Results tagged ‘ Eric Decker ’
Bronco Cheers Turn Into Frozen Tears
1-12-13
Alternative title was:
Whadaya Know…Joe Can Throw
Layers food and adrenaline are how you deal with extended periods of cold when tail-gat’n.
Some might say booze helps. We all know it doesn’t really, but it does make being out in the cold a whole lot more tolerable. Plus if ever there was a right time and right place..Today qualified.
COLD..I like my cold with snow. No snow today. I heard a rumor this was the coldest Broncos home game since 1972. I believe it, I’ve never been cold at any sporting event like I was cold at this game. During the game unless you had club level seats there was nowhere to go to warm up.
By halftime my Coke was frozen in my cup…No joke!
Sitt’n here writing this blog entry a day later, I’m in shock, my head hurts, my bones are still cold from 7 hours in the elements and I can’t for the life of me wrap my head around this season being over.
WTF happened?
Where was my man Champ Baily? I figured he’d be money this game.
Why did the Broncos take a knee with time on the clock?
Why did Moore let Jacoby Jones get in front of him? (Worst Play Ever)
Was it something I did or didn’t do. Was it my new Jersey?
What happened to this being Peyton’s house? Denver Defense?
I felt like I did my part.
It just didn’t seem like the same team I watched win 11 straight games before today. For sure the Broncos didn’t look like a SuperBowl bound team.
I’m totally kerfuffled.
I start to wonder does Manning have a post-season jinx?(He’s now 9-11) Was it the combination of the pressure and the weather? Was his neck bugg’n him? I know when it’s cold out my back just plain hurts.
Begrudgingly…Props to the Baltimore Ravens! What a game plan on both sides. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Best of luck to ya Ray Lewis(Snitch).
K and I showed up about 3 hours early each with about 5 layers of clothes and multiple hand and foot warmers. Underneath everything I was wearing my new Broncos jersey.
It’s the one I won for the winning the Bud Light Bottle Race back in December of 2011. Long story short they it took them 11 months to send the first jersey and it was a size 56 XXXL. I had requested a 52 XXL.
It was returned back to the Broncos and just in time for this game I received my customized size 52 XXL Players Jersey. Thank you Broncos!!
I was extremely pleased with my Nikon camera for holding up in the single digit temps.
Here’s the game from a fans point of view sitting there freezing his ass off.
5th level front row.
Here’s Lee stepp’n on Champs hand to start the game off.
Holliday starts to work his way down field.
Quick look…No worries.
Damn he caught up quick…No worries I got this.
That’s how you start a game!
Feeling invincible.
A fired up Champ Baily..Before the cold set in.
Champ about to get beat bad.
I feel ya Champ…Gett’n old sucks.
What’s up with the Broncos fan wearing a Manning jersey cheering the Ravens extra point?
Tight end Joel Dreesson, starting to turn a nice pink color.
This gets ugly.
Decker gett’n manhandled.
Hit hard and the ball is loose.
Graham eyes it.
It’s his.
At this point in the game my stomach started to feel a lil queezy.
The Ravens kept changing the momentum of this game. As much as Broncos fans were cheering and making noise, it was in vain. This bird soared into the end zone.
Stomach still queezy now my toes were gett’n cold.
Manning with a sweet pass to Stokley.
Stokley with a sweet catch for a TD!
Flacco to Rice…Waaaay to much of that during this game.
Ray Lewis giving Stokley some luv.
Manning to Moreno.
Flacco Sacco.
Von pressuring Flacco. I wanted to see more of this.
Bronco Luv!
Yeah Von!
Unfortunately that pissed Flacco off.
This is seconds before Broncos fans Superbowl dreams get crushed. Flacco worms his way into position.
Winds up.
Throws a Hail-Mary.
Why Moore is where he is…Is beyond me?
One helluva catch.
The rest explains itself.
The extra point was good and so were K and I.
I hadn’t felt my toes in about an hour and my fingers couldn’t work my camera anymore. K and I decided it was time to go.
We missed nothing.
There will be NO Superbowl for Denver this year.
If Manning is gonna make (sometimes extremely cold)Denver his home for the next couple of years, the folks that can may wanna consider putt’n a retractable lid on ‘ole Mile High.
This way we can keep Manning’s hands warm and his head in the game.
Manning’s play was obviously affected by the weather. I get that, but how do you fix that? 78,000 of us witnessed first hand Manning rapidly degrade as the temperature went from damn cold to nut shriveling.
This is a sad day for Broncos fans.
