Broncos Planning to Switch to Orange Jerseys Full Time

[Morgan33]

I don't know much about football logos, jerseys, etc but after checking the Broncos uniform history after reading this thread I was really surprised that they abruptly changed to Blue in 1997 after wearing Orange for so many years. Im curious, is the current Broncos logo well respected among the logo critics on these boards or are people calling for a return to the pre-1997 logo? Thanks in advance.

[hawk36]

Ridiculous. Should never have to wait more than 6 months to switch. This 1+ year wait thing kills ingenuity, freshness. With increased speed of technology, this is just embarrassing for the NFL.

It's not about technology. It's about what do you do with next year's merchandise? They don't want to be stuck with a bunch of blank Bronco jerseys or something. This way then can plan and time demand with what's already in inventories and not get stuck with a bunch of worthless blank bronco jerseys. It's about money, not technology.

I don't quite buy this argument since college teams change all the time, sometimes months prior to the season. They have just as much to lose in old merchandise. You could be correct but I'm just not sure that's the real reason.

Well they wouldn't let (I think it was) Javon Walker change his number without him buying however many thousands of dollars worth of his own jersey back...

I can see that. If it's only merchandise, I wonder if the league has an "out" for teams. Buy up the old merchandise and change immediately. Wasn't it the 49ers who wore their throwbacks for most of the season and were fined for it. Still, they did it. Wonder what it would cost the Broncos to wear their existing orange full time next year? Maybe throw in the blue for one game?

[larrypep]

I don't know much about football logos, jerseys, etc but after checking the Broncos uniform history after reading this thread I was really surprised that they abruptly changed to Blue in 1997 after wearing Orange for so many years. Im curious, is the current Broncos logo well respected among the logo critics on these boards or are people calling for a return to the pre-1997 logo? Thanks in advance.

I hate the 1997 Nike uniforms with a passion. From the striping, to the use of navy when the team had a history of being the "Orange Crush", to that stupid looking horse on the side of the helmet, to me the whole set reeks. They had a uniform that was not broken in any way whatsoever - the "Orange Crush" uniform, from the helmet (that blue was a unique shade of blue), the "D" logo, and the jersey was about as good a uniform set as there was in the NFL.

[MJWalker45]

I hate the Broncs and their old unis were miles ahead of what they wear now. But watching them yesterday in all blue I though the uni was dated. So many high school and college teams have used the design and it's looked awful more times than it looked good

[robbman21]

From watching the NFL Network's "America's Team" on the 1997 Broncos, the players couldn't stand the old "Orange Crush" unis and couldn't wait to usher in something new and modern. Now, there's been countless debates on this board about why players should have zero say-so in uniform changes and designs, but the fact that the players of that era couldn't stand those unis should speak for something.

[Buffalo]

--

[JQK]

From watching the NFL Network's "America's Team" on the 1997 Broncos, the players couldn't stand the old "Orange Crush" unis and couldn't wait to usher in something new and modern. Now, there's been countless debates on this board about why players should have zero say-so in uniform changes and designs, but the fact that the players of that era couldn't stand those unis should speak for something.

That athletes have awful taste and should never be the driving force behind design.

[hawk36]

Worse than that, the Broncos "modern" unis also helped usher in the "monochrome" madness of the last decade with teams wearing matching tops and bottoms, leading to many many "pajama" sets.

I'm not sure it was the Broncos who started this. Their super bowl years, in my memory, never had the monochrome.

I fear it was actually the Seahawks who may have started it, by mistake, when their new white pants didn't fit right and the team wore the blue on blue and the look stuck.

[Buffalo]

I don't know much about football logos, jerseys, etc but after checking the Broncos uniform history after reading this thread I was really surprised that they abruptly changed to Blue in 1997 after wearing Orange for so many years. Im curious, is the current Broncos logo well respected among the logo critics on these boards or are people calling for a return to the pre-1997 logo? Thanks in advance.

I think many people really dislike the Broncos "modern" jerseys. They really did kick-start the whole piping craze that lead to vertical stripes infecting so many teams in the late 90s, early 2000s, including the: Bills, Patriots, Vikings, Jaguars, Falcons, and.... am I forgetting anybody else?

NCAA football programs, whose uniform designs are often dictated by manufacturers like Nike, Reebok and Under Armour, really took to the Bronco-style piping with reckless abandon. Programs like Boise State and BYU adopted unis with scoops and swooshes, stripes and panels galore!

Worse than that, the Broncos "modern" unis also helped usher in the "monochrome" madness of the last decade with teams wearing matching tops and bottoms, leading to many many "pajama" sets.

I remember the Buffalo Bills squaring off against Denver in week 1 of the 1997 pre-season and I railed on the "FLAMING RATS" logo which would soon become popular and imitated by many.

BTW, I think they modeled the bronco mascot on John "Horseface" Elway and his big pearly whites.

