Coloradans celebrated in downtown Denver at a parade and rally to honor the first-time NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Melissa Alire-Chavez claimed her spot along the orange barricades around 7am. She’s been a season ticket holder since 2016, and says she’s had to carefully manage her finances to continue to afford them for herself and her sons.
The Nuggets mean a lot to her: She shared the passion with her father, who passed away during the 2022-2023 season. She says the only game she missed this year was the day her dad died. Standing at the parade, she said, “It’s hard to see that he didn’t make it to see this moment.” Last night, she got a new tattoo of a butterfly. One side is colored in with her dad’s fingerprint; the other side is painted Nugget’s blue and yellow. It's at least her second Nuggets tattoo: She has the team's logo on her shoulder.
