Victory: Broncos 38, 49ers 9
Finale: One last salute
New digs: Owens, Bowlen join ceremony to 'top out' new Broncos stadium
Stories: Broncos past and present share memories
Chronology: Mile High's last day
Souvenirs: Fans make a play for seats
Good seats: Workers, kin watch game on big TV in new stadium
Voices: Qutoes from Mile High's last day
Passion: Family still has first season-ticket seats
Tales: 76,000 tickets — 76,000 stories
Farewell cry: Tough South Stands fans say goodbye with tears

Video & audio: Broncos, fans remember Mile High
Destruction: Video montage of the stadium's demolition
Interactive timelines:
Game day | Through the years
Slideshow: Orange-and-blue memories

Proud reign: A day at Mile High
Q&A: What'll happen to Mile High landmarks
Gene Amole: When Bill Redd, Bears Stadium ruled Denver's sporting world
Dave Krieger: Frigid night of football frozen in time, mind
Bernie Lincicome: The burning question: How to say goodbye
The stars: Rating the best Broncos team ever

T-shirts. Programs. Baseball caps. Ticket stubs.

Anything and everything Mile High Stadium was hot Saturday.

Even the South Stands bleachers.

Fans in the South Stands hoisted long and short chunks of seats above their heads as the game ended, shaking them victoriously as the Denver Broncos entered the clubhouse below.

The sounds of crushing plastic and the excited yelps of fans thinking they got away with a piece of Mile High history were heard in the sections below the scoreboard.

But their happiness soon turned to dismay when security told them to drop their bleachers in the tunnel leading outside the stadium. No one who swiped a seat would give a name, fearing arrest if Denver Police caught them.

"(The Broncos) let everyone else get the chance to buy their seat, but we don't?" 52-year-old Barb Wilkinson asked before the game. "We're the best fans they have, but we've always been treated differently because we're the South Stands."

Some fans brought hacksaws to the game, ready to take a chunk of the stadium home with them. Late in the fourth quarter, heads in the South Stands turned to gawk at the first person who tried to make off with a seat.

Security quickly moved to quash the attempt.

Some people were arrested, but others got away with the Fiberglas seats, said Denver Police Sgt. Mark Fleecs.

"There were so many people who had them it was impossible to arrest them all," he said.

Other Broncos fans eager to take home a piece of Mile High had to be content with programs and other "final game" memorabilia.

Even those went fast.

Merchandise movers reported selling out of the $5 commemorative programs just after noon, nearly two hours before the 2:15 p.m. kickoff.

"We couldn't get them out of the boxes fast enough," said Jamie Perea, who was working a corner merchandise window on the first floor.

After the programs, any items commemorating the final game at Mile High sold out.

"That's what everyone was asking for, last game at Mile High," said Myra Scott, Perea's co-worker. "I've worked all the games, and I have never sold as much."

By 2:30 p.m., the women had deposited $6,000 in sales — an unofficial record.

A few yards away, a line snaked out of The Locker Room memorabilia store. College student Jeni Bond firmly but politely guarded the door. The aspiring teacher likened it to working with fourth-graders.

Inside, volunteer cashier Jennifer Thompson said fans were averaging sales of $100 apiece. Game programs were the top request.

"Everyone wanted one," she said, then joked: "I should have kept a couple; I could have made so much money."

December 24, 2000