Originally Posted by
Dagzie
For what it’s worth, here’s my take. I’ve just returned from a week in Vegas and we flew to Denver for the day for the game.
As soon as we landed there were Americans at the train station going to their first rugby league game. One in particular we spoke to was a medical student who’d played a little bit of rugby in college and wanted to experience a match first hand and with a crowd of people who get involved in the game right from the start, singing, chanting, etc. I got the impression Americans tend to drift in and out of their sporting occasions seeing as they take so long. Going out for a beer, getting a hot dog etc.
He had brought his friend along so that was two new people before we’d even got to the stadium. It was a promising start. On arriving at the stadium, the Broncos brass band were warming up but, unlike Huddersfield, Leeds et al, they could actually play their instruments properly and were actually quite tuneful. There were plenty of people there - we arrived before the gates opened - and it was really pleasing to hear so many American accents coming to the game. Great mix of young and old too. There were also notably quite a lot more women than I thought there’d be. I believe women play quite a lot of rugby in the US.
As for the size of the crowd, there was definitely around 19-20k there. The stadium is massive and very spread out. I think they should have closed the top tier but I suspect they might if it’s held there again. Atmosphere didn’t come across on tv but it was really good. Fans mixing and mingling. We were sat next to an Australian who’s lived in Colorado for 32 years and this was his first ‘footie’ game he’d been to. He loved it and couldn’t wait for it to come back. He’d driven 90 miles from his home. The other side consisted of two women and a man, I think they were daughter and parents. She was mid-30’s ish. Her father approached us at half time for some clarification on the rules, plays and was very grateful after we chatted to him for 10 minutes.
The comments re the Colorado rapids stadium - it wouldn’t have been big enough for the crowd they got so I think the stadium was the right choice. Russell Crowe has 2.7m followers on twitter and he was tweeting good things throughout the day, including meeting some rabbitohs fans after the game and posing for selfies. I fail to see how this cannot be good for the game.
Overall we had a fantastic day and I’d definitely recommend anyone to do it if they can. The locals/people we met thoroughly enjoyed it and we encouraged everyone we met to google St Helens Rugby League and watch us on you tube! Shared an Uber back to the airport with a couple of wakey fans, great lads. The train back to the airport wasn’t running due to maintenance otherwise we’d have used that. $9 for an all day pass on the trains/trams - great value.
Queues at the merchandise stall were consistently long - the catchphrase/slogan being Mile High War Cry. The altitude can definitely be felt, we were blowing a bit just walking to the stadium and we’re fit and healthy regular gym goers. It was also over 30 degrees so I think the game was pretty entertaining and full throttle given the conditions.
Any questions let me know.