BRONCOS: Draft-day event at Casa Bonita drizzled with queso and cheesy fun
High above the tables at an iconic Lakewood strip mall restaurant, a gorilla was pushing a wigged man off a cliff into a small pool. Below that, there was serious business going on.
Through a series of manmade cave systems and past a maze of margaritas, Denver Broncos alumni and, for some reason, a magician were announcing the team’s draft picks Saturday inside Casa Bonita.
Denver resident Albert Perry, the first fan in line to be a part of the experience, decided that of all the Broncos players, former quarterback Jake Plummer would be the best to replace the young man swan diving into the restaurant’s famous aqua-blue pool.
“Plummer is athletic and slender, and he’s got a good sense of humor,” Perry said. “I think he’d be a good sport about being a cliff diver.”
Perry offered up these musings and more. He invited strangers to “wet their whistle” on his bright-green alcoholic libation and chow down on his “excellent” all-you-can-eat deluxe chicken dinner during the announcement of the team’s fourth- and fifth-round picks.
Plummer grinned ear to ear when he heard about a fan’s assessment of his cliff-diving prowess.
“People know I wouldn’t be scared to do something like that,” Plummer said. “I grew up living on lakes, but I actually don’t like water very much.”
Plummer said Broncos center Matt Paradis would, instead, be the best choice for a Casa Bonita cliff diver.
“He’d be good for cannonballs,” Plummer said.
In a small room just across from the diving pool, Broncos alumni — along with the magician, cheerleaders, Miles the mascot and a mariachi band — stood on a small stage in front of a television camera and practiced the draft pick announcement so they’d be ready to go live when the time came.
As of 2:40 p.m., the Broncos’ draft picks were Josey Jewell from Iowa; Daesean Hamilton from Penn State; Troy Fumagalli from Wisconsin; and Sam Jones from Arizona State.
While officials gathered for TV announcements, Broncos fans in the restaurant were busy wiping stray green chile off their jerseys and squealing in delight as a young man scaled the craggy rocks of a waterfall.
Former Broncos player K.C. Jones thought Casa Bonita was the ideal location for the NFL draft. “I love it,” he said. “I’m a Colorado native, and I remember this was the only place I wanted to go when I was a kid. It’s great to be back with sopapillas and cliff divers.”
Caverns, arcade games and other quirky features provided an interesting backdrop, Perry said. “It feels authentic to Colorado,” he said. “It’s better than just doing it downtown.”
Before the public streamed into the restaurant with trays weighed down by burrito accoutrements, 10-year-old Ethan Simon and his dad, Mihai, tossed a football outside.
Ethan was most excited to meet players, and he collected autographs from Plummer, Jones and others.
“They’re my favorite team,” Ethan said.