A group of Denver Broncos fans has been the regular recipients of a disgusting downpour at Sports Authority Field, and they're getting fed up.
Several fans at Sunday night's contest between the Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers said they were repeatedly hit with pigeon poop by birds stationed in the stadium's rafters.
The situation became so bad that people had to resort to covering their heads with towels and using popcorn bags as drink covers. Fans alerted authorities, who said this was not a new problem and had actually been occurring for several years. In fact, at one point authorities put a plastic owl in the rafters in an attempt to keep the pigeons away. But the pigeons kept coming back.
And the worst part of all of this is that the seats weren't exactly cheap.
"These were $250 seats," Allison Harden said. "[We're] sitting there trapped in this kind of a situation. Any moment a pigeon [will] poop on you."
Andy Gorchov, general manager of the group that is responsible for maintenance at Sports Authority Field, released the following statement:
"We strive to ensure that all fans have a positive experience during Broncos games, and their safety and comfort is our No. 1 priority. Unfortunately, outdoor stadiums do sometimes have issues with birds. When these circumstances occur, our stadium staff is instructed to respond immediately and resolve the situation in the most timely and appropriate manner possible. We encourage all guests to contact us if they have an unpleasant experience at our stadium to allow us to provide the absolute highest level of service to them."
This is not the first time this year that NFL fans have been the victims of rogue birds. Baltimore Ravens fans may have been exposed to rabies by a bat during a recent game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Maybe the players shouldn't be the only ones wearing helmets.
