1977.
Jimmy Carter's in the White House. John Travolta is on the dance floor. And the Denver Broncos Orange Crush defense is smothering opponents on the field.
Forty-eight years later, the White House looks, different. John Travolta is 71 now. But that Broncos defense is still orange-crushing opponents. And Thursday night against the Raiders, they were wearing those 1977 uniforms.
"I think they're super-cool. I really want one. I think I'm going to buy one now, actually," said Broncos fan Emmanuel Herrera, shopping for Broncos merchandise at Sportsfan.
The uniforms are officially described as orange jerseys with over-sized white numbers and legacy blue trim, white pants with an orange-and-legacy-blue side stripe and the Denver "D" logo helmet on a legacy blue shell.
Zarela Landis describes them like this: "I just think they're really cute. Super colorful. Just amazing. I love them."
Zarela and her husband, who are big Broncos fans, live in Southern California and came to Denver for the Raiders game.
"They're my favorite. I wish that the team would go back to them as soon as possible," said Michael Landis about the 1977 retro uniforms.
Derek Friedman, who owns all the Sportsfan stores, is certainly a fan of the old-style jersey. He sold five in the 20 minutes we were in his Federal Boulevard store.
"The retro jersey and everything that has the big D logo is always super popular," Friedman said.
And players like them, too.
"Throwbacks are cool. Excited to wear the throwbacks. I think everybody feels the same way. It's one of the coolest weeks of the year for uniforms for sure," said Broncos offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Todd Radom has designed uniforms for major league baseball teams and the logos for the Super Bowl and NBA and MLB All-Star games. He likens fan reaction to the retro jerseys to eating a big bowl of vanilla pudding.
"People do love nostalgia. They long for simpler times, especially in these complex times," Radom said.
He adds that even Ol' Blue Eyes himself would have approved of this Broncos look.
"Frank Sinatra, by the way, who was a great arbiter of taste, he said that orange was his favorite color. He called it the happiest color," he said.
These throwback uniforms may hold more than nostalgia — there may be some luck in there, too. Denver wore these in this season's week eight win over the Cowboys and they wore them when they beat the Raiders at home last season.
