And whether it was or wasn’t a reception is not even the biggest issue surrounding the program. Norvell has a quarterback controversy. He called it a competition during the bye week practice. But that is never the case, especially when the three-year starter is losing his grip on the position.
Jackson Brousseau is getting first-team reps as Norvell mulls his choice. This decision should determine whether Norvell receives a contract extension. That’s because the Rams enter a seven-game stretch that will provide clarity on whether he should keep the job.
CSU hosts five home games, including Sept. 20 against the University of Texas San Antonio on FS1. Washington State follows. These are not Cam Ward’s Cougars. The optics of this game remain important since CSU will be joining Wazzu in the revamped Pac 12 next season. Are the Rams competitive? Do they look the part?
And Norvell knows after the latest white-knuckle scare that he better beat Wyoming. Nobody cares that the game is on the road. Waking up on Nov. 9 with a 6-3 record provides hope that Norvell made the right choice. The temperature is not dropping on this topic until Fowler-Nicolosi plays better or Norvell moves on from him.
CSU’s athletic program is on a heater. The men’s basketball program, after a terrific March Madness run, was invited to the Maui Invitational in 2026 and recently signed guard Gregory “Pops” Dunson, the highest-ranked recruit since rankings became available in 2000. The volleyball team remains a force, and the women’s soccer team has entered the national polls at No. 25 for the first time in school history.
Football, however, is the window into the university for donors. Norvell cannot afford a 6-6 record with a boring offense and uncertainty at quarterback.
Rams fans, especially the students, did their part last week. It’s on Norvell to reward their chaos with better performances.
Tight fit: The Joke was on us in Week 1. Evan Engram finished with three catches for 21 yards on four targets. He only played 26 of the 76 offensive snaps, and it wasn’t only because of his injured calf. Engram appears ready to go on Sunday. If the Broncos run the ball better, as expected, there should be at least four RPO or cross-route strikes to Engram in the first half alone, or coach Sean Payton is doing it wrong.
Bowl it over: The retractable roof is a point of debate among Broncos Country as it relates to this week’s new stadium announcement. It allows for multiple events, including a Super Bowl, Final Four and Wrestlemania. But here’s another addition: a bowl game. There has been interest over the last year in bringing a bowl to Denver, and this offers a chance to accelerate that conversation even before shovels are in the ground.
Two schools of thought flitter through the streets just behind the Denver Broncos’ planned future home, separated by just one block but standing an entire world apart.
On a sunny Tuesday morning, 35-year-old Rita Guerrero stepped out from her door on North Mariposa Avenue, lively pup Olive barely contained by her leash. Guerrero bought her home in the La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood five years ago, and smiled when she thinks of the wealth of possibilities that now exist a quarter mile away at the defunct Burnham Yard.
“This is very exciting,” Guerrero beamed. “I’m very happy. It’ll be great for the team, great for the neighborhood. I really see that there’s, probably — I mean, there really can only be upside.”
On a cloudy Tuesday afternoon, a few hundred feet away, 46-year-old Nicole Jones and 51-year-old Desiree Maestas crossed onto North Lipan Street, discussing the change to come. Jones has lived all her life a few houses up the block, and frowned when she thinks of the wealth of possibilities that now exist with the Broncos’ professed plan to develop at Burnham Yard.
It could mean more traffic. And more construction. And increased property values.
“I think it’s going to change everything,” Jones said. “Because everything’s going to go up. Especially in this neighborhood, everything’s going to go up. And a lot of us ain’t even going to be able to afford to live here anymore. Because the stadium is going to be right in our neighborhood. Right in our backyard.”
“So, yeah,” she repeated, somber. “We’re not going to be able to afford to live here no more.”
Residents of La Alma Lincoln Park who spoke to The Denver Post on Tuesday were split on the complicated reality that now awaits, after the Broncos officially announced that they’ve zeroed in on Burnham Yard as the planned site of a privately-financed mixed-use stadium district.
Some residents lamented the change that continues to rattle the historic Denver neighborhood, one that has already experienced generations of displacement. Some residents championed the city’s efforts to keep the team local: they are the Denver Broncos, 39-year-old Barbara Ott emphasized from her porch, not the Lone Tree Broncos.
The general median is a sort of cautious optimism, as community leader Simon Tafoya put it.
“Maybe a little bit more than optimism,” Tafoya said. “But I think from what they’ve said… that they were working to and developing a community benefits agreement, that’s ultimately the goal for the community — to ensure that the benefits match what the community wants to see.”
