United in Orange: A Colorful History of the Denver Broncos

Thomas Mitchell January 9, 2015 8:30AM

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The Crush All of that misery finally paid of. With linebackers Randy Gradishar, Bob Swenson, Joe Rizzo and Tom Jackson leading a bruising defense, Denver became known for a brand of football very different from the passing drills we see today. The 1977 jersey changes (richer, darker orange and switching up some stripes) aren't credited with a 12-2 record that ended with a Super Bowl XII loss to America's former team, the Dallas Cowboys. Nevertheless, the jerseys inspired Denver sportswriter Woody Paige to nickname the defense after the popular orange soda -- forever in our hearts. Transition to the Future

With a revamped offense, it's only fitting to modernize the jerseys. Although 1997 marked a change from the uniforms and logo Denver so loved, at least the the new, fiercer look wasn't unlucky. Terrell Davis, Rod Smith and some guy named Elway led the Broncos to two straight Super Bowl victories in in 1997-'98, and the uniforms haven't really changed since. The navy blue represents the Pat Bowlen era of excellence, while the bright orange continues to remind us just how far this franchise has come as the Broncos continue to hunt for a third Super Bowl.

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Thomas Mitchell has written about all things cannabis for Westword since 2014, covering sports, real estate and general news along the way for publications such as the Arizona Republic, Inman and Fox Sports. He's currently the cannabis editor for westword.com.

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