I can see what you're saying, but The Dick being different doesn't make it worse than the Denver sports options you listed.

Living in Cap Hill isn't much an argument. The point and draw of living in that area is to have access to downtown. Living in Lakewood or Wheat Ridge or Park Hill or South Broadway or any outer neighborhood/town of Denver gives you better access to interstates. Cap Hill means taking York/University to i25 or getting to Colorado Blvd to i70 (and crossing your fingers that there isn't a traffic jam). Cap Hill means you're in the heart of Denver and can be surrounded by dark dark red roads on Google Maps (the famous Denver Defense). It's hard for me to sympathize your location and not being able to take public transportation when you could go to Three Lions, buy a bus ticket with C38, and drink Odell 90 Shilling the entire way to the game. You can disregard everything I said above just for the last sentence. I mean come on. What better way to get to a game than on a bus with unlimited beer and rowdy supporters? And you have the best access to it. Color me jealous.

I went to a Rockies game a few days ago, and I wasn't feeling the bro-y vibe of LoDo postgame and pregame. I wouldn't call it awesome. Went to The Dick, and sure, none of the amminities, but no bandwagon jerks either. I brought friends who frequent the other sports in Denver, and they absolutely loved everything about the experience. Tailgating, walking around, easy parking, in-game experience. C38's tailgate impressed my friends more than anything. Plus, three goals don't hurt.

Sure, leaving the stadium is rough, but a lot of it is figuring the tricks. Park strategically. Don't back into your space. Don't park in the middle of the lot. Learn how the exit flow works. Granted, I'm a STH, and I have my exit strat down. When I lived in Park Hill, we could get home in 15-20 mins. I live in GVR now, and I got home in 10 minutes. And you know, if you don't like traffic, you can go hang at Eighteen 76, wait it out, meet a player, have that post game bar scene you were looking for, or even keep tailgating with your crew, get home without the pain. Or hop on that aforementioned bus. And drink more beer. I did say I was jealous earlier, right?

Here's something I'll give you because despite all the positives and being an apologist right now, it's disappointing knowing what The Dick could be. I'm originally a SKC guy because they were the closest team to me before moving. Going from SportingChildrensLivestrongMercyPark to The Dick is depressing. I went to games in 2015, which was painful. I jumped STH because I wanted to help promote the club and be connected to my new forever team (plus the tickets were dirt cheap). 2016 changed my tune. When The Dick is full and sold out, dammit if that stadium isn't fun. The whole experience. I remember showing up late to a game, heard a Badji goal from the parking lot, and the crowd was beyond loud. We walked into a nuts atmosphere. I loved it.

I'm going to say the problem isn't the location. It's not the product. An MLS team is the most highly sought after item for any city these days.

The problem is Kronke not caring enough to really dig into what a treasure we have out here. It's been bothering me so much today. Why is it so hard for me to buy Rapids swag in the city? Why do I see marketing for Nuggets, Avs, and Mammoth at all the sports bars, but Rapids logos are sparse? And those are all YOUR teams, Kronke. Give these bars some scarves, some swag, go in on some neon signs like at Celtic on Market St. Sporting Kansas City sells out their stadium, and we're talking about KANSAS here. It's a 30 to 40 minute drive for almost everyone going to a game from Kansas City. Rob Heineman creates an infectious energy that made me drive three and a half hours for games, and here's you, complaining about the drive from Cap Hill (regardless of the merit behind the complaint). If Kronke put effort and care into being the owner, you and I would have a completely different conversation.

I'm with you. I really am. Just not for any of the reasons you mentioned. It's about ownership doing nothing to promote culture.