Sutton is his name, he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan. He invited me over for carne asada as the Eagles played the Bears.
Telling him my story about the Eagles new draft pick DeSean Jackson, how he grew up in the downstairs apartment from me raised by his father Bill.
Sutton was excited about Jackson, the Eagles second round NFL Draft pick the 49th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. Still telling him about how DeSean’s draft party went, how anxious that day was for all.
Describing that day to Sutton and how no wide-receiver was taken in the first round as we all watched DeSean drop into the second round.
Watching his father Bill walk off to a corner of the house overlooking the Los Angeles skyline grasping and at one point hugging DeSean’s pop-warner shoulder pads that I brought back to him on that day.
Bill left them in the garage eight years earlier when he moved to Long Beach for his son to play high school football at Long Beach Poly.
Sutton seemed interested to some degree but Donovan McNabb was now being sacked as he roared in disgust. Realizing Sutton had some type of invested interest in the Eagles winning being a fan and all.
“Yo, I’m loving your boy right now,” is his response to DeSean making a catch.
Sutton has an NFL football team to root and cheer for unlike some of us. Sutton’s yelling and screaming continued as the Chicago Bears toyed with the Eagles putting them in vulnerable situations.
Sutton’s girlfriend walks in the room and says, “I’m calling your mom.” I assumed it was from the screaming, yelling and jumping in the living room.
I drove home feeling sort of envious and wondering, do I want that? It’s clear that I am the biggest proponent of an NFL team in Los Angeles when it comes to sports guys, nobody is whining more than me on that topic.
Asking myself that question again, do I want that? Do I want to be on my knees begging for victory, for my football team to win? Remembering that Philly fans did “boo” Santa Claus, I had to realize that there are different types of NFL fans. Philly fans are unique within themselves.
Moving on to Sean a tattoo business owner. The Kansas City Chiefs fan who recently made a “slap me in the face,” bet with Chris the Raider fan.
Not having a professional football team here in Los Angeles has driven me to appreciate how fans become fanatics.
To fan or not to fan.
What are we fanning here?
Fanatic, fanatical…excuse my wordplay just really trying to engage the meaning of the word.
Does it mean to like something? ESPN says that it’s short for fanatic, well at least according to Mike Tirico and Colin Cowherd.
Fan.
It does nothing for me.
Lakers and Dodgers are in my make-up but there is no face painting here. I’ll buy merchandise and attend games but the relationship is different.
In most of these NFL towns, the NFL team is all they have. The relationship as a football fan is different. Most Lakers fans can’t get close to the Lakers in Los Angeles, practices are closed even local media is often shunned.
Football is different, there is one game a week hence the perfect time build up, the wait, smack talking and it happens on Sunday to cap your work week.
It’s the perfect sport because of the weekly build up, promotion and invested interest by so many Americans.
Basketball and baseball is played every other day and it doesn’t get serious until the last month, otherwise it’s consistent sports entertainment but football is different.
There is a build up, a tease and an explosion once a week.
The NFL world I don’t have slaps me in the face, Steelers caps and terrible towels, throwbacks and ugly Seahawks teal. Dolphins aqua blue lady bikinis pass me in Venice, Favre Vikings jerseys and purple faces walk freely.
Fan, it is what we in the media call you the people.
What do I mean, “you the people?”
It’s like talking to an NFL General Manager or a high ranking member of the board.
Enter Elmer Gonzales rated out as the No.1 Denver Broncos fan in the city of Denver. His merchandising collection of Denver Broncos media is unparalleled when it comes to NFL fans.
A tradition that was handed down to him by his father Elmer senior.
Elmer Sr. started his Broncos merchandise collection over forty years ago. Before the AFL NFL merger Elmer Sr. was there. He remembers the brown and gold throwback uniforms and when the town of Denver burned the striped socks in a citywide gathering after a losing streak plagued the Broncos.
Talking to Elmer Jr. it is clear that his knowledge is immense on the in-house information of the Denver Broncos. The players, cheerleaders, public relations and all the brass in the Broncos organization embrace the Gonzales family who attend every single Broncos event.
They talk to owner Pat Bowlen when needed and the Broncos organization embraces their commitment to the NFL Franchise.
“In training camp I would talk to all the media guys and the marketing guys and they would always give me the inside scoop,” Elmer Jr. said. “If a player got injured in training camp I was one of the first fans to know, if we signed a player I was the first to know and it’s just really cool and it’s still like that now.”
An accurate appraisal alone could cost up into the $50,000 range just because of the detail of the collection.
“I’d go to all of the autograph signings and they would just start recognizing me,” Elmer Jr. said. “They would be like, I see you at all of these things, Greely Colorado and Pueblo Colorado, you follow us everywhere what’s up with that?” Broncos players would ask.
“I would be like, I love you guys and I’m adding to my collection, I want to have the biggest collection ever,” he said.
With such a long rich history in the NFL, the Broncos No.1 fan struggles not for long when he is asked about his favorite Broncos player of all time.
“Definitely Steve Atwater he was like my childhood hero, I grew up watching the guy play, nobody hit harder than Steve Atwater, I think he needs way more recognition than he ever got,” Elmer Gonzales Jr. said.
On the Raiders Broncos rivalry Elmer gets intimate.
“They’re definitely our biggest rival but Kansas City is always a rival game, pretty much anyone in our division is a rival game but the Raiders are up there,” he said.
“You know that Raiders fan that wears the shoulder pads with spikes? He’s actually a really nice guy I can watch a road game next to him only… they just take all your memorabilia at the door and pretty much tell you don’t expect to get it back so don’t take any foam rubber Broncos horse heads or anything like that to any Raiders games.”
Football is the thread that weaves our American culture into one nation making us all fanatics. Elmer Gonzales and the Denver Broncos represent this American tradition. Sutton, Sean and Susy also represent this tradition.
Unfortunately we Angelenos are being deprived of our American tradition thanks to our city and state leadership.
An American tradition that we the locals dream of and the answer is yes.
Yes, I do want to scream, root, and yell for a team that represents my city, please slap me in the face.
Yes, I do want my girlfriend to call my mother because I‘m rooting in a ruckus manner over my team while eating carne asada.
Yes, I want that.
e-mail me at og@ogsportsshow.com
