The Broncos are in Super Bowl 50. No matter the outcome of the game (although we're gonna win), I want to talk to you about the home they'll return to here in Denver.
As a longtime football fan(atic), I've heard lots of sports announcers reference lots of pro stadiums over the years. Now, with the preponderance of sponsor-named stadiums, sometimes even I am hard pressed to know which team plays in what stadium. For example, who puts on pads and pants in Levi's Stadium, also the site of Super Bowl 50? Oh, right, the San Francisco Forty-Niners. But then where, exactly, is Santa Clara?
There's no such confusion about Denver's Mile High Stadium, though, sitting 5,280 feet up in the thin, thin air of the Colorado Front Range. Except that a new stadium replaced the original Mile High in 2001, which then became Invesco Field at Mile High, and then Sports Authority Field at Mile High when that company purchased the 10 years remaining in the Invesco naming rights deal. So unless something changes, the "Mile High" of "Sports Authority Field at Mile High" will continue to get short shrift until 2021.
And that's a shame. Because even though the aforementioned sports commentators always commentate on the effects of our rarefied air, they often skip the "Mile High" in our name.
Why wouldn't just the term "Mile High" strike fear into the hearts of teams on the coasts and in the flatlands? The Broncos' pro football playground is the highest in altitude ... by far. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, home of the Arizona Cardinals, is next on the list at a measly 1,070 feet above sea level. The Saints' Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans claims the bottom at 3 feet above sea level, and the rest of those coastal and flatlander stadiums fall in between.
Advantage: Broncos.
Yes, I understand the necessity and the impact of sponsorship revenues for the Denver Metropolitan Football Stadium District. But I also swear by the power of mystique. Think of places such as Soldier Field in Chicago, and our often-time archrival Kansas City Chief's Arrowhead Stadium. I'll bet places like Qualcomm Stadium don't instill the awe and respect of say, the Packers' Lambeau Field. No wonder the San Diego Chargers wanted to move.
So how about something like "Mile High Stadium presented by [insert sponsor's name here]"? Or maybe "Mile High Stadium brought to you by [name]"? Everyone knows it's a sponsorship, so why not even "The Awesomely Cool Reincarnation of the Original Mile High Stadium, Sponsored By [name]"? OK, I'm just kidding ... sort of.
Seriously, though, a return to "Mile High" first would vault our stadium to an exalted middle ground between those iconic places such as Lambeau Field, and other nondescript locations such as the Seahawk's CenturyLink Field, or the O.co Coliseum. No wonder the Oakland Raiders want to move.
Of course, the sponsors themselves should probably weigh in on the choice of Mile-High-First phrasing, but one thing is clear: Putting the Mile High right up front asserts the undeniable power of our storied stadium mystique long before the Orange and Blue ever take the field.
Advantage: Broncos.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Putting-Mile-High-first-broadcasts-stadiums-mystique,206367?branding=15
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