Broncos’ new “Snowcapped” helmets a nod to storied past
For Damani Leech, football uniforms are like superhero suits.
Just like iconic outfits worn by Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, football uniforms are meant to excite fans and give players confidence.
After Leech became Broncos president in 2022, and the NFL approved the use of alternate helmets with teams’ throwback uniforms, an opportunity to reimagine his own organization’s look presented itself.
That the final product incorporated the team’s classic Denver “D” logo — a symbol of the Broncos’ rich history that’s recently enjoyed a successful second act — was simply the franchise listening to its fans.
“There’s a lot of affinity for the old ‘D’ logo,” Leech told The Post. “I think it’s vintage, particularly for the young fans.”
The Broncos unveiled their “Snowcapped” alternate helmets in July — the result of a monthslong process that included a fan survey, multiple designers and input from players.
The helmets will be worn with the team’s all-orange throwback uniforms twice this season. While the white shell and facemask pay homage to Colorado’s towering snow-capped mountain ranges, the Denver “D” honors the franchise’s past.
The process began last October. The team brought a few players into a meeting room after practice to show them what other teams around the league were doing, then they looked at various designs that a creative team put together.
Among the color options considered for the helmet were blue, orange, white and gray, Leech told The Post. They also looked at designs that featured the “D” logo and others that utilized the current one. “We laid out half a dozen options and sort of mixed and matched different things,” he said.
In November, Leech and the staff narrowed the choices down to three. The creative team took photos of wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the alternate uniform and added the different helmets to get an idea of how it would look on game day.
When the staff left the meeting, they decided a white helmet with the “D” logo was the way to go.
Riddell, the league’s helmet partner, sent the Broncos a prototype that safety Justin Simmons wore for a photoshoot. Leech showed the photos of Simmons to ownership, who signed off on the helmets.
“Legacy and history is incredibly important. And we want to honor that,” CEO Greg Penner said. “But at the same time, one of my pet peeves is please don’t ever say the words ‘that’s how we always done it’ as rationale for something. I want to honor our history and legacy but be willing to change when necessary.”
The “D” logo with a snorting Bronco in the middle represented the team from 1968 to 1996. The logo was created by late Broncos fan Edwin G. Taylor, who sketched the design and sent it to the team.
The throwback “D” logo had previously been used on the dark blue alternate helmets, which debuted in 2016. The Broncos have worn five different helmets in team history. The “Snowcapped” alternates are their first all-white helmets.
In 1997, Denver did a rebrand with its current logo. Rick Bakas, a lifelong Broncos fan from Arvada, was a part of the design team at Nike that created it. He recalled former owner Pat Bowlen telling the design team he wanted “a horse that looked like it was going to kick your (butt).”
Bakas said it took nine months to create the logo. The team, which consisted of 10-plus designers, spent the first month and a half researching what a Bronco represented and concluded the horse symbolized an uncontrollable force of nature.
Bakas added that the team also drew inspiration from Native American folklore about a ghost horse that couldn’t be tamed, which is why the Bronco is white.
The design team never intended to drift away from the “D” logo, but Bowlen thought it needed modernization. They drew hundreds of designs, some of which included the “D,” but they realized the letter was distracting.
Bakas, whose family had season tickets for 20 years, isn’t a fan of the “D” logo. For him, it represents the team’s four Super Bowl losses between 1978 and 1990. The Broncos have hoisted the Lombardi trophy three times since switching to the current design.
“Having a chance to introduce a new chapter in the Broncos storyline is one of the highlights of my life,” Bakas said.
When the Broncos revealed the “Snowcapped” alternate helmet, there was a sense of relief that the design was well-received by fans.
The organization has now shifted its attention to introducing a new uniform for the 2024 season. Leech said the process is similar to the helmet design but longer and more in-depth.
Owner Carrie Walton-Penner is heavily involved. In the spring, she and Leech were part of a team that traveled to Beaverton, Oregon, to visit Nike headquarters to discuss concepts and ideas.
“(We were) helping them understand what it means to be a Bronco and what we think about our community,” Leech said. “We are still working on it, and when we are ready to share something, we will certainly be sharing it.”
Could the Denver “D” be a more permanent part of the team’s future? There’s no doubt a large number of Broncos fans who wouldn’t object.
“I wish they’d go back to it,” said Joshua Robinson, a 33-year-old Broncos fan from Vancouver, Canada. “Those new white helmets are sweet.”
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
Source: Read Full Article