In the high-altitude world of Colorado sports, where loyalty runs as deep as the Rocky Mountains, few things unite fans more than rooting for the home teams. But on Thursday night, as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium, a bizarre crossover event left Denver faithful fuming: the Colorado Avalanche—yes, the Stanley Cup champions—showed up decked out in Rams jerseys, cheering on their shared owner’s NFL squad.
Stan Kroenke, the billionaire mogul behind Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), owns a sprawling empire that includes Denver’s NFL Broncos, NBA Nuggets, NHL Avalanche, MLS Rapids, and even the NLL’s Colorado Mammoth. But his separate venture, the Rams, has long been a sore spot for Colorado fans, thanks to the team’s relocation from St. Louis in 2016—a move that Kroenke spearheaded and that still stings for many in the sports world. Add to that the Broncos’ heated NFC West rivalry with the Rams, and you have a recipe for outrage when the Avs essentially turned a “boys’ night out” into a pro-LA tailgate.
The Avalanche’s official social media account didn’t hold back, posting photos of players like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the rest of the squad posing on the field in royal blue and gold Rams gear, captioned “Boys night out 🏈” and later “Team bonding 🤝 cheering on our KSE family.” The images, shared widely across platforms, showed the team mingling pre-game, a stark contrast to the usual cross-sport shoutouts between the Avs and Broncos—like when Broncos QB Bo Nix and teammates caught an Avalanche preseason game, or the Avs hyping up Denver’s NFL squad on Instagram.
For many in Broncos Country, this wasn’t just awkward; it was a betrayal.
Darth Dog Mom ❤️🔥 on X (formerly Twitter): “Idc that the owner of the Avs owns the Rams this is WEIRD. Colorado has the Broncos right here. Using your hockey players like this and not supporting your community NFL team is ugly. https://t.co/4sYvtXI7O8 / X”
Idc that the owner of the Avs owns the Rams this is WEIRD. Colorado has the Broncos right here. Using your hockey players like this and not supporting your community NFL team is ugly. https://t.co/4sYvtXI7O8
The backlash intensified as the Rams fell 26-23 to the 49ers in a primetime thriller, with SoFi Stadium looking more like Levi’s Stadium South—overrun by 49ers fans and light on Rams supporters. One viral clip highlighted the sparse blue-and-gold crowd, prompting @ScubaSteve2600 to quip, “Worst part is Stan Kroenke brought his COLORADO Avalanche team and they wore Rams Jerseys…Broncos fans probably were pissed.” Even St. Louis fans, still nursing grudges from the relocation, joined the fray, with one former Rams supporter turned Broncos diehard declaring on X, “This triggers my hatred of Stan Kroenke on so many different levels.”
Sports Illustrated’s Tyler Lauletta called it a “public relations miscalculation,” noting that while team outings are commonplace—especially in October’s overlapping seasons—the jersey swap crossed a line for fans who view athletes as city ambassadors, not just employee reps. “It’s ok to own teams in different cities, but they’re reps of the cities, not you!” echoed @AshleyLolaRyan in response to comparisons with other cross-sport gestures, like the Buffalo Bills wishing luck to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Not everyone saw the drama. Defenders pointed out the players’ neutrality—many hail from outside Colorado and likely don’t carry the same grudges.
Christopher Sanchez on X (formerly Twitter): “I truly love how offended social media #Broncos fans are about the avalanche players wearing St. Louis Rams jerseys. Talk about the softest fan based in history. I can promise you that the vast majority of players are not Broncos fans and wear a jersey when given to them. / X”
I truly love how offended social media #Broncos fans are about the avalanche players wearing St. Louis Rams jerseys. Talk about the softest fan based in history. I can promise you that the vast majority of players are not Broncos fans and wear a jersey when given to them.
Then again, this guy said “St. Louis Rams jerseys” when they left St. Louis in 2016.
Denver Sports 104.3 even debated it on air, with hosts Joshua Dover and Cecil Lammey questioning if fans were overreacting to what was ultimately a harmless bonding trip. After all, Kroenke’s portfolio means these intra-family events are inevitable, and the Avs have plenty of chances to “reaffirm their Colorado bona fides” at Nuggets, Rapids, or Broncos games.
Yet, for diehards juggling allegiances to all four major Denver squads, the optics stung. As one X user put it, “The owner of the Avs also owns most of the Colorado Sports teams, his ties are to Colorado. Just because he owns the rams you don’t go out on a LA jerseys. Plus the broncos just got a bad beat in LA recently… not a good look to CO natives.” With the Avs’ home opener looming on October 9, expect Ball Arena to buzz not just with hockey hype, but whispers of this LA detour—jerseys optional, loyalty non-negotiable.
BigDawg69 nails it though:
BigDawg69 on X (formerly Twitter): “Thrifty move by Kroenke getting free seat fillers with Rams jerseys to try and offset all the 49er fans in the house / X”
Thrifty move by Kroenke getting free seat fillers with Rams jerseys to try and offset all the 49er fans in the house
As the dust settles, this kerfuffle serves as a reminder: In Kroenke’s kingdom, family ties bind teams across state lines, but fan hearts stay firmly planted in the Mile High City. Whether it’s a thrifty marketing ploy or an innocent outing, one thing’s clear—next time, maybe stick to Avalanche blue at Empower Field.
Mick Lite is a versatile entrepreneur, photographer, and blogger with a huge passion for Music, Sports, Movies, Food, and Gaming. He has worked as an official scorer, social media manager, and photographer for various college, semi pro, and pro sports teams, including the River City Rascals, St. Louis Attack, Missouri Monsters, St. Charles Chill, SLU Billikens, Gateway Steam, St. Louis Riversharks, and Gateway Grizzlies. Served 12 years in the USN/USAF/USN.
