[ericgtr]

I think I see what you are after, here is what you will need to do.

In your forumdisplay template find:

<td class="tcat" width="100%">$vbphrase[threads_in_forum]<span class="normal"> : $foruminfo[title]</span></td>

Replace it with:

  <if condition="in_array($GLOBALS[forumid], array(12,17))">
	<td class="staff" width="100%">$vbphrase[threads_in_forum]<span class="normal"> : $foruminfo[title]</span></td>
	<else />
	<td class="tcat" width="100%">$vbphrase[threads_in_forum]<span class="normal"> : $foruminfo[title]</span></td>
	</if>

Again, we are using the staff class for the background, you can change this as you see fit and don't forget about the forumid's as well.