That community benefits agreement, or CBA, will be the most important piece to ensuring satisfaction in La Alma Lincoln Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. Broncos owner Greg Penner told The Post the organization will start working on a CBA “right away” and said he wants to have a “really positive relationship” in the area. Team spokesperson Patrick Smyth said fellow owner Carrie Walton Penner spoke with multiple neighborhood leaders prior to Tuesday’s announcement.
“The community has always been part of the solution for (Denver) affordable housing,” Tafoya said. “I think the challenge is, as we move forward, making sure it continues in that commitment without falling into the trap of concentrated poverty.”
Some residents are excited, too, for the Broncos’ plans to bring a mix of housing, retail and entertainment venues to the surrounding stadium district. Look at Coors Field’s effect on the Lower Downtown neighborhood and the walkability of the stadium, Guerrero said.
Neighborhood leaders, though, emphasize the need for specific community-facing uses so it doesn’t become a “ghostland,” as Tafoya previously told The Post. Perhaps that’s basic residential services. Perhaps that’s open green space, as planned at Ball Arena. Perhaps that’s public art.
“We’re hopeful that NFL teams have learned a lot and they aren’t just looking to plop down a stadium and surround it by parking lots,” said Nolan Hahn, president of the La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association. “We’re hopeful they turn what is currently an empty railyard into a real part of the neighborhood.”
Denver City Councilwoman Jamie Torres said the city will develop the community benefits committee to begin conversations with the Broncos. Land-use planning must begin to deal with the industrial area, she said.
Plus, she said, the city needs more information from the Broncos to share their vision.
“This is an exciting opportunity to redevelop what’s been a vacant railyard for too long and have really thoughtful ways about how it’s connecting to the neighborhood it’s in,” Torres said.
Residents interested in getting involved in the future planning can connect with Torres’ office to find out what path suits them best and attend monthly neighborhood association meetings, she said.
The La Alma Lincoln Park Neighborhood in Denver on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Local business owners, too, are anticipating the need to advocate for themselves in the coming years. The Santa Fe Art District, the hub of Denver’s art scene, sits on a strip just a half mile from Burnham Yard. It’s the kind of area where art-gallery owners put out a plate of homegrown peaches at the cash register.
The potential of a new football stadium and accompanying entertainment complex is an interesting fit with the “funkiness and uniqueness” of the art district, local gallery owner Michael McDowell said.
Bill Thomason, who owns the Bitfactory Gallery on Santa Fe Drive, is already concerned about pre-existing traffic nearby. Construction could come as new properties are built with the Broncos’ move, he said. That could decrease business.
“I might get forced out here,” Thomason said. “Because I can’t afford to lose the last little bit of (foot) traffic I do have.”
McDowell and wife Sharla Throckmorton-McDowell just opened their POP Gallery on Santa Fe Drive a few months ago. They pay $6,000 a month for the space; at present, they’re just scraping by, McDowell said. And the Broncos’ move is a “genuine concern,” he said, if it sends property values skyrocketing and landlords thereby increase the rent on local businesses.
McDowell, though, hopes that businesses in the district can work with the city and the Broncos in tandem.
“Everything I’ve read about them as an organization, a group, seems to me that they’re not just ones that are going to come in here and try and — ‘(expletive) everybody, we’re gonna do what we want to do because we’re billionaires,’” McDowell said of the Broncos’ Walton-Penner Ownership Group. “They seem to be really respectful and love Denver, and I think it could really work out to be a win-win situation.”
“What is it now?” he continued, speaking of Burnham Yard. “It’s a run-down trainyard that’s not active, that’s non-existent, it’s dilapidated. It’s not serving any purpose.”
This, ultimately, was the main argument from local supporters of the Broncos’ move. To some, like Jones and Maestas, there’s no possible mixed-use-district benefit that could outweigh rising property costs. But Burnham Yard and its 50-plus acres of land have sat abandoned for nearly a decade. Guerrero and others want to see that used. For something.
That something, though, comes with plenty of strings attached.
Connie Buckley, 82, has lived in the neighborhood for three decades. She might not live long enough to see this Broncos stadium come to fruition, she joked. But she — and plenty of others — are still protective over a community that’s been mistreated, as she said, for “eons.”
“This is a neighborhood with real people who live here,” Buckley said. “And I hope nobody forgets that.”
In December 2004, James Chavez was on his way to see the Denver Broncos play in Kansas City when he made an unlikely discovery. He had accidentally brought his Darth Vader costume on the roadtrip, having left it in the car after Halloween.
His next steps were obvious. He painted the Sith lord’s mask and chest plate orange, then wore it to the game in Kansas. The Broncos lost, 45-17, but people loved the costume. He wore it again to the team’s next home game — and pretty soon he realized he was onto something big.
