ORANGE CRUSH HITS ABQ
Broncos fans — and Panthers backers, too — rush to get team gear
The Dallas Cowboys might be America’s Team, but Peyton Manning and his Denver teammates appear to be on the verge of making Albuquerque a Broncos town.
With the Broncos set to take on the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., Denver merchandise has been flying off the shelves at the House of Football in Albuquerque.
“It’s been like an orange crush here at the store,” said Andy Hageman, co-owner and president of the House of Football.
The Broncos have always been one of the more popular teams in New Mexico — especially the farther north in New Mexico you go — but since Denver signed Manning in 2012 the team has gained ground on the perennial favorites, the Cowboys.
“The Broncos have been creeping up for years,” Hageman said.
He said they have always been in the top three, with the Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers also being popular here.
“We have 36,000 (total) fans in our database. The Cowboys fans are at 4,906.
The Broncos fans are at 4,117.”
Since 2012, the Broncos have a regularseason record of 50-12 and reached the Super Bowl after the 2013 season. The Broncos’ strong seasons means good business for Hageman.
“Because they’ve been so successful lately, it makes a big difference to the shopping,” Hageman said. “It’s not about fair-weather fans. It’s about success and people shopping for their team because they’re proud.”
Speaking of fair-weather fans, local bar owner Adam Krafft says many of the people he’s seen cheering on the Panthers this season are exactly that.
“They come in with price tags on their jerseys,” said Krafft, owner of Uptown Sports Bar and Alien Brew Pub.
While many of those Panthers “fans” may have been cursing Cam Newton’s celebratory dances and cockiness just a year ago, at least one Carolina supporter in the Duke City has been a die-hard since the Panthers entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1995.
“I was at their first ever (home) game,” said Kristye Grissom, an Albuquerque native who lived in North Carolina in the mid-1990s. “I’m a true die-hard. Absolutely. Even if our team sucks, I’ll still root for them.”
Hageman said he gets old-school Panthers fans in his store, and insists that a person not buying Carolina merchandise before this season is actually a sign of sanity.
“People talk about bandwagoners, but there are people who were born in Caro- lina who live in Albuquerque who may not be big football fans. But because their home team is going to the Super Bowl, they show some interest,” Hageman said.
“You don’t go out and buy a $150 Detroit Lions jersey when they’re 0-16 unless you’re a real die-hard or crazy. You wait until they’ve won a few games.”
The Panthers won more than a few games this year. The team started the season 14-0 before losing to the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 27. The Panthers haven’t lost since.
“We’re definitely seeing more Panthers fans than usual,” Hageman said. “We started running out of Panthers jerseys in November. … Broncos have always been a big seller, so we have more leeway (in ordering).”
The supply of Panthers gear may be running low, but the store still has some “fun stuff,” Hageman said, adding that he has plenty of Broncos merchandise, even with the rush of fans hitting his store in the past couple of weeks.
Prior to the Broncos game against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, Hageman put in an order for 900 Denver jerseys.
Hageman is also ready in case this is the final game in the storied career of Denver’s quarterback.
“I somehow think Manning knows this is his last game, and we did a pre-buy on Manning memorabilia if they win,” Hageman said.
But buyer beware: “The prices will go up if he holds up the Lombardi Trophy and says, ‘I retire,’ ” says Hageman. “The price on an autographed ball will go up five times.”