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+---- Thread: *THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE -ence -ence -ence Colorado Yetis (/showthread.php?tid=31473)
*THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE -ence -ence -ence Colorado Yetis - IceBear32 - 04-15-2021
(50/50 payment split) @Fronk & @IceBear32
2 - Colorado Yeti - Yeti Stadium in Denver, CO (Yeti vs Arizona Outlaws)
Introduction:
Fronk:
Now that it’s been a week since our first posting, how do you think our debut submission of THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE -ence -ence -ence went?
IceBear:
First week in the books and it came and went in a flash. Received some positive comments. Not many comments, but positive. Also we got paid, so I’m happy with it.
Fronk:
I’m very happy with how efficiently the grading and payout went, even with the fact that it was initially split 100/0 in your favor. Can these people grade graphics too?
As for the reception to our trip to New Orleans; Do you think:
The majority of ISFL players read articles and we just got the “No Notes!” cue?
The reception we received is normal and people just submit articles for the LUL$ and only a handful of hard-os read them?
Nobody cares about Fronk and IceBear?
IceBear:
Honestly, I doubt there are many users out there looking to curl up and read some rookies spit out 2,500 words about their travels to New Orleans.
Fronk:
Agreed. Here’s a Rookie Pop-Quiz for you: Now I’m not sure if you’ve ever looked this up, but without looking it up, can you name the original six teams that made up the beginning seasons of the NSFL?
IceBear:
I can certainly guess…
Chicago
New York
New Orleans
Baltimore
Philly
Arizona
Fronk:
2/6. The original six teams include: Baltimore Hawks, Colorado Yeti, Yellowknife Wraiths, Arizona Outlaws, Orange County Otters, and San Jose Sabercats.
IceBear:
I switched out Colorado at the last second. I should not have.
Fronk:
So we are going to be watching a match up of two OG NSFL teams as we are headed to the city 420 feet above the clouds to watch the Colorado Yeti take on the Arizona Outlaws.
IceBear:
Good research. They probably could have workshopped the stadium name a bit more. 420 feet huh?
Fronk:
It’s officially 20 years since the state became the first to legalize the sticky icky and people there love any excuse to celebrate accordingly. Should be an interesting couple of days.
IceBear:
Okay well then let’s get started. Remember we will be ranking…
Hotel / City / Commute / Local Bars
Tailgate Experience
Stadium Appearance / Seating / Views / Attractions
Field
Weather / Climate
Concessions
Conclusions and Game Results
Alright Fronk we have our categories. What do you think we should rate these out of this week?
Fronk:
Well we spent our entire trip among the snowy mountains of the stadium, so let’s go with 1-10 snowballs for our rating.
Hotel/City/Commute/Local Bars:
IceBear:
Denver Colorado…. You know those final few minutes of a plane ride? You can finally start seeing part of the city and the anticipation of finally being there is within grasp? This was by far one of the best views I’ve ever had as we started our descent. Absolutely gorgeous city!
After getting through the mandatory post flight chaos, we were able to make our way to the hotel in a basic commute this time with a local uber. A much different feel than our struggling bicycle chariot in New Orleans. Right away the uber driver was able to put our Fronk and Icebear clash to the test. Snowboard vs Ski! Luckily I had the driver on team snowboard with me. Ironically, the driver and I were also the only ones listing off our injuries. We will table this argument for now, but I’m always gonna have Johnny Tsunami as my trump card for the win in this feud.
The hotel was wonderful. Rather than just a normal downtown hotel, we decided we splurge for the ski resort that was a part of the stadium. We wouldn’t get the full colorado experience without one, right? Plus with the resort conveniently right next to the stadium, we spent Tuesday shredding the mountains before Wednesday’s Yeti game. Who can beat that?
Because of our scheduled adventures in the mountains, we didn’t get a full downtown experience. There was this amazing resort bar that I’ll let Fronk go into details about. I will just mention that someone in the medical field had to be the one to suggest bars should be placed on a mountain with people trying to sled while standing up. Alcohol is the best prescribed treatment for ski/snowboard injuries. To this day my worst injury is from day 1 of snowboarding in Michigan and the bar was the only thing to get me through that weekend after the shoulder injury.
Overall the experience was a great one for these areas. I could not say we got the whole Denver Colorado experience, but based on what we did see, I’d love to return and check out more of the city itself. The way the hotel, the mountain and stadium all tie in here made for an easy enjoyable weekend.
