Broncos go vertical, sock it to Patriots

By Ron Kantowski

Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 | 2:21 p.m.

NOW

A fan on the Sun's Internet site blamed UNLV's 59-21 loss to BYU, in part, to the Rebels' socks.

Had he been talking about the Denver Broncos -- and had the Broncos lost -- I might have believed it.

The Broncos wore their 1960 throwback uniforms against the Patriots on Sunday which included mustard yellow jerseys and vertically striped mustard yellow and brown socks. Somebody on the Internet said Kyle Orton looked like a big box of Milk Duds.

UNLV's socks are plain black. Omar Clayton looked like a small box of Junior Mints.

That was the problem, wrote another observer of not-so-fine football fashion named Howie in an e-mail.

"If UNLV had socks with vertical or even horizontal stripes they could win. Didn't Denver win? That must be the secret."

Howie said his Diablo Valley College teammate Jimmy McMillin was a defensive back for the original Broncos. Of the vertically striped socks, McMillin said this: "Takes pressure off us not winning."

So if UNLV takes the field against Utah this week wearing vertically striped scarlet and gray socks, you'll know why.

THEN

Whenever I think of the Broncos' vertically striped socks I first think of Lionel Taylor, the first professional wide receiver -- they called them split ends and flankers then -- to catch 100 passes in a single season (1961).

I secondly think of Jerry Sturm, No. 72 in the vertically striped socks, who I always used to get doubles and triples of while collecting those oversized AFL football trading cards back in the day.