Let me just say…You gotta be hardcore to be a Colorado Sports fan.
I’m ”D” the Ranter…Still in Shocko from Flacco.
Broncos Do the Deed… Secure the # 1 Seed
Chiefs vs Broncos…Game 16
The last regular season game of the year. There were only two things Krista and I wanted to see happen today. A Broncos win, and news of the #1 seed in the AFC.
DONE
I love this feeling. Being a hardcore Rockies fan winning is a strange concept to me. Winning 11 in a row is way more than anyone anticipated at the beginning of this season.
After almost 15 years of the Broncos owning a lollipop factory, finally they don’t suck anymore.
Folks..Hold your head high…Being a Broncos fan carries some weight again. Even the Rockies Rally Squirrel jumped ship and now lives near Sports Authority Field.
I figure since Rockies fans don’t tail-gate the scraps here must be plentiful. Krista and I did a little Hill-Gating with Mike the Rox Addict before the game. We shared a few of Colorado’s finest and started making plans for our Spring Training trip in 2 months 
Hill-Gating is partying on a hill next to where other folks are Tail-Gating. Admittedly not a great word but it’s my word. How many words do you have?
Von Miller
Leslie with his own brand of Chop.
This Superbowl run is for you Champ.
PFM pre-game.
Flyover
Love the broncos Toque that Champ is wearing.
Don’t know what a toque is? Let me help you.
In Canada, toque, or tuque (pron.: /’tu:k/), is the common name for a knitted winter hat, or beanie. The Canadian English term was assimilated from Canadian French tuque. Toque first appeared in writing around 1870.
The fashion is said to have originated with the coureurs de bois, French and Métis fur traders, who kept their woollen nightcaps on for warmth during cold winter days. Such hats are known in other English-speaking countries by a variety of names, including beanie (American), watch cap or stocking cap; the terms tuque and toque are unique to Canada and northern areas of the United States, close to the Canadian border.
Now you know.
First play Quinn hands off to Charles.
Quinn gets a taste of some Mile High grass
Touchdown Moreno!
With Manning at the Helm…
Broncos straight up kick the Chiefs ass 38-3..Total Domination!
On a final Broncos note..Six years ago on Jan 1 2007 cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed on New Years Day, at 24 years of age…Sad
Here’s a video tribute to Darrent.
It’s been a year folks. Lots of ups and down in our Colorado Sports world. Blogging gained absolutely no credibility in 2012 and as such a lot of sporting events are trying to restrict what type of cameras can be brought into a Stadium or Arena. They are shying away from anything with a detachable lens.
Anyone that knows me knows I don’t sell my pictures. They are online for all to view and enjoy. There’s not a lot of people out there that do what I do quite like I do it. If you know me you know….I’m not “in it” for the money.
Shit… Being ”in it” costs me money.
I rarely watch sports on TV because I love being there. That feeling of being a small part of something bigger, camera in hand waiting to catch that “perfect picture” whatever it may be that day.
Props to Coors Field and the Rockies and Sports Authority Field and the Broncos for not restricting my camera usage. I’m glad they realize I’m on their side. The Nuggets and the Pepsi Center are a different story.
Spring Training Road Trip will be early March 2013 for the Rox Addict and I.
My Spring training trip is shorter this year because we purchased a mountain ranch a month ago..
You’d think the perfect name for the ranch would be the Rockpile Ranch right? For some reason my wife doesn’t share my enthusiasm for that name. Since we’re at 9200 feet elevation the wife decided we’re gonna call it the…
“HIGH C RANCH”.
I’m “D” the Ranter.
Press Pass for the Ranter in 2013
From Krista, Hunter, Mylee , Elway, Nugget, Bronco, Karma Kitty and I…
Happy New Year and a prosperous 2013 to you…”D“
Cry me a Philip Rivers…Broncos Deliver.
11-18-12
Chargers vs Broncos
The Chargers have had the Broncos number at home for years. With the P-F-M 1000 firing on all cylinders I had a feeling that things would be different this game. Today Krista and I took our tailgat’n serious and showed up about 3 1/2 hours pregame. As it has been for every home game for the last two years the weather was perfect.
By the time we got to our seats we had missed the sky divers and the flyover. No worries. We were feel’n fine
Prader kickoff.
Willis McGahee before and after his knee injury…That sucks.
Von Miller gets set.
Boom!
Knocks the ball loose.
In your face Rivers!!
Broncos recover. Von Miller had 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Dude’s a beast!
Decker airborne for a TD!
Yeah Boy!