Rating: 8/10 Snowballs
Fronk:
I’m from the midwest and besides a school trip to Seattle for a week, I am as dumb as a Yeti when it comes to anything west of the Mississippi. One thing I do know about is snowsports, as I like to take an annual trip to the (what I previously thought were mountains) of the cold-ass state of Michigan. For anyone raised on the bunny hills in The Mitten, Colorado is your mecca, but these mountains make me rethink everything I’ve learned growing up on the slopes. There are “Beginner” runs that look like black diamonds in Michigan and take long enough to get down that they have to be broken up by intermediate chairlifts. So when IceBear and I found out that the stadium was located at the base of their own ski resort, I called up our GMs and said we had to add another day off to our week.
Other than the mountain, we did not explore Denver too much, which is a shame because there are a handful of quality breweries we thought about hitting up while we were there. One thing we did hit up was the Yeti Den resort bar. The aesthetic puts you right in the depths of the Yeti’s lair. The place was enormous and seemed to be the destination spot for not only resort people, but Yeti fans as well celebrating even during the nights off from football action. The occasional table also had their own Yeti statue that appeared as though they belonged to the party.
Great experience for the trip itself, but like the name of the team, the connection to the city of Denver seemed to be an afterthought.
Rating: 7/10 Snowballs
Tailgating Experience:
IceBear:
This is where things get really cool. The bar Fronk mentioned is actually at the base of the mountain and that directly ties into the open side of the stadium. That made this area an awesome pre-game/tailgating area. I mean it’s a full tailgate mountainside! As long as you can continue to dodge the unhinged skiers and boarders, this is a must have experience. Some of the best blindside hits I saw this weekend were actually on the mountain as opposed to the field. I saw a couple hits that could get them straight to the ISFL, no DSFL needed.
The tailgate itself had a very VIP feel to it as you started seeing the empty stadium slowly begin filling in from the side of the mountain. The ability to just take a break from tailgating to do a run down the mountain is something you won’t be able to find anywhere else. It may have not been as big of a “tailgate” because of the mix of Yeti fans and of people there to just enjoy the fresh powder. Overall a neat experience, even though it’s not your traditional tailgate. Definitely something to add to the bucket list for those of you who have a snowboard/ski trip planned for the future.
Rating: 7/10 Snowballs
Fronk:
The nice thing about the stadium being a part of the resort, is that everyone is always tailgating. Day visitors of the mountain are always posted up in the parking lot grilling out, taking down beer and most importantly: clearing bongs. I was wondering what that skunky smell was when we arrived, but I assumed it was the Yeti fans. The party just grows tenfold on Yeti game days as you see the crowd multiply with red and yellow jerseys that fans throw on over their jackets or Yeti costumes.
Unfortunately I discovered what altitude sickness was and could not hang as well as my compadre IceBear. I did however discover some guy who either was wearing a Yeti suit (or just had never heard of getting a haircut) and he gave me this odd treat called a Yeti Wad. I was able to get that down and suddenly felt better. Maybe too better as my memory from that point to us sitting down ready for the game is basically non-existent.
Rating: 6.6/10 Snowballs
Stadium Appearance / Seating / Views / Attractions:
IceBear: The stadium, tailgate, and resort all sharing a location has made this such a smooth and relaxing few days. No worries about scheduling a cab, finding parking, or any commute issues. Now for the stadium itself; what a cool design and set-up. I’ll let our in-house architect go into the design features of the stadium, but I’ll just comment again that the open side of the stadium that allowed us to snowboard / ski during the game and still catch the action is a great way to get some involved that wouldn’t normally be.
Now one of the neat attractions that nearly gave me a heart attack was the touchdown celebrations. The moment a Yeti player crossed the goal line, you could hear a monstrous roar coming from the woods throughout the mountain. The echoes alone were enough to send me into a sort of shock when they scored their first touchdown. In the midst of the bellows coming from the woods, everyone around us began gathering up snow for a snowball that they then began throwing on the field in celebration. Of course there were a few stray snowballs that made their way towards the opposing sideline. With no stoppage in play and this happening again on the second touchdown, we joined in the tradition as they scored their third touchdown of the game. So at this point I’m not sure if my shoulder is throbbing from my many miscues on the slopes or my attempt to out throw the high school kids down the row from us. I plead the fifth on how that ended up.
One thing Fronk and I have already mentioned and currently my only downfall with the stadium is the lack of creativity and branding. “Yeti Stadium”, I wonder where they got that one. All those Yeti Wads must have had an impact on the creativity department. BUT it passed and here we are at Yeti Stadium watching the Yeti. Just seems like minimal effort for such a cool setting. Icebear woulda gone with Icebowl, but hey, that's just me.
