Are we allowed to “we”? It’s a tricky debate for sports fans, in regards to referring to their favorite teams as “we.” As in: “We are going to the Super Bowl” or “How could we get rid of Kosta Koufos?” In reality, the Broncos are going to the Super Bowl; you’re not. But fans say “we” because they feel this unwavering bond to the team, because the Broncos are part of their identity — and part of their city’s DNA.
Chauncey Billups feels you on this. He feels the bond. The Detroit Pistons guard might be a multimillionaire, a former NBA Finals MVP and perhaps the greatest pro athlete to ever come out of Denver. But as he said on the phone Thursday, “We have one more game to go.”
He’s part of the “we” too, as a Park Hill native.
“I’m a lifelong, die-hard fan,” said Billups, who, like Peyton Manning, is 37. “I’m just so proud of the team. The goal is to win it all. I’m happy to be a Broncos fan.”
Billups is “building a friendship” with the Broncos quarterback, he said. The two text back and forth, Billups often congratulating his favorite team’s star on his play. They both appeared in a funny commercial for the 2014 BMW Championship, a golf tournament to be held this September at Cherry Hills Country Club.
But Billups’ best Broncos memories, for now anyway, are from his Park Hill days growing up.
“When I really first started getting into it was Gerald Willhite, doing those backflips, and Sammy Winder, you know what I’m saying, people like that. Simon Fletcher, I saw him one day in my neighborhood growing up, at this little soul food restaurant. I already was a fan, but that just took it to another level. Seeing Simon Fletcher. I was so in awe.”
When the Nuggets acquired Billups in a trade in the fall of 2008, J.R. Smith wore Billups’ trademark No. 1. But then it hit him. Of course. Billups would wear No. 7, John Elway’s No. 7, explaining at the time, “I look forward trying to lead the charge and hopefully one day bring a championship to this town. Everybody knows I have a lot of pride in Denver. Being able now to have that ‘Denver’ across my chest, it just makes me feel good.”
He couldn’t bring a title to Denver as Elway did, but he elevated Denver basketball, leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference finals in 2009. The Nuggets haven’t gotten out of the first round since. Elway showed up at some of those playoff games, No. 7 cheering on No. 7.
Billups won’t be able to make it to New Jersey to watch the Broncos — he’ll be in Miami with the Pistons. But the NBA doesn’t have any games on Super Bowl night. Asked where he’ll watch the Super Bowl, Billups said: “Probably in my room, because when it’s my team playing, I don’t like being places where it’s really loud. I’m a real fan, so I really need to focus in on the game. The before-and-after celebrations, I’ll do that, but during the game, I need to be locked in, right in my hotel room.”
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/hochman
