COVID In Colorado 1 Year Later: Nuggets Superfan Vicki Ray Was Heartbroken When NBA Halted Season

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DENVER (CBS4) - For nearly 30 years, Vicki Ray lived and breathed Denver Nuggets games. Since 1992 and until last year, she attended nearly every Nuggets home game.

"I missed 3 ... two when my mom passed away in 2005 and one when we had snow and I got stuck in the middle of the street," she told CBS4.

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It has taken a global pandemic to keep Ray away from her beloved Nuggets. She'll never forget March 11, 2020, the day the NBA put its season on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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"I cried," she said.

Now Ray has to follow the action through updates on her phone and radio broadcasts. The Denver Nuggets are not among the NBA teams that have started allowing fans back into their venues.

"It's kind of emotional not being able to go (to the games)," she said.

(credit: CBS)

You can bet Ray will be the first one lined up to get back in to see her beloved Nuggets. She's looking forward to getting back to her gameday routine, which used to involve making signs for every player and giving hugs to everyone on the roster who participated in the warmups as they returned to the locker room.

She's hopeful the latter is something that will be allowed under health guidelines when fans are finally permitted back in Ball Arena.

"It'll be good, if I can hug the players. Because that was our routine -- as they came off from doing practice shootaround, they would stop and hug me," she said.