DENVER (KDVR) — For many Broncos fans, Sunday in Denver was a magical day for many reasons.
The Broncos had an improbable come-from-behind win, and the halftime show honored the Super Bowl 50 team and popular fallen fan-favorite, Demaryius Thomas, who was inducted into the Ring of Fame. At the game was James Chavez, aka “Orange Vader.”
“I get to reveal DT’s name,” Chavez told FOX31’s Greg Nieto. “It was the greatest day. It was awesome.”
Chavez helped reveal Thomas’s name and iconic #88.
However, not all of the day was just as magical. Chavez says that for the past two years, he has been feeling more and more of “The Force” from stadium security. He’s been dressing up in his orange helmet and cape for 21 years, but the Northglenn residents said he is now being asked to remove his helmet by security.
“I went to the game and they said, ‘You can’t come in here. You’ve got to take all your stuff off.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to talk to your supervisor then, I’ve been wearing this for 21 years,'” Chavez told Nieto. “One of the lady supervisors last year, she said, ‘Take your helmet off and throw it in the trash. Come and get it after the game.’ I was like, what?”
It’s been increasingly common over the past two years, according to the Broncos fan. He says super fans have become as recognizable as some of the players, and should be afforded a little bit of “likeness leeway.”
Orange Vader says that he will be wearing his “uniform” on Sunday as the Broncos play the Dallas Cowboys, and said that he understands that security comes first.
Emails to the Broncos’ public relations staff were not immediately returned Tuesday. On the Empower Field at Mile High website, the “gate security screening” page says that screening may be modified on an event-by-event basis at the discretion of the venue’s management.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