With that TD Decker became only the third Bronco to catch at least eight touchdowns in back-to-back seasons.
I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as usual. I’ll blame it on the unusually long pregame tailgate experience
By the way..Mikes Harder really is a bit harder..WOW
Broncos get the sweep of the Chargers at home with a final score of 30-23. Next up…Chiefs at Arrowhead. That should be a no-brainer.
I’m “D” the Ranter…What’s that 5 in a row now? After all the crappy post-Elway years, it feels like football is back in Colorado and it feels good to be relevant again.
I expect I’ll be gett’n a bill for Broncos post-season tickets soon.
Cajun Chicken Ass Whipp’n
10-28-12
Saints vs Broncos
Game 7
In the spirit of New Orleans Krista and I stopped at Popeye’s Fried Chicken for a little Cajun feast while we tailgated..
The spicy chicken strips were pretty damn good.
But I figure victory tastes better …and doesn’t give you indigestion.
Full moon today.
Not sure if Evan Dalrymple is on vacation but some Country Western guy was singing the National Anthem.
Coin toss.
Hey…Nobody rides for free!
Thunder got a workout today.
I learned my lesson about working the next day after a Broncos Sunday night game.
I took Monday off
Sucks to hear about Joe Mays who fractured his left fibula and is out for an “extended time”.
Manning crushed his thumb on Saints defensive end Martez Wilson’s helmet after a 23 yard pass to Eric Decker. His thumb seemed to be a non-factor for the rest of the game as Manning became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in four consecutive games…WOW!
Broncos are now 4-3 and the rest of the season doesn’t seem so intimidating now huh?
I’m “D” the Ranter…
Football is back in Denver baby!!…Can you feel it?
Raider Haters are Finally Celebrators
9-30-12
Game 4
Another perfect football day in Colorado.
Yeah you wished you lived here, but stay away…Colorado’s officially full!
To be honest I’m craving my first snow game, there were none last season(stupid perfect weather). If you didn’t know Krista and I along with most of Colorado are extreme Raider haters.
(This is not Krista )
The Raiders have chumped us way too many times of late and Raiders fans in Colorado have grown increasingly bold because of it.. Manning’s our ace in the hole and today’s mission was to reverse the four-year Raider domination in Colorado.
A couple of WTF’s? These two dudes were castaway from the Blue Man Group for being color blind.
Broncos have a new line of handbags for men called the Pansy Purse…Think I’ll stick to my backpack.
Folks, this is how you tailgate… You buy a used senior citizen shuttle bus and convert it Broncos style.
Boo, only thing missing in this gang is chains.
Manning pre-game.
Coin toss.
Raiders kick-off.
Manning’s first pass,…incomplete.
First drive touchdown, Manning to Dreesen. In your face Raiders
Extra point is good… 7-0 Broncos.
Manning flashing the Ranter sign
One thing I noticed was the total lack of Raiders fans. Normally Mile High is crawling with the black and silver. I don’t think I noticed 100 Raiders fans in the entire place…That’s the way is should be.
Final Score of this long overdue blowout…
Thank you Broncos…I needed this win.
I’m “D” the Ranter…Mondays are much more tolerable when the Raiders fans are speechless.
Manning’s biological clock is ticking faster than a baseball card clipped to a bike tire that’s rolling downhill. There’s no time for play’n around.
Broncos we need a win in New England next week!…”D”
Second Loss this Year…But We Got an Ear
Texans vs Broncos
Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Peyton’s house was full again ‘cept for 400 or so no-shows.
Bronco fans were all eager to see what Peyton was going to look like this week. He’s new(to us) still and we have no idea what to expect from him.
Once again I managed to snag free parking but you have to be extremely careful where you park.
Parking enforcement was out in full effect making sure you follow the difficult to understand parking signs. There were no shortage of tow trucks to remove your car in case you F’ked up and read the sign wrong.
Broncos introductions.
Coin toss.
Rod Smith’s Number was being inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame today so they Broncos were giving away Rod Smith trading cards.
Rod’s position in the Ring of Fame is next to Shannon Sharpe.
Kick-off.
Joe Mays get’s the Mike Tyson award for ear removal when he leveled Schuab. Mays hit him so hard a piece of Schuab’s ear actually came off…That’s nasty!!
Quote from Schuab: “I felt fine. I just lost a piece of my ear, I was bleeding and my helmet came off so I had to come out for a play, but I was fine.”
Click to enlarge
Peyton fires one to Stokely.
Caught.
Scores!!
Less than a minute left, the last throw of the game to Decker.
