Arena Football League (2003-2008)
Tombstone
Born: June 19, 2002 – Arena Football expansion franchise
Folded: August 2009
First Game: February 2, 2003 (L 44-40 vs. Georgia Force)
Last Game: July 5, 2008 (L 64-51 @ San Jose SaberCats)
Arena Bowl Champions: 2005
Arena
Pepsi Center (17,210)12003 Arena Football League Record & Fact Book
Opened: 1999
Branding
Team Colors: Navy Blue, Burnt Orange & Gold22003 Arena Football League Record & Fact Book
Ownership
Owners: Pat Bowlen, John Elway & Stan Kroenke
Our Favorite Stuff
Colorado Crush
Graphic T-Shirt
Denver was the only city in the 32-year history of the Arena Football League to produce two different championship franchises. The Denver Dynamite won the very first Arena Bowl back in 1987. While the Dynamite were a strange promotion – at one point, the team played just four home games in Denver over a three-year period – the Crush had the ultimate local street cred. Broncos legend John Elway co-owned the team with Broncos boss Pat Bowlen and also served as CEO. The Crush won Arena Bowl XIX in 2005 on Elway’s watch.
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Background
The Colorado Crush were an Arena Football team that played at the Pepsi Center in Denver from 2003 until the dissolution and bankruptcy of the original Arena Football League following the 2008 season. The team was backed by major league investors Pat Bowlen (Denver Broncos) and Stan Kroenke (Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets), with ex-Broncos QB John Elway as co-owner and franchise front man.
The Crush were the second Arena Football League team to set up shop in Denver. They followed the Denver Dynamite, one of the league’s original four franchises, that played at McNichols Arena from 1987 to 1991.
On The Floor
After a grim 2-14 expansion season in 2003, the Crush turned the corner with the hiring of Head Coach Mike Dailey in 2004. The Crush made the playoffs in four of the next five seasons under Dailey’s direction, winning Arena Bowl XIX 51-48 over the Georgia Force at the end of the 2005 season.
Offensive Specialist Damian Harrell, formerly of Florida State, was a standout for the Crush from 2003 through 2007. Harrell won the AFL’s Offensive Player-of-the-Year award in 2005 and 2006.
Quarterback John Dutton out of the University of Nevada-Reno was the Crush starting quarterback for all six of the team’s seasons. During the Crush’s debut campaign in 2003, Dutton beat out NFL veteran Jeff Lewis, the Denver Broncos former 4th round pick from 1996 who earned two Super Bowl rings as John Elway’s back-up from 1996 through 1998.
Colorado Crush Shop
Arena Football Shop
Arena Football League
2003-2018 Logo T-Shirt
After sixteen seasons of using their original logo, the Arena Football League introduced this new look in 2003, coinciding with the league’s landmark national broadcast partnership with NBC. Though the NBC deal would end after four seasons in 2006, the AFL would use this logo for most of its remaining life, before introducing a third and final logo for its last season in 2019.
This design is also available as a Hooded or Crewneck Sweatshirt from the guys at Old School Shirts!
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In Memoriam
Back-up quarterback Jeff Lewis (Crush ’03) passed away on January 5th, 2013 of a prescription drug overdose at the age of 39.
Part-owner Pat Bowlen (Crush ’03-’08) passed on June 13th, 2019 at the age of 75 from a pulmonary embolism. Bowlen, who owned the Denver Broncos from 1984 through 2019 and won three Super Bowl trophies with the team, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. New York Times obituary.
Links
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One Response
My name is Ray Zanfini my stepson Donny Klein was a member of the 2005 Championship team. He passed away two years ago and my wife and I would like to get the jersey with his name and number on it if possible. Thank you