The spirit was hot, but the fans were chilly at lunchtime Thursday for the Southwest Airlines Drive to the Championship Pep Rally around the ice skating rink at Skyline Park.
"I can't feel my feet, but that'll make them better for kicking Cam Newton's butt," said Jerry Ellis, wearing a vintage John Elway jersey as he referred to the Carolina Panthers quarterback.
The rink, which was lined to resemble a football field, was free Thursday to anybody wearing Broncos colors, but lunch was time to talk football in the heart of downtown.
"Let's yell at these buildings and say, 'Come hang out with us,' " Denver Councilman Albus Brooks told the crowd of several hundred, many standing in dirty snow left from this week's storm.