DENVER BRONCOS: MILE HIGH MONSTERS

Father/son bonding can take many forms. For Kerry and Wesley Green, it takes the form of two large orange monster suits made from stray pom-poms. Friendly monsters though, they emerge from their man cave to take selfies with hundreds of adoring fans every Sunday.

How did you fall in love with your team? What is your first memory around your NFL team?

Kerry:

Home Broncos games have been a family event all my life. My dad purchased season tickets in 1964 and I have been to almost every home game since that time.

Wesley:

Well, my family has had season tickets since the 60's and we went to the Super Bowl the same year I was born so I'm in Broncos gear in all of my baby pictures. I think the first moment that I can really remember was watching Super Bowl XXXII from my basement with a bunch of friends. The second the clock hit 0 I grabbed our Broncos flag and went running around the block yelling. Then I remember going down to the parade a couple of days later and standing in Civic Center Park listening to the track Tubthumping (I get knocked down). It's amazing how vivid that still is!

How, when and why did you start dressing up, collecting or becoming more than a regular ordinary fan?

K: When the new stadium was built the Broncos put a pom-pom on every seat. I thought, what a great Halloween costume I could make with them. A couple of years later the Broncos were getting ready to play a home playoff game and we suggested doing something different for the game. We were pretty normal fans wearing a Broncos shirt and hat. For the first home playoff game we painted our faces and I did an orange wig with a tie-dyed shirt and crazy pants. I made the pants for Wes with the pom-poms and he wore a Broncos jersey. Everyone noticed and made comments about the pants. The Broncos won the game so we had the AFC championship game the next weekend so I decided to make the suits.

W: That actually goes back quite a ways too. We played the against Minnesota on Halloween in 1999 and I wanted to be the Barrel Man so my dad let me go down to the game in my barrel that he had made me. Luckily it was a really warm game and I was able to go shirtless as a scrawny little 13-year-old. The Barrel Man must have heard from someone, because he came walking around the corner below the old South Stands before we were able to go up into our seats and got my dad's permission to take me around for a while. I went around getting the wave going and signing autographs for that whole first half.

The pom-poms, though, started about 11 years ago in 2005. We had taken a box of pom-poms from one of the games because they were just sitting right outside the gate. My dad made pants for me to wear to the Divisional Round game against the Patriots that year and the reaction was crazy. We decided to make the full suits and my dad spent the week figuring out how to make that work. The rest is history!

What is your favorite NFL moment or team memory?

K: My favorite memories are endless now. I love the reaction I get from all who see us. I think the super bowl parade last year is about as good as it gets. We were on an orange fire truck with a few other superfans and the last people in the parade. The fans cheered for us the same as they did for the players.

W: My favorite memory is actually pretty recent. We got to be in the Championship Parade this year and it was incredible. Just the sheer volume of people there, screaming and cheering as we came by is something that I won't forget anytime soon.

When did you start collecting / building your fan cave?

K: I started my cave because I did not want everything to be hidden in drawers. Now I call it my art project. I have been called an artist for creating the suit along with the cave by a public radio reporter.

What distinguishes you from other fans of your team?

K: We try and make ourselves available for any fan that wants a picture with us no matter what team they are rooting for. The only rule we have is that they must have fun and not be bad sports about what we do. We try and cover as much of their team emblems as we can with orange. We became superfans by accident really. Our theme is pretty crazy and we have done a lot of extra events, which has gotten us more exposure. We have done teaser videos with the official mascot, and have been on every network in Denver.

W: I lose a lot more weight than the average fan in September and October…I honestly think that we aren't very different than the average fan, other than we just found a way to have a ton of fun when we go down to the games and really enjoy making the game experience more memorable for everyone else.

What is your game day ritual? How do you prefer to watch the game?

K: We start our game day by tailgating for a couple of hours with the fans. We take hundreds of pictures every game and put smiles on lots of faces at the same time. During the game we are allowed to help get the crowd making noise at the right times and also taking pictures with fans in the stadium.

W: Obviously, if it's a home game the ritual starts early. I help my wife get our boys up and ready to go and then I take off for the game with my dad. My wife calls herself a football widow because home games are pretty much another full day away from the house. This year we're looking to set up our own tailgate and she'll come out more with my sons.

How did you develop your costume / get your nickname / develop your superfan persona?

K: It took me all week to figure out how to make them because I had to figure out a better way than what I did with the pants. I was having a hard time coming up with a good idea when I wondered how my mom would have done it. She was very creative and a party planner so she was always making something for one of her events. That was when I figured everything out and on Saturday I had Wes and my daughter come over to help. It took most of the afternoon to make two suits and I was going to make one for her, but she said she did not want to participate so we stopped at two. On game day we put the suits on and walked to the tailgating area. We were surrounded by all the fans and media taking pictures and doing live shots with the media. It was quite overwhelming!!!

W: My dad has always been the creative one when it comes to that so he had a vision and once he figured out how to attach the pom-poms, we were off and running. We came up with Mile High Monsters as an official name, but that's really just been a name that our friends use. Most everyone else just says "Hey pom-pom Guys!"

What is your favorite keepsake or piece of memorabilia?

K: My best keepsakes are probably my Super Bowl tickets. I have been to two of them, the Broncos' first winning Super Bowl and last year's as a monster.

W: There isn't really a lot of memorabilia that I have. I know my dad has quite a few things. I have a 2015 pro bowl helmet signed by quite a few players from that game. My wife had entered me in a Most Popular Fan contest without me knowing so we got some cool stuff down there.

How does it feel to be known by your friends and peers as a die-hard fan?

K: It is crazy now with friends. We are called celebrities and even legends. My daughter was going to college so she was always meeting new friends. They would start sharing pictures and lots of times the person had a picture with us at a game together. I always laugh when I think of Kayla telling them that we are her dad and brother.

W: It feels like you're almost part of the team. I love talking Broncos and just about every casual conversation I have with friends starts or gets to the Broncos and what we do at some point.

What is the best thing about your team?

K: The best thing about the Broncos is the winning tradition they have.

W: I love that the organization does such an amazing job of keeping us competitive. We've been superfans for decade now and there has only been a couple of years where we weren't fighting for something or keeping it interesting.

They're also extremely supportive of their fans. The Broncos bring us in for commercials, in stadium videos, and really just let us go around and have fun with everyone and add to their experience.

All images by Ben Colen.

See more of the Hall of Fandom here.

This content was paid for by the advertising partner and created in collaboration with VICE digital services, independently from the VICE Sports editorial staff.