Who then tossed it to Bell, who tried to toss it again but for not.
Final Score
I’m “D” the Ranter. It may be “Manning’s House” but Peyton needs to get his kids in line.
Raiders next week baby…”D”
Manning’s No Geezer…Just a Crowd Pleaser
9-9-12
Broncos vs Steelers Game 1
Ready as we’ve ever been, Krista and I showed up at 2pm to get our tailgate on.
Even showing up 4 1/2 hours before the start of the game we were still couple of hours late for the party. We played catch-up soaking in everything by just walking around enjoying the moment. The first regular season game is a HUGE deal in Denver and this is our second year as Broncos season ticket holders so we still kind of learning the ropes.
P-F-M jerseys were in full effect.
Today was Krista’s birthday. Pretty cool way to spend your birthday I’d say.
The Mile High “Crack of the Game”.
The new era of Manning.
I had nothing against Tim Tebow whatsoever… Because above all…I like winning.
Shot of the coin flip.
Orange is back and that’s a good thing!!
Almost caught two balloons thanks to a wind shift.
You’d think with balls of steel they’d drop quicker or you’d hear some sort of clanging noise?
P-F-M in “His” house.
Traditional flyover.
Let’s begin the picture show.
Big Ben on his ass. The way it should be!
Two-point conversion denied
Props to Porter for being the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Final Score
Broncos 31….Steelers 19
I”m “D” the Ranter…As I mentioned earlier, I like winn’n that’s why I’m grinn’n.
This season’s gonna be fun….”D”
Not Nearly as Fun as a Real One
8-26-12
Broncos vs 49ers (Pre-Season Game 3)
Ahh the football pre-season…It seems real, but sadly like a lot of things in life… it’s not.
This is our second year as Broncos season ticket holders. I skipped both preseason games last year and Krista took the kids each to a game. This year, Krista took Mylee to the Broncos/Bears game and Hunter and I checked out the Broncos/49ers.
Baseball spring training and Football preseason are two totally different entity’s.
For me, baseball spring training is relaxing, not too crowded and it’s fun to wander around the stadiums and the practice fields exploring. Plus that time of year in Arizona the weather is perfect.
The football pre-season…Not so much.
Our first visit to Dove Valley was this year on my birthday and I found it sadly unimpressive. I must admit, I’ve never attending a football preseason workout before so I had nothing to compare it to.
As we heading inside Dove Valley and I got a good look at the joint, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was expecting. I guess maybe a little more frill?
Bronco fans were packed inside like sardines on the sidelines of what looked like a high school football field but nobody seemed to mind. It was blistering hot with very little shade unless you were part of the media. The media had nice shade tents set up along the end zone.
Here’s a few photos from back on Aug 7.
Brock Osweiler
Champ Baily
It was fun, Mike the Rox Addict was there as well and I’m sure I’ll be back but not until the novelty of having Manning as our quarterback dies down just a bit.
Anyways, back to Sports Authority Field.
I was shocked that I stumbled across free parking and it was only 4 1/2 blocks from the Broncos stadium…Hell Yeah!!
Tailgating was in full swing, but on a toned down level compared to any regular season game. My mission today was to spend some quality time with my boy, watch some football and practice my photo taking skills so I’m ready to rock on Sept 9th vs the Steelers.(Broncos first regular season game).
So lets roll with a picture show.
Dudes feet were real close to those spot lights.
Go Prater!!
Matthew Willis.
Manning looking for Demaryius Thomas.
Complete.
Champ ain’t lett’n go.
Decker just before his TD catch, the football is right next to the horse’s ass. Manning played for less than a quarter and had the Broncos up 17-10.
Caleb Hanie scrambling for the ball.
Broncos led 24-10 at the half. I felt like Manning and most the starters looked pretty good.
That soon changed. Because it’s pre-season I’ll spare you the details and make a long story short.
Final Score
49ers 29…Broncos 24
I’m ”D” the Ranter and one thing is for sure, pre-season games may be a joke but the Rant is serious business this Broncos Season.
Go Broncos…”D”
T didn’t Bow…He Buckled
10-30-11
Lions vs Broncos
Krista and I were really amped for this game along with the rest of the Bronco Nation as was witnessed by the enthusiasm of the tailgaters gett’n down in the Broncos parking lot pre-game.
I had no idea what to expect from Tebow this game. We all know he managed to pull out that win in Florida with a lot of prayers and some plain old last second luck. My opinion (which was formed during Kyle Orton’s last game) was I’d rather see Tebow lose and get the experience than see Orton’s unmotivating presence on the field.
