In front of a nationally televised pregame show, Denver Broncos fans, in bright orange and blue jerseys, cheered and chanted, “Beat the Chiefs!”

The CBS Sports broadcast set itself in the middle of a massive tailgate Sunday, when thousands of smiling Broncos fans rejoiced in celebration, ate barbecue, threw the football around and debated Patrick Mahomes or Bo Nix. Many, of course, preferred the latter.

The NFL Week 11 tailgate in Denver drew Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs fans together. On both sides, many called it perhaps the biggest game in a decade, or the last time Denver won an AFC West title.

Tyler Sparks, attending the CBS broadcast, lifted his son up on his shoulders, attempting to be on TV.

“This is the biggest game in five to 10 years,” Sparks, a fan of over 40 years, said.

Tailgates now, he said, represent “a renewed energy and that Broncos Country is coming back.”

Pregame celebrations include food trucks, games, activities and autograph sessions with Broncos legends. Some fans hitched up their trunks in the parking lot and grilled.

“When a team is good, this is what it looks like,” Thunderchief Begay, a Native American who became a Broncos fan in 1977, said of pregame festivities.

“It’s been a while and we’ve been missing it,” Begay, with his wife, said. “Success comes with the culture, too.”