When Elias Balderrama pulls on his luchador mask and cape, despite the sweltering summer heat, he embodies, he says, what it means to be a Denver Broncos fan.

“It’s always worth it,” Balderrama says about his Bronco Libre costume. “It’s all about that sense of love for the team. Being able to express my fandom and show my support. This is what I grew up on.”

Though the Broncos recently limited their public practices to 3,000 attendees, the first day of open training proved that the fanbase holds strong. Indeed, the fans showed their unwavering support by coming out, despite the sizzling summer morning.

Hundreds — clad in orange and navy — lined the practice field in Centennial on Friday morning, creating an array of faces, ages and backgrounds. Some even traveled from other parts of the country.

Jennifer Franks and her son, Cooper, came out from California for their first training camp. Their relatives, Diane and David Mecham, became Broncos fans shortly after relocating from California to Colorado.

“You move to Colorado, of course, you’re going to become a Broncos fan,” David Mecham says. “Now everyone comes out here… We’re excited to see what really takes place behind the scenes.”

Balderrama also says fans from California contacted him before coming to practice.

“I met a fan from California at a game,” he says. “He just messaged me and said he was coming for camp and asked if I was going to be here.”

He adds: “Having that outreach and effect, especially on kids, that’s creating the future of Broncos fandom.”

The Denver fandom doesn’t just stretch to the costumes and the tourists.

Three generations of the Peirce family, for example, attended this year’s practice. Grandfather and son have been in Colorado since 1993. Now, they are introducing the grandkids to the fandom.

“We try to come every year. Now we’re bringing the kids out,” Michael Peirce says. “We started when practices were in Greeley, and we’ve followed them out here.”

Colorado native Jackie Fuller, meanwhile, brought her children out for the first time. She had attended practices when she was a child and is now passing the torch.

“It’s really cool to have them see this up close and in person,” she says.

All fans in attendance were cheerful, despite a Broncos team in flux after a disappointing season. They appeared ready to look past the team’s recent failures, with positivity permeating the camp. To many, the first open practice creates opportunities and heralds a fresh start.

“It’s time to get back on the winning path. It’s time to play Broncos football,” Jesse Duran says.

Having an upswing from the previous 5-12 record “means everything” to him and his son, Jared, he says.

Balderrama adds, “I’m very hopeful. I always am… We have the leaders in place. We’re in a position to win. We all want to see them win.”