WideRight

With the count Silverbacks 18, Cannons 11, I declare the winner.   I will be back later today with the finished uniform design for the club, but for now...

Congratulations to the Columbus Silverbacks!! 

With Columbus's identity chosen, we now move on to the 2nd of our 4 expansion cities, Birmingham, Alabama.  We have 4 designs, some blasts from the past, some new, some a reference to classic local flavor.  So here goes... same as usual, voting for 24 hours, unless one option gets a 4 vote lead with 15 or more votes cast.  

BIRMINGHAM VULCANS

A name and a logo that call back memories to one of the first alt leagues to ever place a team in the Magic City.  The Vulcans name goes back to the World Football League of the mid-70's.  The logo is an updated version, now with a dark grey anvil along with the flame, football, and V monogram.  The helmet uses an ombre effect to shift from blue to red.  

BIRMINGHAM BLITZ

With a color scheme that evokes the XFL's Birmingham Bolts, and a logo that captures lightning in a bottle, the Blitz are a colorful team that combines symbols of electric energy and power with one of the most exciting plays in the game, the blitz.  The team colors are purple and athletic gold, the helmet has a dual color lightning bolt for a center stripe and the stylized lightning strike B logo.  But, will fans in Alabama look past the LSU color scheme? 

BIRMINGHAM BULLDOZERS

Hoping to corner the market on the black & yellow (athletic gold) color scheme in the league, the Bulldozers embody power, hard work, and brute strength.  A black helmet with a slightly tapered stripe scheme also has the team's primary logo, an iron B set against a bulldozer's plow.  

BIRMINGHAM BEARS

Sure, bears are godless killing machines, but they are also a great football mascot.  In the case of Birmingham's Bears, this group uses a dynamic ursine figure, racing his way to the endzone, ball in hand.  The team colors are black, orange and grey, and yes, the team also nods their houndstooth Bear Bryant fedora to the past with the houndstooth helmet stripe. 

So, will it be nostalgia for a bygone era, a tribute to one of the greatest sports legends in state history, a symbol of raw mechanical power, or a lightning strike of bold color?   Your choice.  Time to pick the identity of Team #14, Birmingham. 

As of this ridiculous hour of the morning (sleep is an issue for me) we have a 2-horse race.  Warbirds and Bolts are out, and the current count is:

Cannons 10,  Silverbacks 8

I do think that if Cannons is picked we will have something akin to the Stampeders & Redblacks in the CFL, or Outlasws-Gamblers in the original USFL, two teams with identical color schemes, so the design of the two uniforms will have to be the difference.  I think I can make them different enough to avoid too much confusion.  

Well, folks ,we  have our winners.  Congratulations to both Columbus, Ohio and Birmingham, Alabama on becoming the 13th and 14th AAFL Franchises . With these two winning a very tight 4-team race for 2 spots, we now have a 3rd franchise in both the Central and Southern Divisions, with Birmingham joining New Orleans and Houston (and possibly Orlando) in the South, while Columbus will spark up rivalries with Chicago and St. Louis in the central. 

So, without much ado, our next decision is to give these two franchises their identities.  We will start with Columbus and the 4 identities they have available.  We will hold voting open for 24 hours, to end at 6pm tomorrow (THU) or when one identity takes a 4 vote lead with 15 cast, as we have done in the past.  Here are your four options, choose wisely: 

COLUMBUS WARBIRDS

A design we first saw for Washington, D.C., the Warbirds identity is right at home in Columbus, with the state of Ohio's rich tradition of both aviation history and military honor.  The flag blue, red, and white design pays tribute to WW2 pilots in particular, including men like Ohio's own John Glenn.  The royal blue helmet bears the main logo, similar to those found on WW2 fighter planes.  The use of the bomb icons to mark years of service is another nod to the tradition of pilots marking their aerial victories on the sides of their planes.  

COLUMBUS BOLTS

Another design we have seen before ,though with some significant color changes along with a name change.  The Bolts, short for Thunderbolts, represents power, energy and unpredictability.  The team logo is a bold square C with the silver, white and sky blue lightning bolt.  This same lightning bolt can be found on the team's high gloss metallic silver helmets.  

COLUMBUS CANNONS

The Cannons bring a familiar color scheme to Columbus, decked out in black, scarlet red, and silver.  But, unlike their famous co-citizens at OSU, this is a team with a dominant black color scheme.  the logo depicts a cannonball fired through a bold red "C" for Columbus, the trailing energy and impetus is depicted in red,white, silver and black.  The helmet has a satiny black finish with a black facemask. 

