Quickest way to turn around a franchise? Uniforms.

This season the Tampa Bay Rays shed the green color and the word Devil from their franchise moniker. Sure, a uniform change is a great way to increase merchandise revenue, but let's face it, going into this season, Rays merchandise wasn't flying off the shelves but looking back at some uni changes in the past, perhaps it should have been, and most likely will be now.

1997. The Denver Broncos. Perennial Super Bowl whipping posts for opponents getting beat during the John Elway era in Super Bowl XXI 39-20 by the Giants, Super Bowl XXII 42-10 to the Washington Crackheads and then in the most lopsided loss in Super Bowl history to San Francisco 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV. Going into the 1997 season, ownership decided to change the uniforms for a different look for the Broncos. Gone was the traditional orange accent in their colors. Gone was the big D on the helmet, replaced with a horse head which resembles Sea Biscuit looking to win by a nose at the wire. The result? The Broncos went all the way to the Super Bowl and finally won with John Elway under center, beating Green Bay 31-24 in a thrilling game.

1981 Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were perennial losers, having never reached the Super Bowl in franchise history. In 1981, the Bengals decided they would retain their orange and black primary colors, but they would change up the uniforms. They made dramatic changes with the helmets, shedding the block letters spelling out the teams name, Bengals, and adopted a snazzy tiger striped approach. Tiger stripes were added to the shoulders of jerseys and along the legs of their pants. The change was good. During the 1980 campaign, the Bengals were a measly 6-10, when they hit the field during the 1981 campaign, they turned in a 12-4 season and made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the Bengals, they lost 26-21 to a new quarterback by the name of Joe Montana who would go on a have a decent career.

1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Oh the futility. 2 seasons and a 0-26 record right out of the gate in 1976. In 1979, the Bucs advanced all the way to the NFC Championship game but their flirtation with being a regular participant in the playoffs year in and year out was short lived. Once tightass Hugh Culverhouse finally died, the team was sold and in 1995 Malcom Glazer took control of the NFL's worst franchise in the previous 15 years. In 1996, the Bucs hired Tony Dungy who went 6-10 in his first season. Before the start of the 1997 season, the Bucs decided they would finally rid themselves of the Creamsicle uniforms and instill a new mindset. Prior to the 1997 change, bright orange and white uniforms trimmed in red, helmets were white and adorned with a pirate named Bucco Bruce. It was a logo before it's time. A pirate with a giant marabou feather lopped over the top of his head and a dagger clinched firmly in his teeth. I'm sure Bucco Bruce is the unofficial mascot of transvestites everywhere these days. So, the new ownership unveiled a completely new direction. The Glazers introduced a new color into the NFL family, pewter. Bucco Bruce was replaced by a pewter helmet with a red pirate skull and crossbones battle flag on each side. The uniforms varied between red and white jerseys and pewter pants. The result? A 5-0 start, a 10-6 regular season record and the first playoff appearance in 15 seasons. 5 seasons later, a Super Bowl championship.


So, the Rays are on track to log their place even deeper in MLB history. Done is the devil ray image, replace by a blue and gold sunburst. The sun has risen over St Pete this season and it's definitely been a new day. It's in the Rays' hands to bring home the championship before the sun sets on this season.