Thaumatrope

The one thing I will say about the Moosejaw Warriors logo is that I appreciated how they incorporated the hockey stick and puck into the design. It was subtle, but clever. Unfortunately that's about it, and it's time to say goodbye to the war bonnet.

What's interesting is the serpentine shape of the walls is based on an English masonry technique that uses fewer bricks. Nothing inherently racist, but clearly there is an association that makes the current design unacceptable. Good on UVA for acknowledging the issue and taking steps to address it right away.

At the risk of beating a dead horse...it kinda makes me wonder what Vegas could have accomplished if they actually talked with the London Knights. That being said, I do appreciate the Henderson Silver Knights brand and how it helps to grow the overall Knights brand. Meanwhile...it seems like Seattle was pretty adamant about using the Firebirds name. I know it's been shot down whenever it's been brought up, but could this be a sign that Seattle wants to adopt the Thunderbirds name? In addition to the historical significance of the name, it would be a clever tie-in to the Seahawks (another bird) and the Supersonics (the USAF Thunderbirds were the world's first supersonic demonstration team).

...and not a single formulaic cartoon character swinging a bat to be seen. Clearly not a Brandiose project.

I think what did Idaho in was travel. Much like Edmonton and Calgary, I think Seattle ultimately chose to put their farm team in Southern California because it places their prospects near a major hub (LAX) and close to their divisional opponents for call-ups on the road. That being said, I agree it's a shame. Maybe in a few more years...we'll see.

Fun fact: that design/branding was *also* done by Brandiose (although they were still going by Plan B at that time). I agree though, in terms of concept and connection to the region, the Craftsman/Art Decco look is the best they've ever had... although the grizzly rendering hasn't aged particularly well.

The name isn't entirely made up as there's such a thing as pig iron, which is an unprocessed form of iron. It's not a huge stretch to go from pig iron to iron pigs. That being said, it's hard not to look at Lehigh Valley in the light of Brandiose's more recent work and wonder if this was the start of their descent into the absurd.

Were they actually referred to as "sod poodles" or is that just Brandiose brand free association a-la Baby Cakes?

I think think they could have gone with Sod Dogs and had better buy in from the community. It's one thing to go with an odd or obscure aspect of local culture, but at this point I'm pretty sure Brandiose just pulls adjectives and animals out of a hat.

This man is a GD American hero. Here's hoping others follow suit and start using the power of trademark registration to keep Brandiose in check. I'm all for novelty and experimentation, but we passed that point years ago.

Agreed. Not only that, but massive wildfires are projected to increase in frequency and severity going forward. While California gets a lot of attention due to the number of people effected by fires, the entire west experiences frequent (and devastating) wildfires. It's worth noting that we've already seen one sports brand emerge from this new wildfire reality: the Arizona Hot Shots of the AAF, and it would not surprise me to see more going forward (Smokejumpers anyone?). However, I would argue that the days of fire-related brands (especially relating to wild fires), being "safe" is probably coming to an end. Then again, we've managed to have Hurricanes and Quakes at various levels of sports without incident, so it's possible this will blow over as well.

Pretty sure I've seen that episode... In all seriousness, rougarou is the cajun form of loup-garou, which is the french word for werewolf. Ultimately I'm not a fan as the name is associated with cajun culture, and Baton Rouge is nowhere near cajun country. If this was a team that was playing in Lafayette or even New Orleans I'd be more open to it, but I suspect the name wouldn't fly in either place as the folklore surrounding the rougarou is quite gruesome. This would be like a team in Phoenix or Tuscon calling themselves the Skinwalkers.

Agreed. Now that we've seen the whole brand I can't help but question the insistence on a monochromatic palette. I realize they're trying to channel the classic milkman uniform, but even within that space there's still room for a touch of color. A nice light blue would be a natural choice (especially in conjunction with the off-white cream...which is definitely the best set of the bunch), although a judicious use of medium value red could add a nice "pop" to everything as well. That being said, I give the designer a lot of credit for restraint. In this age of six color cap logos (I'm looking at you Brandiose) it's refreshing to see an organization take the "less is more" approach.

Hopefully they can milk it for all it's worth.

On the one hand, its really cool that the team is paying such thorough tribute to the organization's history. On the other hand, at what point are they just highlighting how awful their current identity is?