Rating: 8.5 / 10 Snowballs (Aimed at the outlaws sideline)
Fronk:
Someone back me up here. IceBear has been constantly mentioning how uninspiring “Yeti Stadium” is and does not seem to understand that that was the old stadium name and is now called Wolfie Farms Stadium. Apparently I said “what the heck is Wolfie Farms?” a little too loudly and proceeded to get schooled by some Yeti fans about some retired guy named Wolfie McDummy. Well I have only been in this league for a half season and did not get much clear information from Yeti fans because apparently they all only can say one syllable at a time. So if you have some time, Wolfie McDummy, maybe you can sit down with IceBear and I to get us better acquainted.
I am the guy for architectural features and while not over the top, the horseshoe mountain of seats rises up over the field at dangerous heights. The stadium was full, but I guarantee the fans on the peak had no idea what was happening on the field. The uniqueness of the stadium is of course the horseshoe; a design mostly seen at the collegiate level. The open side frames the biggest face of the mountain so well and the side walls of the stadium emulate the continuation of a mountain range. I am sure the people at the top of the seats who are basically watching the equivalent of a sim phone stream had a wonderful view of the skiers and snowboarders gliding down to the bottom.
Rating: 8.2/10 Snowballs
Field:
IceBear: I love this field. This field just brings together the whole great atmosphere that has been top notch to this point. The dark grey field with the white mountains lining is the absolute highlight of this field. The red and grey combo is great and complements each other well. I will have to knock a few points off for the midfield logo. Yeti - this could be such a cool midfield logo. He looks like he is about to bust out a thriller dance move.I get what they are doing with it in the middle of the Colorado C, but in the endzone it doesn’t really pop out to me as quick as I’d think they were hoping for. Overall a cool field with the appearance very appealing to the eyes. I just feel there is such a great amount of potential with such a great team nickname.
Rating:7.2 / 10 Snowballs
Fronk:
IceBear and I tend to have very different tastes when it comes to design, but this field’s look and style is something we both can get behind. In my hubristic opinion, a field color that is not close to some shade of natural grass color does not work 9/10 times. That exception lies in Denver, Colorado at Wolfie Farms Stadium. The grey tone makes all the white POP and with the bold font in the endzone and the open mountain setting outside the stadium, everything just works.
I’m a sucker for a good sideline runner and the opaque mountain range gives the ordinary football field shape some much needed texture without impacting necessary visual marks such as the yard markings or sidelines. As far as the main field only items that could give demerit to my rating are the sideline logos, especially the “Wolfie Farms Stadium”. The logo is great, but the location among the mountains tends to wash it out.
I am back and forth on my feelings of the Colorado Yeti’s logo. First take was that it was uninspiring and the opportunity to create something fierce was lost. As I thought about it, I could see it for what it was; an identity of this team and fanbase. The bold minimalistic contrast of the yeti silhouette intertwined in the ketchup/mustard colors draws the eye of the viewer and immediately that person knows what team is coming. Ultimately, I decided that the opportunity is lacking and perhaps a rebranding is needed, but I’m just a noobie to this league and it could mean much more to veterans.
Rating: 8.5/10 Snowballs
Weather/Climate:
IceBear:
What a 180 from where we were last week. I think the ski resort stay and us hardly leaving the mountain was partially because of us booking this trip while we were on the plane ride home from muggy New Orleans. I was not about to travel in the heat with my already chafed thighs for another few days of ISFL. So this week we bundled up and headed to those slopes. I personally would rather be cold and add layers than be nearly nude on Bourbon St still sweating in misery. The neat part about this adventure and the hot vs cold debate is as we were watching the game and I started to get a little chilly I could always just hitch a ride on the lift and work my way back down building up a bit of a sweat and warming myself back up for the next quarter of Yeti football. I do hope we get to venture back here again some day and explore some more of the real Denver vs going full Yeti ourselves and staying mountainside.
Maybe this is a byproduct of visiting the pits of hell last week but…. “♪ The cold never bothered me anyways ♪”
Ranking: 7.6/10 Snowballs
Fronk:
One cool thing about Colorado is the elevation changes can let someone snow ski down a mountain and water ski at the lake on the same day. Wolfie Farms Stadium, though, is at the foot of the mountains and lacks the opportunity to warm up. However, as long as I am not living in it and having to warm up my car everyday, I enjoy a snowy vacation. Plus the Spring made the days actually rather enjoyable temperature wise. Game time temperature was a bit chilly and everyone had to wear jackets. Luckily we got in touch with Schwarz in between class and came informed and prepared for the cold.
