Hundreds put on their best orange and blue and headed to Parque De Vida on Friday afternoon to meet Denver Broncos’ Will Parks and Corey Nelson.

Parks, a safety in his second year with the Broncos, and Nelson, a linebacker in his fourth year, signed autographs and took pictures with fans at the park. Two cheerleaders, Sydney and Jozie, joined the players along with Miles, the Broncos mascot.

Cortez Mayor Pro Tem Ty Keel introduced the players.

“Cortez is a great place to live, work and visit,” Keel said. “We’re really excited that everyone’s down here for this celebration.”

Cortez is the first stop on the Broncos 2017 “Salute to Fans” tour, which lasts through June 3. Other stops include Del Norte, Trinidad, Fort Morgan, Woodland Park, Aurora, Gunnison, Canon City, Steamboat Springs, Aspen and Fort Collins.

It’s the fifth straight year the Broncos have toured the state in the offseason. Last year’s tour had five stops, including in Durango and Montrose.

Nelson and Parks presented Keel with a flag that read: “Cortez is Broncos Country.”

Nelson thanked the big crowd for coming to visit.

“On behalf of the Broncos organization, we want to say thank you guys for coming out, and thanks for being Denver Broncos fans,” he said. “We love you guys, please continue to support us. Thank you, and go Broncos!”

Many people in the crowd arrived hours early in order to get a spot near the front of the line. Children played football in the open spaces of the park while they waited, and adults tried to get photos of the Broncos RV. Kelly Brinkhoff, who lives in the Cortez area, said he used to live in Denver and misses being able to go to Broncos games.

“I haven’t gone in a couple years, but when I lived up there, I used to go to about one a year,” he said.

His young son, Chase, came in a Demaryius Thomas jersey, but he said his girlfriend had stayed home.

“She’s a Cowboys fan,” Brinkhoff said.

Several people in the crowd had driven from Durango or even farther. Lavena Tom and Sophie Coberly, who were at the front of the line, said they drove from Farmington in the morning and had been waiting in line at the park since 12:30 p.m.

“We go to these things every year then they have them,” Coberly said. “We’re dedicated fans.”

Cortez police officers performed crowd control throughout the event, but officer Boyd Neagle said it was a fun assignment.

“I’d like to see more events like this,” he said.

During a sit-down with reporters in the Broncos RV before the park event, the Broncos players and cheerleaders talked about the hard work it takes to perform at that level, and the experience of winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

Nelson said it took a lot of “hard work and sacrifice” to make it to the NFL.

“It was not easy. We work hard on and off the field,” he said. “It takes proper dieting, and staying as healthy as possible, because we know when we go out on the field, it is going to be full-throttle, and we have to give everything we have.”

Cheerleaders Sydney and Jozie echoed the hard work and ethic required.

“It is physically demanding. We are out there dancing for 4 to 5 hours during the game and are constantly moving,” Sydney said. “It takes a lot of practice and a lot of stamina and working together to help each other.”

Nelson and Parks emphasized the importance of education for young people to succeed in whatever they choose to do.

“It opened up so many doors for me,” said Nelson, who has a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Oklahoma, “I had good grades, so I was able to pick what college I wanted to go to. ... When you take your education seriously, the connections you make are phenomenal. Knowledge is power.”

Parks, who played football at the University of Arizona, is pursuing a degree in behavioral sciences. He urged students to stay with education even if it becomes difficult.

“Your education is a big part of who you will become,” he said. “If you don’t like math, stay with it, because one day, you might want to be a scientist and you will need to know math.”

As far as Super Bowl 50, in which the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10, the players’ and cheerleaders’ eyes lit up.

“It was beautiful, a top moment,” said Nelson, who had multiple tackles in the defense-dominated victory. “The media day, meeting Snoop Dog and other celebrities was a big moment, and of course, the after-party!”

Jozie, who performed cheers at the Super Bowl, said she has fond memories of the day.

“The caravan before the game, we rode around with fans, and everywhere we saw orange, we all cheered. Even at orange construction cones, we’d all scream ‘Go Broncos!’” she said.

As far as their time in Cortez, the players and cheerleaders were impressed with the people and the food.

“I’ve been screaming praises about this Denny’s,” said Parks. “It’s the best one I’ve ever been to, I ate my whole plate!”

Main Street Brewery also got rave reviews.

“Great Italian sodas and burgers,” the cheerleaders said.

“Everyone treated us real well, and you can tell everyone knows each other, and it’s like one big happy family,” Parks said. “The food was great, the people here are great.”

Journal reporters Jim Mimiaga, Stephanie Alderton, Jacob Klopfenstein and Jim Mimiaga contributed to this story.