DENVER — The Broncos will take on the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, and Denver7 is taking a look at the Wild West connection between the two teams — and the names themselves.
Colorado loves the Broncos. And we're home to majestic bison, sometimes called buffalo. Buffalo Bill loved Colorado, and still does — for eternity at his grave site where he’s buried on Lookout Mountain above Denver.
Even though Nylene and Randy Haun visit Buffalo Bill at his grave, they pray for the Broncos.
"I think about it and think about it and think about it and then I say (as she points to the heavens), it’s not up to me," Nylene said.
We did some digging surrounding the Colorado connection with Buffalo Bill.
Buffalo Bill loved it so much here in Colorado he wanted to be here forever.
Cody, Wyoming, the town he’s named after, might take exception to that.
The most famous Buffalo Bill right now is Josh Allen, who played in Laramie, Wyoming. He has lots of fans from Wyoming so they are torn, but Buffalo, New York calls him their own.
The Buffalo Bills will go west, by modern airplane not stagecoach, to the place where Buffalo Bill rests.
Buffalo Bill was a showman. He even appeared at the National Western Stock Show in 1913.
It was like yesterday. It’s actually today too.
Denver7's Mike Castellucci sat down with Buffalo Bill — whose actual name is Jason Baker — at sunset. Baker plays Buffalo Bill Cody in the Wild West Show at the National Western Stock Show.
"He was a little bit of everything, starting with the Pony Express, then the military, and he started his own wild west show," Jason said.
And that’s what Jason does. He recreates Buffalo Bill in the current wild west show.
At the risk of offending someone, I asked, "Who are you rooting for?"
"Denver Broncos," he responded.
Most everybody at the Stock Show loves Broncos — even 18-year-old Makayla Kessie, who just won with her own bronco.
"We just won Grand Champion under all five judges," she said, rubbing the neck of her horse. "She's the AQHA Halter Mare. When you say 'bronco' I think of a rodeo horse, but she can be a Bronco on some days."
A blue ribbon and an orange sunset... Buffalo Bill is a Broncos fan.
"If God wasn’t a Bronco fan, he wouldn’t have made sunsets orange and blue," Jason said.
