I want to open with this bold, yet very true statement: Shelby’s Bar and Grill in Denver, Colorado is the best Panthers bar – and quite frankly – the best place to watch a Panthers game, in the entire world.
Now, please don’t take this as a knock to any of our other Roaring Riot chapters which all have their own uniquenesses or to our friends in the entertainment department at the Panthers organization who work hard to make the Bank of America Stadium experience so much fun, but the Mile High Cats have figured out what it takes to make each and every gameday experience special – and there is truly nothing like it.
I recently took a trip out to Denver to catch a game with the MHCs so I could get a closer look at what they do and decipher what makes them so special – I think I figured it out; there are three pieces you need to create a great experience.
The Bar
When you first walk up to Shelby’s Bar & Grill, I can almost guarantee you your reaction will be very similar to mine – This is it?
That’s what I said to myself – out loud – when I went for a visit during the 2015 season to get a chance to meet the Denver crew of Panthers fans for the first time. Shelby’s is in downtown Denver, but several blocks away from the much more “happening” entertainment districts with the shortened nicknames like LoDo and RiNo. It’s a single-story, freestanding building that is engulfed by office and hotel skyscrapers; the marquee on the front of the building looks like a cross between something left behind from the Roaring Twenties (Fun Fact: Shelby’s was originally a brothel in the early 1900s and there are still tunnels from its build to a nearby hotel where patrons could enter without being noticed from the street) and a neon sign you’d expect to see on South Beach, Miami in the scenes of Scarface.
Speaking of South Beach, there’s a painting of a postcard on the side of Shelby’s which includes palm tress, ocean water, and “Greetings from Shelby’s”. One of my favorite halftime pictures from the Mile High Cats – we’ll come back to these – clearly shows the postcard in the background while the group is posing for the picture and it’s snowing. It’s quite the juxtaposition that I don’t truly get, but it’s also part of its beauty.
The interior of Shelby’s is the epitome of a dive bar. The carpet is decades old and assuredly dirty. The barstools are wobbly. The bathrooms are cramped. There are a total of four TVs in the whole place – one of which is about 10 seconds ahead of the others. There is a gigantic, rectangle bar in the middle of the space that easily takes up 50% of the entire restaurant. And while I know that you are reading this and that you might not think I’m doing the place any favors with this description, let me tell you, it’s absolutely beautiful. Everything about Shelby’s is unique. Its cosmetic appearance mixed in with the upstate New York personalities of its owners Howard and Nanette Nelson, who won’t hesitate to yell at you if you’re out of line, makes the place ooze with character that is tough to replicate. You see, I prefer going to dive bars. We’ve also proven over the last few years with the Roaring Riot that dive bars, by and large, make better host locations than a typical chain restaurant. Shelby’s is awesome.
And it’s the perfect bar for the Mile High Cats.
The Relationships
When Joey Nitz and Josh Klein first talked to Shelby’s in 2010 about being a Panthers bar, Howard (they call him H) and Nanette had one rule – bring at least 20 people. Shelby’s was typically closed on Sunday and it was the staff’s only day off, so 20 was the number of Sunday guests that it was going to take to get them to agree to open their doors and put the Panthers on their TVs. The problem for Joey and Josh was that they didn’t know 18 other Panthers fans in Denver. As a matter of fact, they didn’t know any.
So they would beg friends who were out at the bar with them on Saturday nights and they would recruit some of Josh’s future wife’s brothers and sisters – luckily she has a large family – to come out on Sundays for the Panther games. Two Panthers fans – seven Broncos fans – four of Renee’s brothers and sister – and several random friends who could not have cared less about the Panthers all hanging out as one tight group of family and friends on a Sunday early afternoon….that’s how Shelby’s became a Panthers bar.
It didn’t hurt that Joey and Josh went on eBay and procured 20 jerseys they would hand out to their friends – a tradition that still stands today with the ‘swag bag’ that sits behind the bar all week.
I find it very ironic that family and friends, and not Panthers fans, made up the composition of the original game watch attendees, because one of the main things that has really stuck with me from my three visits with the MHCs in Denver is how close this group of people really is. As soon as someone walks in the door they get a hug or a high five. If you’re a regular and you’re not there on time, you’re getting a call or text asking where you are – and your balls broken if you’re sleeping in. If you’re a new face, they’ll greet you, try and find out more abut you; make you feel welcome. And if you’re not participating in their gameday cheers, they will strongly encourage you to get involved.
