NFL players and coaches are notoriously superstitious people.  If a quarterback accidentally puts his socks on inside-out and then goes out to throw for 300 yards and several touchdowns, you can bet that those socks will once again be inside-out the next week.  Coaches will eat the exact same pre-game meal every week during a winning streak.  Call it one of those little sports quirks.

So if the Denver Broncos changed their uniforms in the mid 1990s and then won the franchise’s first two Super Bowl trophies, they shouldn’t ever change their “winning look” right?  After all, this team was the big Super Bowl losers of the 1980s.  Three times the Broncos made it to the big game only to get blown away by the superior NFC team each time.  Then the Broncos changed up their look and took the Lombardi Trophy home twice.  Sports logic says the Broncos should never mess with the look that brought home the trophies.

Well I say forget the logic:  bring back the Orange Crush uniforms to the Mile High City.

Perhaps it’s just me unconsciously longing for my childhood when I could watch John Elway lead the Broncos into some wild shootout against the Browns or Seahawks.  I grew up in Dallas, but since the Cowboys were getting clobbered during the mid to late 80s, I sort of adopted the Broncos as my team to watch since they were making Super Bowl runs each year.  Plus, Dan Reeves coached the team, a Tom Landry disciple whose southern drawl made me feel right at home.

The real reason I rooted for the Broncos, however, were those orange jerseys.  Oh, were they fun!  The most recognizable NFL franchises are the ones with the uniforms.  The Raiders have the silver and black, the Cowboys have the star, the Steelers have the black and gold, and the Dolphins have that aqua that should only be worn by a team in Miami.

 The Broncos had the Orange Crush jerseys that separated them from any other team.  No other squad had such bright jerseys, and when you combined them with the royal blue helmets, it made the Broncos unique.  They may not have been the most intimidating uniforms, but they sure were lovable.

Then in the mid 1990’s, someone got the bright idea to switch up the Bronco unis.  Gone were the fun orange jerseys with the bright blue helmets, replaced by a boring navy blue helmet/jersey combo and ridiculous-looking pants with a stupid thick orange stripe.  The Broncos went from unique and lovable to muted and drab. 

Now the Broncos look like a poor man’s Chicago Bears.  The distinct orange jerseys are gone and so is my rooting interest in watching the team play.  I’ll still stop by and watch if Denver is playing a game, but only because it is NFL football, not because it’s the Broncos. 

If Bronco management wanted to change the team look, they could keep the new helmet design and tweak the old uniforms.  But don’t tear away the very singularity of the team.

So I write this as a plea to Pat Bowlen, owner of the Denver Broncos:  Please bring back the classic Orange Crush uniforms and give your team an identity again.  Bronco fans deserve nothing less.

Brad came to New York from Dallas to live the glorious life of an underpaid actor.  He then decided he'd rather get not paid to work on sports because that is where his biggest passion lies.

Brad loves intense and emotional sports like football, hockey, and – its ultimate manifestation – March Madness. To him, there is very little better than game day.

He is still in football Valhalla as the Texas Longhorns actually won a national championship for the first time in his life.

There is nothing more boring than a sports stat-head.  Please don't recite stats to him; it's the equivalent of reading a math book.

Brad apparently enjoys talking about himself in the third person, similar to many athletes.

Brad would eventually like to have his own sports radio show, but he will probably be fired for gross insubordination or for the inability to focus solely on sports.  There are other interesting topics, you know.  Like Irish whiskey.  Which, of course, could lead to his being fired for gross insubordination.

He can be reached at brad.seal@atomicsportsmedia.com.