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Once upon a time, Shannon Sharpe wore a foam horse head on his noggin as he galloped across the end zone at the old Mile High Stadium. Fans in the notorious South Stands howled with delighted laughter.
No doubt about it, the old Mile High was a magical, creaky place, whose steel bones created Rocky Mountain thunder when 76,082 fans began stomping their feet. The stadium rocked — literally. Al Davis, the late owner of the Oakland Raiders, would sit in the press box, cursing the Broncos and worrying if the stadium was about to collapse on his head.
When Mile High Stadium was torn down and replaced by Sports Authority Field at Mile High in 2001 (it originally was called Invesco Field), fans complained that the new venue was too sterile and not nearly loud enough. The Mile High mystique, some say, was lost.
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“I don’t think the crowd is nearly as loud as it used to be,” said season-ticket holder Conrad Hopp, 77, who’s been attending Broncos games since the mid-1970s. “We used to stomp and things used to shake. Now it seems like there are a lot more fans from other teams, in other jerseys. And it’s more of a party atmosphere than it used to be.”
Critics point to a 4-2 playoff record at the new place versus the 11-2 playoff record at the old joint. They painfully recall the AFC championship game of the 2005 season, when about 8,000 Pittsburgh Steelers fans showed up in black jerseys and waved their gold “Terrible Towels” as the Steelers drubbed the Broncos 34-17.
Yet Sharpe, the Hall of Fame tight end, doesn’t buy into theories about the demise of Denver’s legendary home-field advantage.
“The old Mile High was great. I loved it,” Sharpe said. “But the ghosts in the old stadium and all of that stuff is not why we won at home. We won because we had great teams and great players. We had John Elway, who could bring you back at anytime; second half, fourth quarter, it didn’t matter.
“We had Terrell Davis and Rod Smith, and me. We had Steve Atwater drilling people. We fed off the crowd, but you know what? The crowd fed off us.”
Now it’s feeding off quarterback Peyton Manning. And vice versa.
After guiding the Broncos to an 8-0 home record in the regular season, Manning will lead them against the Indianapolis Colts in an AFC divisional playoff game Sunday at Sports Authority Field.
Since Manning came to Denver in 2012, the Broncos are 22-2 at home, the best regular-season record in the NFL. Throw in playoff victories over San Diego and New England last season, and it’s clear the Mile High advantage is alive and well. The one painful glitch was the Broncos’ 38-35, double-overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the 2012 season’s playoffs.
“Our fans have been great throughout the time I’ve been here,” Manning said. “I think they cause problems for other players and just feed off that energy when you’re playing at home. No question about that.
“Our offense and defensive guys get fired up when the crowd gets into it on third downs and certainly after a touchdown. We’re just able to feed off that energy from the crowd, and that makes a big difference.”
All four of the host teams for this weekend’s playoff games have thrived at home. Seattle plays in the extreme sound garden known as CenturyLink Field, Green Bay lines up at icy Lambeau Field and New England opponents must deal with biting wind and bitter cold at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., a place only hoodie-wearing coach Bill Belichick could love. The four host teams are a combined 30-2 at home this season; each is at least a touchdown favorite in the divisional round.
With Bucky Bronco standing tall above the south scoreboard, Sports Authority Field is certainly a recognizable venue, but it’s not considered the best home-field advantage in the NFL. That title is usually bestowed upon CenturyLink Field, where Seahawks fans are so proud of their ability to create noise, the stadium is equipped with two built-in seismometers to measure decibels.
In December 2013, the Seahawks set a record for the world’s loudest stadium, recording crowd noise at 137.6 decibels. But Seattle was outdone this season by Kansas City Chiefs fans, who created 142.2 decibels worth of noise at Arrowhead Stadium during a Monday night game.
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“I think our home-field advantage is slightly underrated,” said Tristan Cook, a 23-year-old Broncos fan from Boulder who attends about three games a season. “You hear all about Seattle’s home-field advantage and noise, but I don’t think that we are necessarily given the credit we deserve here. It’s a great crowd.”
As much as Manning loves playing in front of Denver’s mile-high crowd, he wasn’t quite satisfied with the particulars.
“I have no problem with our fans, our fans are great. I’ve got a problem with our scoreboard operator. I’ve got to have a little talk with him,” Manning said after the Broncos beat the Chargers 35-21 on a Thursday night game in October. “I’m not sure what he’s doing. He’s playing music and showing our players dancing and getting the crowd fired up when we have the ball. I don’t think we should be doing that. I don’t think we should be showing their quarterback on the sideline. I thought it was disrespectful.”
If there is any disrespect Sunday, the Broncos hope it’s aimed directly at Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. Though Denver won the teams’ season opener this season 31-24, Luck nearly rallied Indianapolis to victory.
He said the Colts are aware, and prepared, to face the Broncos’ Mile High mystique.
“In Week 1, I know it was a great atmosphere — loud, rockin’,” Luck said. “It was a fun stadium to play in, and this being the playoffs, I think it’s going to get amped up even more. I think our guys are excited about that challenge.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp
Home-field advantage
Taking care of business at home is key to success in the NFL. Here are the league’s top five and bottom five regular-season home records since quarterback Peyton Manning joined the Broncos in 2012:
TOP FIVE
T-1. Broncos 22-2
T-1. Seahawks 22-2
3. Patriots 21-3
4. Packers 19-4-1
5. Colts 19-5
BOTTOM FIVE
28. Eagles, Redskins 10-14
29. Raiders 9-15
30. Titans 8-16
31. Buccaneers 6-18
32. Jaguars 3-21
Broncos’ home playoff record
11-2: Mile High Stadium
4-2: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Game-day forecast
According to weather.com, Sunday’s high temperature will be 42 degrees, with cloudy skies that will turn partly cloudy later in the day. Winds will be from the northwest at 5-10 mph. There is a zero percent chance of precipitation. The overnight low will be 25 degrees.