I can’t stress how important interpersonal relationships are to the success of a Roaring Riot chapter. I’ve been to watch parties before that have had great turnouts, but each group sat at their own tables and didn’t intermingle like one big group. Inclusion is the most important ingredient to make sure everyone has a good time, returns for the following game, and wants to be a part of the group. It’s impossible to watch a game at Shelby’s and go unnoticed. And it’s impossible to leave without feeling the love.
The Culture
“Stand up and cheer for the Panthers.
Stand up and cheer for the Black and Blue.
The pride of both Carolinas.
A team for me and you – GO BIG CATS”
Curtis Samuel takes a quick pass from Cam Newton, breaks what looks to be about seven tackles, and takes the ball into the end zone while two Giants players are hanging on to his legs. Shelby’s erupts in loud cheers – the Mile High Cats are all hugging and celebrating the incredible Samuel play that has given the Panthers their first lead of the game. My head is on a swivel. I’m sitting alone at this point, looking around Shelby’s like Jimmy V was looking for someone to hug in the ’83 NCAA Championship. Finally I take notice of the two bartenders who have both moved to their respective draft systems on either side of the bar and they are holding on the to the taps like they’re trying to prevent a criminal from busting through the door of their bedroom – what is happening?
The cheers die down and now every MHC in Shelby’s has begun banging their hands on the bar at an ever-quickening pace. It occurs to me that the bartenders are in fact in a safety position – they’re holding on to keep the taps from opening up due to the bar drumming, which in the past has caused beer to flow freely leading to wasted Bud Light, Guinness, and Yuengling all over the floor. Derek yells out “1……2……1…2…3…4”. 100+ Panthers fans break out into their touchdown celebration song – a remix of the classic “Stand and Cheer” that has been in existence since 2011 – when Joey, Josh and their friends made it up.
Building culture within a fanbase is not easy. Because culture and traditions can’t be manufactured.
In order to be successful – in order to stick – it must be meaningful. It must be organic. It must be naturally introduced and accepted. It must be unique. But when it happens, and whenever one buys into it and participates and contributes, it’s special to watch.
The most amazing part of the Mile High Cats experience is the amount of culture that they have been able to create – and make their own, while 2000 miles away from Carolina, and cheering on the Panthers
Beyond the touchdown celebration song, here’s a little bit of what I saw….
The swag bag. The tradition continues. A collection of old Panthers gear, from Clausen and Greene jerseys to neck pillows and old buttons. If you show up at Shelby’s and you’re not decked out in Panthers garb, then you’re getting something out of the swag bag whether you like it or not, and you’re cheering for the Panthers.
Jell-O Shots. When the Panthers score a touchdown, out come the blue Jell-O shots, free for the entire bar. SPOILER: with the Panthers 2018 weapons and the way the offense has been scoring lately, the Jell-O more than likely won’t make it for the whole game.
Assigned seats. The first time I watched a game at Shelby’s I was there early enough to have my pick of seat location. When I sat down, I was immediately told I was “in ‘so and so’s’ seat” and that if they showed up I was going to have to move. Since then I’ve learned not to go to Derek’s corner, or sit in Holly’s seat. Or if I’m going to stand close to the TV, then I’m going to have to make room for Shabazz and Mike Vaughn.
Halftime pic. At the end of the second quarter, you have to leave your seat, cover your beer with a coaster, and head out to the side of the building for a halftime pic. Make sure your claws are out. Opposing fans take front row.
May the fourth be with you. A few years back, the Panthers were losing and it was decided that the MHCs needed to switch things up. They ordered Fireball shots to start off the fourth quarter. Immediately after taking the shot, the Panthers got a pick six and ended up winning the game. Thus, a tradition was born. Now during the first series of the fourth quarter of each game, Derek and Matt take a Fireball shot – they hate Fireball – to keep the tradition alive.
Victory Beers. Every time the Panthers win, everyone in the bar orders a can of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Hint: don’t order one before the game is over – you’ll jinx the whole thing.
There are dozens of other stories about the Mile High Cats I didn’t even get to – the boils they used to take donations for that are now provided by the Roaring Riot, the famed Yelp! review, the pictures of the Big Cats on the wall, the Cat Man helmet, the Saints Cake, the Panthers banner that sat on the patio for months at a time, the fact that Esquire named Shelby’s one of the Best 18 Bars in America, the “Rules of Shelby’s” and others that they’ll be happy to share with you if you set foot inside the hallowed halls of Shelby’s on a Sunday – I highly suggest you do.
They’ll even buy you a Jell-O shot.