[-Akronite-]

I like the Broncos uniforms currently, but I think a switch to orange full-time works better than continuing to go against history. But I have big doubts about switching back on their blue though. If they continue with a modern set it would not work IMO. And generally, the lighter blue with orange just makes the uniform seem older than it will be. The old Broncos set with the regular blue seemed as dated as the new uniform looks modern.

[BBTV]

Ridiculous. Should never have to wait more than 6 months to switch. This 1+ year wait thing kills ingenuity, freshness. With increased speed of technology, this is just embarrassing for the NFL.

It's not about technology. It's about what do you do with next year's merchandise? They don't want to be stuck with a bunch of blank Bronco jerseys or something. This way then can plan and time demand with what's already in inventories and not get stuck with a bunch of worthless blank bronco jerseys. It's about money, not technology.

I don't quite buy this argument since college teams change all the time, sometimes months prior to the season. They have just as much to lose in old merchandise. You could be correct but I'm just not sure that's the real reason.

The colleges really have only themselves, and maybe their conferences to answer to. The marketing and merchandising isn't centrally administered like a good portion of NFL's is.

[cmbuk]

I love the current logo,

they switch to orange as a primary then they win hands down, the old look was so horrible,

Plus they won 2 superbowls in the current set! Not all bad..

Would like to see a set of orange road pants added at some point..

Hate the all White road look

[fkaKrock5cent]

I think everyone here (including me) agrees that this move is for the best. Which is great. I just hope something cool comes out of this re-design with Nike. I'm a huge fan of their current set, but I can't wait to see what Nike does and I really hope that it is another modern or creative set.

[_RH_]

Hey I've got an idea...

[JTernup]

nike ruined the orange crush theme and im so glad to see this im sick of the blue now all they need to do is change the whole set it looks like and i truly believe this chiefs fan or not.

[RamblinGamblinTiger]

nike ruined the orange crush theme and im so glad to see this im sick of the blue now all they need to do is change the whole set it looks like and i truly believe this chiefs fan or not.

Have you met the grammar police yet?

[redsox1002003]

The Orange Crush returns! And even though it will be in time for the Nike takeover....the current unis are still based off of nike. I would like a return to the old set though. If the Jets can do it, why not the Broncos.

[TheOldRoman]

I don't know much about football logos, jerseys, etc but after checking the Broncos uniform history after reading this thread I was really surprised that they abruptly changed to Blue in 1997 after wearing Orange for so many years. Im curious, is the current Broncos logo well respected among the logo critics on these boards or are people calling for a return to the pre-1997 logo? Thanks in advance.

I think many people really dislike the Broncos "modern" jerseys. They really did kick-start the whole piping craze that lead to vertical stripes infecting so many teams in the late 90s, early 2000s, including the: Bills, Patriots, Vikings, Jaguars, Falcons, and.... am I forgetting anybody else?

NCAA football programs, whose uniform designs are often dictated by manufacturers like Nike, Reebok and Under Armour, really took to the Bronco-style piping with reckless abandon. Programs like Boise State and BYU adopted unis with scoops and swooshes, stripes and panels galore!

Worse than that, the Broncos "modern" unis also helped usher in the "monochrome" madness of the last decade with teams wearing matching tops and bottoms, leading to many many "pajama" sets.

I remember the Buffalo Bills squaring off against Denver in week 1 of the 1997 pre-season and I railed on the "FLAMING RATS" logo which would soon become popular and imitated by many.

BTW, I think they modeled the bronco mascot on John "Horseface" Elway and his big pearly whites.

First off, the current Broncos unis are a huge downgrade from the previous ones. I have said before that, although I don't mind the current Broncos unis that much, they are bad because they opened the door to such terrible designs. If I could go back in time I would destroy the Broncos' current unis while they were in the prototype stage to save the world from the floodgate of crap that Nike and the Broncos opened. Kinda like when they destroyed the arm and microchip in Terminator 2.

[CubsFanBudMan]

A switch to the orange alt jersey and a taming of some stripes might be enough, but it'll be interesting to see what they do.

[number81]

Worse than that, the Broncos "modern" unis also helped usher in the "monochrome" madness of the last decade with teams wearing matching tops and bottoms, leading to many many "pajama" sets.

I'm not sure it was the Broncos who started this. Their super bowl years, in my memory, never had the monochrome.

I fear it was actually the Seahawks who may have started it, by mistake, when their new white pants didn't fit right and the team wore the blue on blue and the look stuck.

Actually, the blue pants were shown as part of the set at the 1997 press conference unveiling the new Broncos uniforms. The 1997 team even wore them in a preseason game in New England, oddly enough. I remember hearing at one time that the 1997 team voted on wearing the blue pants and only one person voted 'no' - John Elway - and so the team never wore them until well after he retired in 2003.

Sportlogos.com has the Saints being the first monochrome team (2001) with the Bills, Patriots, Eagles, Broncos, Bengals, Cardinals, Dolphins, and Seahawks jumping on the bandwagon in 2002 / 2003.