DENVER - The Broncos are back, the Rockies are on fire, and away game or not - sports bars are going to be packed tomorrow when CU takes on Nebraska in a renewed rivalry game for the first time since 2010.
All this to say - this is shaping up to be a Hall of Fame worthy sports weekend in Colorado. In the calendars of professional and college sports seasons, this is one of those weekends where the stars collide.
And businesses are loving it.
"We’ve got Broncos, we’ve got the Rockies and the L.A. Dodgers and we’ve got college football. We're ready. We’ve been looking forward to this,” said Tina Cochrane at Jackson’s Sports Bar near Coors Field.
It's all hands deck at Jackson’s.
The Rockies are first place in the NL West, playing host to the Dodgers who are only a 1.5 games out of first. It’s three game home-stand.
All this while the Broncos host the Seahawks over at Mile High for their season opener on Sunday.
Chris Black is the owner of Falling Rock Tap House and says it doesn't get any better than this.
"The atmosphere, the energy down here is just so much fun," Black said.
It's also big for business.
"It's a huge boost to us downtown when we have a decent team playing over in the ball field there,” Black said. “It really makes it worthwhile because you know, this is not the cheap rent district."
Lorenzo Di Pepe brought his family all the way out from California. Di Pepe is a huge Broncos fan.
"We're doing the Rockies/Dodgers game tonight and then going to the Broncos game Sunday," Di Pepe said.
"It's basically purple and orange for this weekend," said Jim LaRoche, manager of the Sports Fan, a sports merchandise shop near Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Sports hounds were already flooding into Sports Fan Friday afternoon to gear up.
"We are going to be busy from open to close - all weekend long," LaRoche said.
Also on Saturday, the CU Buffaloes and Nebraska Cornhuskers renew their rivalry for the first time since 2010, when both universities left the Big 12 for other conferences. Colorado joined the PAC 12 and Nebraska went to the Big Ten. Kickoff for the Buffs game is at 1:30 p.m. right here on Denver7. The game is in Lincoln, NE.
The CSU Rams will also host a home game Saturday in Ft. Collins against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
At both Coors Field and Broncos Stadium, gates will open a couple of hours ahead of time.
Expect a lot of traffic and a lot of people downtown.
“This is what happens when you have a good team,” Black said. “(The Rockies) have been playing really good ball. They’ve got a young team. Our pitching is doing great."
