MCM0313

Fwiw, my Broncos’ solution: Ditch navy, don’t bring back royal blue either. Make your secondary color as close as you can get to the shade of the 1980s-1996 helmets. Ole Miss uses Pantone 307 for their medium-blue helmets; given those likely have a similar origin story to the Orange Crush lids, I would guess the color is almost identical to that of Denver’s pre-1997 helmets. This time, though, don’t have the mismatch between helmet and trim. Have numbers and stripes in Pantone 307. Maybe even an alt. The logo should be some hybrid between the Robohorse and the D. The white helmet should be ditched, and a 1997 navy blue throwback should be added (in the 1997 shade of navy too, which isn’t the 2023 one). Bada bing, bada boom! Problem solved.

The top pic is probably the best we can hope for. It’s pretty good too, aside from the one stupid white helmet.

I mean, that’s their shade.

I found aerial footage from ‘97 on YouTube. The end zones were still green with white logos but near as I can tell that was it. They hadn’t embiggened the logo within the end zone to accommodate for the elements that had been dropped; it looked small and lonely, and the overall look of the end zone was less cromulent than it had been the previous decade.

Ah! My mistake. Must’ve been an inaccuracy within the game I played a lot. Did they continue to also have the helmet and the conference logo in the end zone all the way up through 1997?

Right! How could I forget the Giants’ red end zones with blue team name and white outlines from SB XXI? Simple font without the italics or outlines. That was in their end zones. Related, the Jets’ end zones in the ‘80s and ‘90s were disappointingly plain. They just left the field its natural green color rather than painting it and then slapped the logo down in white, IIRC. Hopefully this time around they exercise a bit more creativity with their end zone designs.

Glad to see I was mistaken! I guess I kind of thought there was at least an informal prohibition on that sort of thing across the Big 4. (Except NYI in 1997, obviously. The Fisherman was reviled.) Having thought more about this…has this been true of any other NFL logo of the Super Bowl era? Maybe the Rams at some point in the ‘90s - or was the helmet always the primary pre-2000? I guess the Big Blue Wrecking Crew-era Giants, but then when they switched to the ny logo, they had the good sense to retain the underlined logo as their wordmark.

You mean at the same time? As in, primary and wordmark were identical?

I think the script will be identical to the old one. The primary logo probably won’t - isn’t there something in NFL bylaws that prohibits returning to an old logo, unaltered? - but the script almost certainly will. My guess would be that the logo will become the script inside of an oval, which they’ve used in various ways over the course of the past year.

I mean…

You’ve been here longer than me, yes. I’m not a newcomer though. And I think “good but not great” was the most common opinion of that logo - though, if I see anyone down on one knee in these parts, I will immediately tell you.

Turrible, turrible.

Naw. Not barfworthy at all. Also…you’re a smart guy under all the snark. I wish you would give us fewer memes and reaction GIFs, and more of your actual thoughts and analysis. You can do better.

To me it looks an awful lot like their Color Rush jersey. Maybe brining that back in some form? Or, yeah, just some commemorative something or other. Of course, that design was based on a combination of the ‘50s look and the ‘80s/‘90s look. So this could be commemorating whatever, pretty much.

I agree with you. Normally I like sock stripes, but such a simple look is just fine with solid-color socks. Provided that color isn’t all the colors combined (white) or no color at all (black).

Spoken like somebody who doesn’t live in a pineapple under the sea…

Yes, they should! Right down to the Ole Miss medium blue helmet.

Thanks for reminding me of my nostalgia for the Orange Crush Broncos.

Not all players go for the look. Plus, an individual’s preferred fashion can change over time. It’s a fad.

Chiefs again, huh? Against…who is that, the Vikings?

I don’t think they’ll mix and match too terribly much. I just hope their preferred combos aren’t monochromatic. White over white is fine, but PLEASE keep the socks green, and don’t do any ice cube or chilly emojis. What’s good in that regard is that the set it is based on always wore green socks and white pants. I believe that, after the mess they’re leaving behind, they will mostly go for simple, traditional looks aside from the black alt.

Not a damn thing wrong with looking like the Celtics! (At least their primaries….)

Indiana nights, baby! Perfect for hitting up the local Applebee’s for some mozzarella sticks after the game.

It can be done tastefully though. The Jets’ 2019-23 set shows this - black facemask, black number outline, not overwhelming at all. Since their upcoming set is just a modernization of a classic style, I don’t foresee a ton of black in the regular home and road sets. I’d say 1990-97 amounts, or even less.

I love that this mockup doesn’t include white or black socks. I’m cool with it not including green pants too. But it’s just a mockup. You know they will go monochrome at least part of the time. Still - moving to the plane silhouette full-time is a massive win.