It was this weekend in 2009 the city of Denver lost an icon.
For those of you who might not be familiar with the Barrel Man here’s a simple explanation from Wikipedia of who he was and what he stood for.

The Barrel Man (real name Tim McKernan) was a superfan of the Denver Broncos. In all types of weather for thirty years, he attended every home game at both Mile High Stadium and INVESCO Field at Mile High wearing nothing but an orange barrel that covered his torso and a cowboy hat and boots.

The McKernan family asked if I would rerun this cartoon from a year ago. I thought it was a good time to honor their request. Broncos and Buffs fans are in crisis mode here in Colorado. Tim’s legacy is a gentle reminder to all of us that true fans have to take the good with the bad, weather the storms and, above all, live life to the fullest. Here’s to the Barrelman. Live passionately!

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Leafs
I drew this for 9News on Sunday night but waited a few days to post it. The outpouring of love and support for the McKernan family (the Barrel Man) has been wonderful and I just wanted to give people time to write some condolences and warm fuzzies to the family. Well done Drew Crewers. You are all so absolutely amazing! We should be back on a regular schedule of cartoons now.

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Passion
You could describe Tim “The Barrel Man” McKernan in that one simple word. I love people with passion. People who follow their hearts to places so few us dare to tread. Tim was one of those people. I had the great pleasure of talking to Tim during a taping he and I were doing with NFL Films for the History of the Denver Broncos DVD. McKernan was larger than life, a guy who loved to tell stories and share his love for the Broncos. He knew that the barrel thing was one way to show his passion for all things Orange. But he also knew it brought smiles to fans throughout the NFL, regardless of whether you were a Broncos fan or not. They figured any guy who would run around half naked in a barrel in the midst of a snow storm to watch his favorite team was the truest definition of a real fan and that resonated with people. He exuded joy. And that is something we could all use a little more of these days.

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