Saying Something Nice About Denver

As a Raiders fan I've never had anything nice to say about the Denver Broncos or Denver, Colorado for that matter. john elway was a good quarterback, but I didn't get emotional over him finally winning a super bowl. They've had some good running backs in terrell davis and ole skool running back floyd little. Heck, I'll even give horse face Shannon Sharpe his due as a decent tight end, but none of these players rank higher than a C on my sports counter. However, there was this one dude that represented the Broncos for 30 years and was a true hardcore fan before there was such a thing as fans being hardcore.

His name was Tim McKernan, and in 1977 he wore a wacky ensemble to a Broncos game as a result of a bet. Well, he won the bet and much more. Tim became the #1 fan of the Denver Broncos and represented his team well for three decades. He traveled to various football stadiums in his broncos getup and took the good with the bad from rival fans. He even donned his outfit at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, the brave soul.

Tim was what many of us die hard fans strive to be; an ambassador of the games we love and the teams we pledge our allegiance to. If you go online and read the many stories about this guy, how he donated part of the $30,000.00 he earned for the sale of his autographed barrel to a battered women's shelter; how he's inspired young boys at high school football games to wear their own versions of his costume; how he touched his family and friends with his unique character and undying love for his Broncos. Yes, Tim was what a Fan of any sport must remember to be, a humble humanitarian with a love for life and appreciation for Gods immaculate gift of sports to us.

I remember watching NFL football in 1977 and seeing my beloved Dallas Cowboys, yeah Raider Nation I was a cowboy fan as a youngster, whip up on the Denver Broncos in the super bowl. I can't recall many, if any, of the broncos players from back then but I do remember the crazy fan with the cowboy hat and boots wearing a barrel in the cold outdoor football stands. I believe the barrel had an "Orange Crush" soda label on it to represent the nickname of the Bronco defense of that time. I now know the name of that krazy fan as well as the sportsmanlike heart he carried. Again, his name was Tim McKernan, forever known to football fans worldwide as "The Barrel Man."

Who says you can't wear a barrel to heaven?

Tim "Barrel Man" McKernan
Gone But Not Forgotten