Flashback: Colorado Previews Star Wars: Episode One in the Rain
Star Wars fans are hardcore, dedicated, and sometimes obsessive. The legion of fans of the saga is similar to The Grateful Dead's 'Deadheads' and KISS's 'KISS Army,' and they can be found all over the world.
It should come as no surprise that in 1999, thousands of eager Coloradans and out-of-staters alike gathered to catch a special preview of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
However, things did not go as smoothly as organizers or fans had hoped.
Flashback to 1999's Colorado Star Wars Preview Gone Wrong
When news spread about a new Star Wars movie being released for the first time in nearly two decades, fans understandably became quite excited.
To coincide with the release, a special ticketed event was planned at Denver's Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum designed to give the most hardcore fans a special preview of the upcoming film.
However, no matter how hardcore these fans claimed to be, the process of getting into the event almost seemed not worth it.
What Happened at Colorado's 1999 Star Wars Preview?
It wasn't so much what happened at the preview, but what led up to the event that was notable. Thousands of fans gathered outside the museum on a nasty, windy, and rainy day and were made to wait hours in the terrible weather.
Some claimed that it was a fire code issue and that the museum was only allowed to let ten people in at a time.
A news report showed thousands of angry fans dressed in ponchos, holding umbrellas, and cursing whoever was responsible for the delay.
Keep scrolling to take a trip back in time to this event which proved to be almost as disastrous as the film's Jar Jar Binks character's eventual legacy: