And Denver thinks the Stanley Cup Final is big? That was a swing and a miss on being a host city for the World Cup in 2026.
Tommy, Boulder
Kiz: It’s the worst sports loss of the year in Colorado, by far. And there is no second place. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and Denver seemed to believe all we had to do was pitch a circus tent in a parking lot next to Elitch Gardens, throw some Rocky Mountain oysters on the grill and erase the Broncos’ logo from the field at our football stadium. Denver should be ashamed that our dusty old cowtown got beat out as one of 11 tourney sites in the United States by Kansas City.
It’s very disappointing the World Cup won’t be played in Denver, which is more than qualified to be a host city. Kiz, what was the failure here? Who dropped the (soccer) ball?
John, Denver
Kiz: I was present in October when FIFA officials heard the pitch from the Denver bid committee. Outside of a passionate speech by former USMNT keeper Tim Howard, the presentation from everyone, including mayor Michael Hancock, was uninspired, at best. The news conference to welcome soccer royalty should have been held with our mountains as a backdrop, and the festivities enlivened by music, balloons, maybe even dancing elk. Instead, it was held in a room devoid of natural light in the bowels of Empower Field at Mile High, and the whole thing felt as tired and rusty as your grandfather’s Oldsmobile.
Kickball isn’t a big thing here in Colorado. We need a new $8 billion sports complex with a covered, 80,000-seat stadium to overcome that fact. The Walmart family will save us.
Michael, snarkmeister
Kiz: Congrats. You win knucklehead of the week. (Your trophy is in the mail.) From Clint Dempsey’s goal to win the Snow Clasico in 2013 to the heroics of Colorado’s own Ethan Horvath during the Nations Cup Final last year, some of the more iconic moments in USMNT history have taken place right here, in our fair state. Denver didn’t need a bigger stadium to win a World Cup bid. All that was required was a little less arrogance and a lot brighter imagination.
Hey, Kiz. When is someone going to do something about the four-year-old stench emanating from Coors Field? The offseason acquisitions of Kris Bryant and others are a huge bust, with the team heading toward another last-place finish. Nice to see the front office just as incompetent as ever, with their internal promotions of yes-men and losers. The Rockies are the worst-run organization in all of baseball. It’s not even close.
Ben, miffed
Kiz: Look on the bright side, my friend. With any luck, there will be no more than a month from the moment Avs captain Gabe Landeskog hoists the Stanley Cup until quarterback Russell Wilson completes his first pass at Broncos training camp.
And today’s parting shot is an appreciation for looking outside the lines and beyond the scoreboard for the story.
Love that you’ve always had your journalistic eye on more than sports, Kiz.
B.S.G., smarter than your average bear