“I wore it again, and next I was in the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News! People were just coming up to me all over the place. The Broncos office came up to me, asked me for my name, phone number, wanted to do commercials with me,” he told us. “That’s when it started.”
The Force is still going strong in 2024. The Broncos won their first game of the regular season on Sunday, igniting hopes that this could be the year the team turns it around.
And Chavez, now 58 years old, is hoping for his own winning season, too. The Orange Vader is on a quest to be named the Broncos’ fan of the year.
What is the Super Bowl of super-fandom?
The NFL has hosted fan-of-the-year contests since 2020. Each season, the league receives thousands of nominations from which to select each team’s top fan. Winners get a trip to the Super Bowl to mingle with die-hard peers from around the country. The NFL then selects a league-wide winner from that pool.
Ron Katz, who’s known for dressing “head-to-toe” in orange, won the Broncos’ top spot in 2021.
“I just had one person nominate me. I believe the Broncos had over 2,000 nominations in 2021, out of the 30,000 or so for the NFL,” he told us over the phone. “It was very humbling.”
Katz was nominated by a colleague who thought he deserved recognition for “various random acts of kindness” he’d committed around town. Katz also has been an advocate for former players, pushing for their inclusion in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ron Katz (left) stands with with former Denver Broncos player Randy Gradishar. Katz long advocated for Gradishar’s induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which finally happened in 2024.Courtesy: Ron Katz
It’s commitment like that, he said, that’s crucial to win the league’s attention. Yes, fans should bleed orange and blue, but Katz said the NFL is looking for a someone with story — like Juan Olivares, who was recognized in 2022 for leading Broncos fanatics in Mexico City, where he lives.
“They’re looking for substance in the nomination,” Katz told us.
Anyone seeking the title should keep that in mind, he added.
“Be authentic, be genuine,” he said. “Show who your really are, and how you pay it forward.”
Orange Vader is for the children.
Isabel Chavez says her husband’s transformation into Orange Vader happened right before they got married. He didn’t bring the alter-ego to the wedding — though he did wear the costume when they renewed their vows for their 15th anniversary.
At first, she didn’t think her husband’s forceful new persona would affect her much. Then he started getting recognized at the grocery store, even without the costume.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh my God! its Orange Vader,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Woah!’”
Strphanie Pack poses with James “Orange Vader” Chavez before the Denver Broncos’ first home game of the season at Mile High Stadium. Sept. 15, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Before long, strangers started recognizing her as “Vader’s wife,” as they became staples at tailgates outside of the stadium at Mile High. With frequent TV appearances, the orange lord’s legend grew. They decided to put that fame to use.
James Chavez grew up in Westwood, where his family didn’t always have the money for little league or youth football. Isabel worried about girls from lower-income families who missed out on similar opportunities. So they started Orange Vader’s Future for the Kids Foundation, leaning on their status as local celebrities to attract donations that could support access to sports.
“That’s what the whole point of Orange Vader is,” Isabel Chavez said. “There’s the black, which is the dark side, and then theres us, which is the orange side, the bright side that brings positivity and love. And that’s what we’re about.”
James “Orange Vader” Chaves and Ralph “Limo Driver” Williams, Jr. pose for a portrait during memorial service to Pat Bowlen at Mile High Stadium, June 18, 2019.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The formal foundation — registered in 2016 — followed years of volunteering and coaching that helped create a community around the couple. Chavez started working with Ralph “The Limo Driver” Williams, another well-known superfan, as his “partner in crime.” They would get requests to show up in costume to all kinds of fundraisers and events to make people smile.
“There’s some superfans that got one or two charities that they support, but we supported them all. Anytime people called us to do something, we were there,” Williams told us. “There’s no duo as great as Limo Driver and Orange Vader, because we both are two two people that care about people.”
A Mile High Stadium employee shouts at James “Orange Vader” Chavez, welcoming him back as the Denver Broncos’ begin their first home game of the season. Sept. 15, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Williams said Chavez deserves some recognition for the many years he’s invested into the community and his fandom. Orange Vader and Limo Man, he added, should both be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just like Williams’ mentor, Tim “Barrel Man” McKernan.
Chavez said being named fan of the year would be pretty sweet — but he’ll be OK either way.
“I don’t go out there and try to get recognized for it. I just do it because that’s who I was,” he said. “If it happens, it happens. That’s on God’s will.”
And, honestly, this super-fan doesn’t need the team to win, either.
“We’re Denver Bronco fans no matter what, win or lose,” he said on a recent Sunday afternoon. “But we’re here together.”
Raul Hernandez (left to right), James “Orange Vader” Chavez and Isabel Chavez hang out at the tailgate before the Denver Broncos’ first home game of the season at Mile High Stadium. Sept. 15, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