COLUMBUS SILVERBACKS

The inspiration for the fourth and final Columbus identity comes directly from one of the most famous sites in the city, the Columbus Zoo, home to famous zookeeper Jack Hannah, but also to the silverback gorillas which are intelligent, powerful, and fearsome.  The logo depicts an adult male silverback ready to jump into action, while the twin silver colors of the great ape's head adorn the helmet with an oversized decal that all but takes over both sides of the helmet.  The team colors are black, dark grey and light silver-grey.  

There you have your four choices,  Will Columbus be the first club to sport a metallic silver or a royal blue helmet, or will they be a team dominated by black as their primary color. The choice is yours as all of Ohio waits to see what team will represent their state in the AAFL. 

Let the voting begin. 

1 hour ago, neo_prankster said:

If Columbus gets in, it would be funny if they had a team identity based on Ready Player One, which takes place in Columbus.

As much as that would be a cool nod to the movie/book, I don't think the Columbus Stacks or Columbus Gunters would really catch on with a wide audience.  

Just under 2 hours left of voting and here is where it lies: 

19 Columbus (a huge push this afternoon)

17 Birmingham

16 Memphis

10  San Antonio

If it ended right now it would be Columbus joining the Central and Birmingham the South, but there is still time for Memphis to make a push. Looks to me like San Antonio is out.  They could possibly come back in Round 16, but no guarantee, because it depends on which NFL market takes the 15th slot.  

Getting tense as we get close to the end.  

Here we go, the first of the 2013 USFL redesigns, the Memphis Showboats. 

Absolutely sticking with the original logo, using the 2023 USFL Showboats logo (recolored) as a secondary.  The main feature of these new Adidas uniforms is that we are dropping all black from the uniform, reverting back to a 2-color look with Riverboat Red and Silver Sky as the two uniform colors.  Black does still appear in the secondary logo and the wordmarks for the team.  The helmet has a tapered stripe, the pants a single red stripe.  The jersey features silver sky sleeves, and drop shadows on the  numbers (another small bit of black is in the home jersey numbers.   

Sharp eyed folks may notice that I slightly modified the "M" logo to lean to the left so that the waves and the M carry the same motion from left to right, instead of having the M moving from right to left as is the case in real life.  Most football images with a left-right orientation tend to emphasize a left to right "forward" motion instead of a right to left "backward" motion.  Here is an image of the original so you can see the difference:

Also, since it has been asked.  If it ends in a 3-way tie, I will make the choice as to which 2 make the grade.  Sorry, but I get to make the deciding votes in the event of a tie, kinda like being a VP in the Senate.  And I will say now that if Columbus is in the mix, I will pick them for 1 slot just because it would leave both the Central and the South with 1 slot left, which provides the greatest number of options for the team 15 and 16 votes. 

Here is what I am seeing at 6:38 am, just inside 12 hours to go:

15  B'ham and Memphis

14  Columbus

10  San Antonio

Still time for San Antonio to sneak up into the mix.  And here is what I can say about divisions:

The West is set:  San Diego, Portland, Salt Lake and California (SJ+SAC)

The South has Houston and New Orleans, and if the current frontrunners hold, they would get both cities to lock them up, meaning Orlando stays in the East.  

If Columbus wins a spot, they would join Chicago and St. Louis in the Central Division. 

If San Antonio comes back, they would grab one of the Southern slots, along with either B'Ham or Memphis (assuming 1 stays at the top). 

By my calculation, one of these four cities is getting the shaft, since there are only 3 slots for non-NFL cities left.  We know city #15 will be an NFL market.

Depending on what happens here, that last NFL market could be impacted.  I am already eliminating LA from contention because there is no spot in the West for them.  The pool of NFL cities left could possibly slot into the Central or East: Atlanta, Miami, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Twin Cities, Nashville.  

When we get to the final round, it will be geographically contained.  If there is only a Central location left, that could eliminate several options, likewise, if there are only 3 cities in either the East or South, the same is true.  

But for now, we need to pick the 13th and 14th franchise, we have just under 12 hours to do so and it is a very close race. 

Alright everyone, coming up on 6pm, so I am going to do some culling.  The following options remain on the table:

Birmingham   12 Votes

Memphis          11 Votes

San Antonio      7 Votes

Columbus          7  Votes

All other nominees are disqualified.  

