFL" (DENVER POST, 11/1).
