Keeler: Broncos fans, take a bow. You made Empower Field feel like Empower Field again. Loud. Proud.

Man, helium missed the pizza. The pizza and the smack.

John Ayala and his household parked the family’s gorgeous three-wheel trike successful batch E4 astatine Empower Field a fewer hours earlier the Broncos’ location opener connected Sunday, arsenic if the pandemic ne'er happened.

About 20 yards away, a ample tailgate of astir 50 oregon truthful New York Jets fans had gathered, hoping for the champion but, with a rookie backmost connected the road, knowing better.

Every fewer minutes, the pack successful greenish launched into their beloved cheer successful unison:

“J-E-T …

And, each time, earlier those 50 got to the “S” successful “Jets,” John oregon his member oregon a relative would locomotion implicit to the trike and propulsion a lever that acceptable disconnected the parent of each horns.

“This is beautiful,” Ayala said of Sunday’s location opener. “It’s being capable to stock a camaraderie with others who are the aforesaid arsenic you — bluish and orange.”

“J-E-T …”

Honnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnk!

“You perceive to music, get a brew and a shot, person a bully time,” John continued. “It’s beautiful, man.”

Especially because, similar astir Broncos fans, Ayala couldn’t bash this past year. And for a feline who grew up partying successful the southbound stands, it wounded similar Hades.

AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post

Denver Broncos mascot Miles gets the crowded hyped during the archetypal 4th against the New York Jets astatine Empower Field astatine Mile High connected Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.

His woman works for the Department of Public Health. With a newborn owed successful August 2021, John got each vaccine changeable helium could. And erstwhile Ayala enactment down a deposit connected his Broncos play tickets for 2020, realizing that the likelihood of really getting into the gathering were slim, helium took the enactment to propulsion those seats into 2021.

“I was looking astatine immoderate of the (first two) games we played distant and I was amazed by however galore Broncos fans (there were) — the orangish was conscionable unbelievable,” Ayala said. “So Broncos Country is hard core. And having Teddy Bridgewater and possibly (general manager) George Paton, that’s gonna beryllium the caller section successful these games.”

The upwind was perfect, adjacent if the postulation travel wasn’t. Shutout? Check. 3-0 start? Check. Postseason momentum? Check. The archetypal Broncos crippled astatine afloat capableness since December 2019 managed to compression successful a small spot of everything, unrecorded euphony included.

A fewer tons down from John and his family, Sergio Gomez, a autochthonal of Barnum West, danced and swayed down a elephantine grill successful C11, portion section set El Pollo Y Su Pandilla — The Chicken And His Gang — played with gusto conscionable implicit his near shoulder.

“This is Denver, Colorado, close here,” Garcia shouted implicit the music.

“This is what Denver is each about. It’s astir the Broncos. It doesn’t substance who you are oregon wherever you’re from. We tin each unite for the aforesaid thing: The Denver Broncos.”

Scale of 1-10, however overmuch did you miss this past fall?

“Oh an 11,” Gomez shouted, this clip with a grin. “An 11.

“Going successful that stadium, triumph oregon lose, you’re there, supporting the team, supporting the city, supporting the state. It’s astir diversity. Everyone comes unneurotic erstwhile it comes to the Denver Broncos.”

And erstwhile it comes to giving grief to visiting fans.

“J-E-T …”

Honnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnk!

That’ll amusement ’em.

“There are lone 8 of these successful Colorado,” Ayala said of The Bronco, which features a 454 big-block Chevy motor and Broncos-themed airbrushing from beforehand instrumentality to backmost bumper. “The framework is from New Mexico. Everything other is custom.”

All the mode to the retention container successful the back, a furniture lovingly adorned with a coating of Empower Field and the numbers from the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.

“I deliberation (normalcy) is going to instrumentality a small bit, due to the fact that radical aren’t truthful definite that this is the existent deal,” Ayala reflected. “The past 5 years, we’ve had immoderate atrocious decisions and quarterbacks.”

With that, idiosyncratic handed him a sheet with 2 steaming pizza slices connected top. Old habits successful E4, they dice hard.

So bash aged friendships.

“This is my boy, close here,” John laughed. “They marque their ain pizza. You conscionable just radical from each implicit the spot here. You get to cognize each other. It’s similar a family. It’s a community. It’s beautiful.”