Put yourself in the shoes of Broncos fans. Russell Wilson — a nine-time Pro Bowler — is their quarterback after a mega-trade in the offseason. Would you not be excited at seeing a superstar like him play in the trademark Mile High orange?
On Saturday — as Denver dives into the thick of their first training camp with their new franchise player — Broncos fans showed out in attendance in Englewood, Colorado. Officially, 7,121 (!) people came to see Wilson launch dimes to his receivers like Courtland Sutton.
Yes, the size of a small village literally went to watch practice in the heat of training camp to catch a glimpse of the guy who might take their favorite team back to the top of the AFC West.
Hmm. Those numbers seem oddly familiar with another pro sports team’s attendance. Though, in games. Not practice. (Lightbulb turns on in head) Oh my goodness, a Broncos camp practice apparently outdrew multiple Oakland Athletics games from this season:
Today’s #BroncosCamp crowd of 7,121 is higher than the attendance at 24 Oakland A’s home games this year.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 30, 2022
Come on. There’s no way that’s true. I know the A’s aren’t very good, and they’ve had their stadium issues. But surely more people go to their very real games over a July football practice. Right? Never mind that the Broncos’ camp facilities aren’t necessarily designed for many people, while Oakland’s stadium can house over 63,000.
Let’s see, per the official MLB box score of the A’s 5-4 win over the Rangers on July 22 — just 6,620 people showed up to Oakland Coliseum.
Just a day earlier, in a doubleheader with the Tigers, the A’s drew 7,282 souls to their ballpark. So, they actually beat a Broncos practice (albeit barely). Yay! I knew this assertion was pure folly.
Hold on. Wait a minute.
During the A’s 5-3 win over the Blue Jays on July 5 — meaning right after a holiday — a whopping 4,486 people came to watch in Oakland. Oh.
I won’t go back and verify all 24 games (thus far) myself, but I think the point is clear. Broncos’ training camp practice is more interesting to their respective fans than actual Athletics home games are to A’s fans.
Maybe Oakland should spend more on good players, and this wouldn’t be a thing!
