With one week until the beginning of training camp, it’s been a slow news week in Broncos Country. Don’t worry, folks. Things will pick up. Before you know it, training camp will wrap up, preseaon will begin, and then we’ll jump right into the regular season before you can say “Brett Favre’s a backup?”
With that said, let’s move on to another hot topic in the Denver area. I’m pretty excited that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Denver. Because Barack Obama moved his acceptance speech to Invesco Field, it will give more people the chance to be part of a historical presidential nomination. I will be tailgating outside of Invesco if they allow it. I would be tailgating if McCain were speaking at the event too. It’s about participating in something that doesn’t happen very often in our country.
People tailgate for sporting events, concerts, and here in Colorado we even tailgate during the last day of ski season. Why not tailgate for a big political event like this? Tailgating is as American as apple pie. Summertime is about throwing brats on the grill, grabbing a cold one, and enjoying the nice weather. We do it on the 4th of July, the most patriotic holiday, so it makes sense why tailgating and the election go together.
Jessica Brady, a reporter for Roll Call, a newspaper on Capitol Hill, knows that I feel this way. She even wrote an article about tailgating during the DNC. Here are some excerpts from her article, Democrats Eye Red Meat, Blue State:
"Political conventions are steeped in patriotic tradition, and with likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) acceptance speech moved to Invesco Field at Mile High, home to the Denver Broncos, Democrats might have to make room for another American tradition — tailgating.“Politics and tailgating really go hand in hand,” said Denver resident Kim Constantinesco, 25. “People want to feel like they’re really taking part, and what better way than drinking a beer and enjoying the scene to show your support?”Denver Broncos fans, who celebrated back-to-back Super Bowl victories in the late 1990s, are recognized throughout the league as savvy tailgaters. This year, they also represent crucial voters in a swing state. Colorado voted 52 percent for President Bush in 2004, but Obama backers are aiming to play off the convention momentum to turn the state blue.Invesco Field, just off Interstate 25, is surrounded by at least 20 parking lots that stretch far beyond the stadium’s perimeter, but the lots closest to the stadium will likely be closed off for security. The committee has yet to determine what to do about the outlying lots, which hopeful tailgaters say would be prime real estate for pre-speech celebrating.“No matter how far away you are from the stadium, it’s still going on,” Bergeson said of the typical game day scene at Invesco, which he expects to be replicated for the fan-favorite Democrat.“Tens of thousands of people in Denver that night won’t be in Invesco, but they’ll want to be together to watch and celebrate,” Denver Host Committee spokesman Chris Lopez said. “It would be great [to tailgate]…”The University of Colorado and Colorado State University football teams play each other at the same stadium just three days after Obama’s speech in the cross-state rivalry game dubbed the Rocky Mountain Showdown.“A lot of people will want to come out to show their school pride and civic involvement,” Jesse Jensen, president of the CU College Democrats said, predicting a strong showing of Buffalo fans for Obama. “We’ll be out there for sure.”"