By the end of this game that’s exactly what we got to see. Chalk this game up to experience as the inexperience of our new quarterback was painfully obvious.
Have I mentioned that I love photographing the skydivers as they enter Mile High?
These dudes are f’kn nuts.
The horse coming out of the horse.
Tebow doing the stand up version of Tebowing.
The coin toss. If you look close you can see the coin.
Right off the bat the Broncos marched downfield and scored a touchdown that for some reason was not a touchdown in the referee eyes. The play was reviewed and in the end wasn’t changed.
The Broncos settled for a field goal.
Then the game went from bad to worse.
All I could do is watch in disbelief and take pictures. Here you go.
Champ Baily doing what he does best.
Well amost…Johnson broke the tackle and scored.
This game was painful to watch. Even more painful if you paid to watch it.
Final Score..Lions 45 Broncos 10
I haven’t given up on Tebow. Stuff like this helps a fellow build character. But if you listen closely you can hear the rest of America saying “See Denver, you get what you ask for”.
And they’d be correct.
I’m the Ranter…Baby steps, as painful as they may be.
I’m not going ot tell Tebow “He can’t do it”.
Go Broncos…”D”
Orton Hears A Boo…Or Two
10/9/11
CHARGERS VS BRONCOS
The end of baseball season for me means Nuggets basketball (although this season is a bust), and Broncos Football. If you follow this blog you know it’s not limited to baseball. I’m a Colorado Blogger and with that said I need to be flexible, so I blog about all kinds of events from Judas Priest concerts to my little town of Nederland’s famous “Frozen Dead Guy Days”.
After almost ten years on the Broncos season ticket waiting list our number finally came up and Krista and I were offered the opportunity to purchase season tickets a few months ago. My wife is probably a bit more of a football fan than me(and a lot less of a baseball fan), but I’ve been a solid Broncos fan since 1989.
She supports me hanging out with the Rantics at Coors Field so I didn’t hesitate to get her the Broncos season tickets.
Happy Wife = Happy Life
The plus side is I get to go too Hunter and Mylee both were able to attend the two home pre-season games and they had a great time.
Our seats are on the fifth level and only thing in front of us is a railing. Cool thing, not too far from our seats is the Broncos fan mascot known as the Broncnater.
Here’s the Broncnator in full effect on the Big Screen.
Here he is in person.
Gotta respect a guy who puts his trademark name on his Jersey
This particular game was my third Broncos game of the season and although it was the Broncos forth loss I felt this game was blog worthy. The game kicked off the with the announcement that the skydivers were jumping out of the plane. Everyone stands there and looks up and waits for the skydivers to enter the stadium.
If you’ve never seen live before this it can get a bit tense at times as these dudes swoop over extremely close to the crowd. Once these guys manuver themselves inside the stadium they are haul’n a-ss.
Nobody took a boot to the head so I’d call this one a perfect landing.
Then there was the flyover…That never gets old…Jets will always be cool.
Ok, I was not on the Tebow bandwagon at the beginning of this game. I like Tebow but I figured he needed more time to learn the Broncos system and mature. But I’m not seeing anything I like from Mr. Orton thus far into the season.
Not long into the game the boo’s started because of Orton’s performance and not long after the Tebow chants started to echo the stadium.
I felt bad for Orton but not only did he put on a lackluster performance he just looked like he wasn’t into it. Body language says a lot. Kyle’s body language said..”Bench Me”
Coach Fox succumbed to the crowd pressure, pulled Orton, put in Tebow and the Broncos were back in the game. Something about Tebow, when he is on the field it feels electric. It’s like the Mile High Magic is back.
Say what you want, I was there and I felt it.
Here are some random game pictures.
This dude is gonna be great.
Gets the two point conversion.
Decker Flying
This catch was one Coach Fox reviewed. He clearly had possession.
Upon further review it was a reception.
Champ Baily doing his thing.
Sends Mathews airborne.
Mathews lands and loses possession of the ball.
Broncos ball.
Rivers attempts a throw to Jackson.
Jackson thinks he has it.
I think at this point Jackson knows he’s lost it.
The Broncos had a chance to win the game with one second left close to the goal but it wasn’t to be.
Broncos lose to the Chargers. The final score was 29-24. I’ve never exited Mile High with a loss and seen the crowd still buzzing with excitement. Is Orton done and the Tebow era begun?
By the way..Have you heard of Tebowing? You’ll love this
I’m the Ranter…I’m on the Tebow wagon, I like a quarterback with heart.
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