LONDON – Lutz Freiherr Von Entress-Fursteneck is a German baron and a fan of Broncos kicker Wil Lutz.

The German Lutz, as we’ll call him, became a Broncos fan about 35 years ago after watching them on television in his hometown of Berlin. And on May 17, 2023, his 60^th birthday, his nephew Matthis nephew gave him a No. 60 jersey with “Lutz” on the back

Three months later, the Broncos acquired kicker Wil Lutz in a trade with New Orleans. The German Lutz was thrilled.

“It was incredible,’’ he said Saturday at the Broncos’ Orange Herd Fan Rally at The Admiralty, a London pub. “Every time he is shooting a field goal and makes it, I am excited.”

The German Lutz on Sunday will see in person his first Broncos game, when they face the New York Jets at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And for how much he paid for his ticket, he figures to be treated like royalty.

The German Lutz does play down that he is a baron, a title of nobility in his country, saying it’s not like the royals in England. He is a real estate agent but insists he doesn’t sell castles.

Yet the German Lutz did pay about $830 for his seat Sunday around the 50-yard line.

“It is a special ticket inside,’’ he said. “They have a restaurant.”

The German Lutz, now 62, said he became a Broncos fan around 1990 because he’s a “sports man” and was intrigued when watching one of their games on Armed Forces Television. It wasn’t always easy to find Broncos games in Germany then but now, thanks to a pay streaming service, he watches all of them on television, regardless of Berlin being eight hours ahead of Denver.

The German Lutz was among hundreds of fans who lined up Saturday to attend the rally, which featured Broncos Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater greeting many and handing tossing out Broncos souvenirs from a balcony. Most waited between 1 and 1 ½ hours to get in, with the line wrapping around the block.

There were plenty of fans from Colorado and other states, and a number from other countries. In addition to Germany, there were Broncos fans on hand from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and other nations.

“The first game I watched on TV was in 1986 when the Broncos beat the Bengals,’’ said Alistair Meckellar, who arrived Friday from his hometown of Balfroa, Scotland after a 5 ½-hour train ride. “I liked the look of a guy that was wearing number 7 in orange (quarterback John Elway). Since then, the Broncos have basically decided my emotional state for almost 40 years now.”

Meckellar also watches every Broncos game on television, including when they faced Cincinnati on Monday Night Football on Sept. 29, a game that got underway at 1:15 a.m. in the United Kingdom. He said that’s harder to do the older he gets.

But it’s lot better than what it was like for the first 10 or 15 years of Meckellar being a Broncos fan before he could check out things on the internet.

“You actually had to listen to Armed Forces Radio from Germany and it was really hard to pick up,’’ Meckellar said of trying to find an NFL game, with the hope it would feature the Broncos. “You had to be a safecracker to find it because there wasn’t much difference on the dial between it and a French news channel and the game would go in and out. They would say, ‘Elway drops back,’ and then you would hear Jean Claude on the news (talking French).’’

Meckellar said an NFL television show back then that aired on Sunday nights showed highlights of the previous Sunday’s games. And if he wanted to get NFL statistics from a Sunday game, he would have to wait until Thursday.

“There was a dedicated newspaper that came out every Thursday called ‘First Down,’’’ Meckellar said. “So if I wanted to find out how many yards Sammy Winder had or if Steve Watson caught a touchdown, you’d read about it on Thursday.”

Meckellar will see his sixth Broncos game in person Sunday. He went to Broncos games in London in 2010 against San Francisco and in 2022 against Jacksonville and has come to the U.S. to see three, including visiting Denver.

Meckellar was chatting at the pub with fellow Scotsman Oliver Shooter, 41, who is from Glasgow. Shooter also will be see Sunday his sixth live Broncos game, which includes two last season in Denver and the Broncos’ two previous games in London. Shooter said he went to the 2010 game and met a bunch of Broncos fans and got hooked on the team.

Meckellar, who owns 15 Broncos jerseys, was decked out Saturday in an Atwater No. 27 and Shooter, who owns 10, was wearing a Peyton Manning No. 18. On Sunday, Meckellar plans to wear a Bo Nix throwback No. 10 and Shooter a Pat Surtain II throwback No. 2.

Meckellar and Shooter soon found themselves talking to two Broncos fans from Hamburg, Germany in Frank Ewald, 47, and Mirko Peters, 47. Ewald has followed the Broncos for 30 years after first watching them on German television.

“I was a big fan of (running back) Terrell Davis, so I chose the Broncos as my team,’’ Ewald said.

Ewald then introduced his buddy Peters to the Broncos 15 years ago, and he became a fan. On Saturday, Ewald wore a John Lynch No. 47 Broncos Pro Bowl jersey and Peters a No. 88 Demaryius Thomas jersey. On Sunday, they will attend their second Broncos game together, the first being the 2022 one in London.

Neither, though, is a German baron. As for Lutz Freiherr Von Entress-Fursteneck, he will wear his No. 60 Lutz jersey to Sunday’s game and root for Denver’s kicker. And he’s thinking hard about also getting a Broncos No. 3 Lutz jersey.

What I’m hearing

–Tight end Evan Engram made sure he will get to keep the ball from when he scored his first Broncos touchdown in last Sunday’s 21-17 upset win at Philadelphia. “Oh, yeah,’’ Engram said. “(Equipment manager Chris Valenti) has it, and when we get back home from London, it will be at the crib for sure.’’ Engram’s 11-yard grab and a two-point conversion pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin with 7:36 left put the Broncos up 18-17 after they trailed 17-3 early in the fourth quarter. “That’s the plan for sure,’’ Engram said of the catch propelling him for the rest of the season after he had gotten off to a slow start.

–When star linebacker Karl Mecklenburg was told in 1987 that the Broncos would be playing a preseason game in London, he at first didn’t care where it would be. “We’re right in the middle of training camp and you can’t practice on the plane,’’ Mecklenburg, who played for the Broncos from 1983-94, said of their 28-27 loss in 1987 to the Los Angeles Rams at old Wembley Stadium. “So a long flight like that was a nice rest.”

What I’m seeing

-Broncos wide receiver Trent Sherfield is playing a game in London for the third straight season and he doesn’t take it for granted. “Playing football overseas is a blessing for me,’’ said Sherfield, who suited up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Buffalo in 2023 and Minnesota in 2024. “For me to be able to play in the NFL, I would never have thought that and I would never have thought I’d be playing overseas. So it’s pretty cool.” Sherfield is in his eighth NFL season after being undrafted out of Vanderbilt.

–In the 28-3 win over the Bengals two weeks ago, J.K. Dobbins had 101 yards to become the first 100-yard rusher in head coach Sean Payton’s three Denver seasons and the first since Latavius Murray had 103 against the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2022 finale. Now, Dobbins is on pace to become the Broncos’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay had 1,011 in 2019. He has 402 yards in five games, putting him on pace for 1,367. The career high for Dobbins, drafted in 2020, is 905 yards for the Chargers last season.