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WEEK OF JUNE 19, 2025
VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 29
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Seeing stars among new NWSL team Colorado sports titans rally to bring professional women’s soccer to town BY JOHN RENFROW JOHN@CTLN.ORG
A student from Centennial Elementary School sprays the fire hose during Last Fling Lunch at Cosmo’s Pizza on May 21. PHOTO BY NATALIE KERR
Firefighters, police, students gather at Cosmo’s Pizza for Last Fling Lunch The semi-annual event celebrates students with pizza, prizes
BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Police sirens blared, blue and red lights flashed and voices could be heard yelling loudly over a police radio — but it was a happy occasion outside Cosmo’s Pizza on a sunny afternoon in May. Students from Denver North High School, Skinner Middle School, Centennial Elementary School and Columbian Elementary School joined Cosmo’s staff, the Denver Fire Department and the Denver Police Department at the Last Fling Lunch on May 20, 21 and 22 to celebrate the end of the school year, see presentations from emergency responders and eat pizza. Cosmo’s hosts the event at its Federal
Boulevard location twice a year, once in the fall and spring to support the community that helps their business thrive, owner Bob Marek said. “It all started, opening the restaurant, wanting to be a part of the community, and it really spawned and grew from there,” Marek said. “It really is part of our corporate value of giving back to the community.” Students, including those who are in special education programs, had a chance to interact with local fire crews and police teams, sit inside police vehicles, go inside the firetruck and spray the firehose. Emergency responders also showed off new technology such as drones used in fire rescue missions. It’s fun to see the kids interact with the fire rigs and experience things they’ve
VOICES: 6 | LIFE: 8 | PUZZLE: 10
never seen up close before, Captain Luis Cedillo said. But it’s also helpful to the fire crew to engage with the community outside of emergency situations. “It provides an insight to those kids about what firefighters do, how we work and they get to see the actual engine, throw some water,” Cedillo said. “What we’re trying to do is create trust and respect between us, and even PD. It’s helping us bring more collaboration between the Department of (Public) Safety and the community.” For some, it may inspire a future career in public safety, Cedillo added, but regardless, it’s a chance for the kids to be curious and have fun. SEE LAST FLING, P4
Since the announcement in January, Colorado has been abuzz about Denver being awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League team, set to begin play in 2026. Between powerhouse additions to the ownership and investor groups and the groundbreaking on a new state-of-the-art performance center in Centennial, Coloradans have made it clear that professional women’s sports are long overdue in the area. The club also unveiled plans for a future stadium district in downtown Denver, which will represent the largest investment in women’s team sports infrastructure in history. The exclamation point came on June 3, when Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (and obvious Denver legend) Peyton Manning joined the club as a Denver NWSL investor. The Sheriff announced his involvement in a cheeky video of him FaceTiming his brother, NFL legend Eli Manning, a minority owner of Gotham FC in New York. But the five-time NFL MVP and twotime Super Bowl winner’s addition is just the icing on a star-studded cake of owners and investors for the new soccer club. See the full list below, with details pulled from DenverNWSL.com. Olympic Alpine Skier Mikaela Shiffrin
A Colorado legend is joining the Denver NWSL group as an investor. Shiffrin has 101 World Cup victories, is a twotime Olympic champion, an eight-time World Champion and a five-time Overall World Cup Champion. “I’m beyond thrilled to join the ownership group of Denver NWSL and support something so meaningful in the community I call home,” Shiffrin said in a statement. “The sport culture in Colorado is rich and deep, and — most notably — the growth of women’s sports is one of the most exciting movements in our culture today.” SEE STARS, P15
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