DENVER — It's been a long summer for both Denver Broncos fans, and football fans in general, but on Sunday, the long wait was over with the first full slate of games of the 2026 season taking place.
While the Broncos don't play until Monday night on Denver7, fans are ready.
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"Start of football season every year is pretty special," Nick Peluso said. "We love to get out here opening week. Love to see all these teams playing hard."
Fans like Jakatei Ridley were not shocked to see people out and about donning their favorite team's gear.
"I used sick time today just to make sure that I can get here on time so I can watch my team," Ridley told Denver7's Tyler Melito while watching his favorite team, the Baltimore Ravens at Number Thirty Eight in Denver.
At Number Thirty Eight, general manager Katheryn Anderson told Melito they have been getting ready for months.
"We want everyone to feel welcome, we want everyone to be able to come out and enjoy our space, we want it to be a community space and it takes a lot of planning," Anderson shared.
The bar saw significant success during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Anderson said that resulted in a number of new customers, and they wanted to carry that into football season.
"We changed quite a bit of our beer program-more cans, more pitcher options, just things that we can get out to the customer quicker," Anderson explained. "We also changed our food menu, so it's more game day favorites like chicken tenders and hot dogs and stuff like that."
The bar is usually closed on Mondays, but Anderson said they are going to be open for the Broncos game.
"On Broncos game days, we have mobile bars and then we also have a mobile screen that we put outside to make sure that again, everyone has somewhere to watch, everyone has somewhere to sit or stand," Anderson said. "A lot of times, it is standing room only."
Since it is Week 1 and people will be watching the game most likely at a bar, everyone needs to have their game day fits ready. If you're looking for new styles, Derek Friedman, owner of SportsFan in Denver, says they have seen a big increase in business the last few days.
"There is a massive spike as you head into the season," Friedman told Melito. "When a team does well, then obviously, you're going to keep selling all season."
With new players like Jaylen Waddle on the roster, Friedman says his jersey has been popular, but game day fashion has evolved from a jersey and a hat.
"What we're seeing a lot more of is we've got a lot of stuff with bling on it, so the ladies are coming out for that," Friedman shared. "There's some really special new items for the guys that are completely new designs. I think the biggest difference is the number of items."
But it's not just the new items fans are looking to rock; there are a number of places where someone can get throwback gear like The Digging Pit.
"We've been pulling boxes of Broncos gear out of storage, dusting everything off, getting everything clean and tagged and ready for tomorrow," Jackson Pallone said.
Staff like Max Berumen say it's been cool interacting with fans as they try to find the perfect piece for their collections.
"It's been cool seeing everybody excited about the older things, bringing them back in time," Berumen told Melito.
Even for them, finding these pieces of Broncos merch history is an adrenaline rush.
"The feeling you get when you find something that you know people are gonna freak out over is just one of the best feelings and part of why we do what we do," Morgan Reagn said.