Rating: 5.8/10 Snowballs
Concessions:
IceBear:
My favorite, beer and food. As Fronk mentioned last week I can be a bit of a beer snob, so walking into the capital of craft beer, I was in heaven. Breweries everywhere! From the moment we got off the plane I have constantly been within 100 yards of a “new IPA that I must try!”. This type of drinking was much different than the hand grenades down south. It was more of a chill setting all week vs a “let’s party” mindset, which was absolutely something we needed after last week. I tried many amazing craft beers in our short stay here. Some good, but some had me worried why exactly it was named Yeti Piss. The only true issue I had was making sure I had them all checked in on Untapped. Hit me up on there if you need some subpar opinions on beer.
Food wise, I didn’t get too adventurous here as I was focusing more on the variety of craft beer vs food. I went with the bison burger that was marketed as Yeti meat. At least I believe that was only a marketing tactic. Between that and the Yeti Piss, I’m worried about where they do their shopping? Hunting? Let’s go with shopping. There were not any rumblies that evening, so yeah, shopping! On a different note, I couldn't get myself to try their snow cones after seeing all the snowballs shoveled off the field between quarters. You never know what a stadium means when they say “recycle”.
Between the pride of their beer and the variety of fun foods, I don’t think we will see a stadium have such an extensive menu to sample.
Ranking 8.9 / 10 Snowballs
Fronk:
Denver, Colorado is not a place that has a special type of food and I found myself doubting that Wolfie Farms Stadium could provide anything unique or interesting. What IceBear and I discovered was certainly checking both of those boxes. First off, I thought IceBear was going to send back up all those IPAs he consumed after trying to scarf down a Krill Pop. I thought bears would enjoy krill. I took one glance at the Krill Ice Cream and decided to instead go with Yeti Tracks flavor.
The other crazy occurrence happened when IceBear placed his order. As he was deciding, a group of Yeti fans were eagerly awaiting to place his order with a white board and talleys. When he finally decided to get a Yeti Burger, half of the people cheered and they placed a talley on their side and started chanting “FOOD WARS! FOOD WARS FOOD WARS!”. I have almost no idea what that was about and assumed everyone had consumed their own Yeti Wad from the odd man outside.
Rating: 5/10 Snowballs
Conclusions and Game Results:
IceBear:
In no way am I docking them any points, but I would love to see an alternate jersey of everyone just wearing yeti costumes. I want them to have their badass entrance where the team does a giant yeti roar at the top of the mountain and all run / snowboard / ski down the slopes and enter the stadium like that every game. I can just picture the fear in the opposing team's eyes as 60 yeti make their way down the mountain.
Now that I got that fantasy out of my head, onto the final review. Game wasn’t much of a game as our fuzzy friends fell to the outlaws 36-14. I think this played well into building on the atmosphere part of things and not being locked into our seats for a nail biter. With not much defense being played by the Yeti, it was nice to avoid the Inevitable end zone celebrations of the Outlaws and just catch a lift up the slopes to get another run in.
From the moment we set foot in Denver, it truly felt like a vacation and was a much more relaxing experience with everything being co located. I’ll go back and forth on wanting to explore more of downtown but being able to check into the resort and have everything we needed right there would be hard to change.
I really do look forward to coming back here down the road. This next time I’ll be sure to have that snowball ready for the first Yeti TD!
Overall Rating: 8.8 / 10 Snowballs
Fronk:
My time in Colorado was enjoyable. The Wolfie Farms Stadium is wonderful and if you do not mind a little chill, I implore you to take a couple additional days outside of the tailgating and the game and stay at their mountain resort. Some positives are the aesthetics of the stadium and field with their ability to blend the natural landscape and this sport we love. While the eats were certainly fun and this Food Wars thing was an experience, I did not really come away with anything unique and edible (krill?) aside from the craft beer availability.
The game itself was rough for the home crowd. The Colorado Yeti got stomped by a very good first place Arizona Outlaws. Bad news is that home teams are 0-2 when THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE -ence -ence -ence comes into town, but the good news is that the Secondline went on to win their next two match ups after we left. So they have that going for them. Don’t ask how NOLA did last night. Thanks to IceBear and I, expect the Yeti to bounce back in weeks 10 and 11 as they travel to San Jose and Baltimore.
On our flight home, IceBear and I were discussing that THE ULTIMATE FAN EXPERIENCE -ence -ence -ence for the Colorado Yeti is much more than watching the home team get blown out. It’s the mountain setting, the vacation feeling, and those crazy-ass Yeti people.
Overall Rating: 6.85/10 Snowballs
Thanks for joining us again! Stay turned as we keep traveling and we keep rating. Let us know of any "must see" attractions in your city / stadium so we don't miss it when we visit.