If you cast past votes for Austin, Texas-Shared, Tucson, Hartford, Louisville, Carolina, or Virginia (Tidewater/Norfolk), those votes can now be recast for one of the remaining teams.  If you have already cast votes for one of these 4 locations, please do not cast those again.  So, some of you might get to enter 2 more votes, some 1 more vote, and some picked 2 of these teams already so your votes are locked in. Two of these four cities will be approved for AAFL expansion tomorrow at 6pm ET (or thereabouts.)

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

There are several newer stadiums that can make up the seating difference with temporary seating as well. Dub Farris, Gustafson and Heroes stadium all have at least 10,000 seats without end zone seating. 

Heroes Stadium (NEISD)

Gustafson

Yeah, those are not pro football stadiums.  Especially not for a league that is trying to be AAA and draw a national audience.  Even with temporary seating those would still look like HS stadiums, which is a bad look when you have other teams playing in places like Alumni Stadium, the Dome in St. Louis, or Camping World.  

Updated vote count with 43 votes in the books:

8   Birmingham

6   San Antonio, Columbus, and Memphis

4   Texas, Tucson, Hartford

3   Louisville

2   Austin & Tidewater

Looking good for B'Ham, but if 2 of the clubs in the 6 group go on a run, they can still get bumped.   When we hit 6pm tonight, any city that is more than 4 votes behind will be removed and those who voted for them can put in a vote for one of the remaining cities.  Looking at you Loo-uh-vuhl,  Austin and Tidewater.  You have 8 hours to get some votes.  I wonder if Austin votes would go to San Antonio or to the combined SAN/AUS team in San Marcos? 

My morning check-in on the votes, and in all honesty I am a bit shocked.  I thought for certain I wouid just see a flurry of Columbus and San Antonio votes after the last two city votes we have had, but it is all over the place.  So, here is the current list, but I am going to also provide the list of cities again with one reason why each one should NOT be chosen. 

4 votes: Birmingham

3 votes: Tucson, Columbus, Hartford, Memphis

2 votes: San Antonio, Austin, Carolina

1 vote:  Texas, Louisville, Tidewater

0 votes: Honolulu, Fresno

And here is my list of why each city should not get a franchise:

• San Antonio, Texas:  Pretty bad stadium and the dome is way too big. 
• Austin, Texas: Stadium is pretty small, and they cannot grow into another facility.
• Shared Austin/San Antonio “Texas” franchise—Having a team called "Texas" is weird with Houston already in the league.
• Columbus, OH--Stadium barely holds 20k, and Ohio Stadium is far too big to be used.
• Tidewater, VA Region—Relatively low wealth region, and low marketability of the region nationally.
• Carolina Triangle Region--Basketball country
• Louisville, KY--basketball country
• Memphis, TN—low wealth city and stadium is a bit too big.
• Birmingham, AL—fanbase has been burned too many times
• Fresno, CA—Fresno, all the glitz of Tupelo but with the taxes of San Francisco
• Hartford, CT—Way way way too close to Boston and NJ franchises to develop a solid fanbase
• Tucson, AZ—The AAFL plays in summer, when it is 120 degrees in the shade. 
• Honolulu, HI—flying to/from Hawaii, especially from/to east coast is unfair and expensive. 

OK, after looking at the downside, maybe some of these locations are not the best.  But who is?  With no quick poll conclusion there are still  36  hours left to vote.  

FROM 12 TEAMS TO  16. 

2031 Is a breakout year for the AAFL.  With 12 teams, including the addition of both northern California and the NY-NJ Metro area, the league breaks records for both attendance and viewership.  Before the season, Houston joined St. Louis in moving to a larger facility, leaving behind 22,000 seat Shell Energy Stadium for the much more accommodating TDECU Stadium at the U. of Houston, with its 40,000 seat capacity. By season’s end Orlando also made a move, jumping from Exploria Park to the 60,000 seat Camping World Stadium.  Using Tarps on the upper deck, Camping World became a very cozy 41,000 seats, perfect for an Orlando Juice squad that looked like a potential champion. 

The new cities did well, with New Jersey averaging just over 23,000 at Red Bull Arena, despite posting only 2 wins on the year as an expansion club.  Both Sacramento and San Jose came out for the Rush, as the team averaged just under 21,000 at Hornet Stadium (over 90% capacity) and nearly 22,000 at SJSU’s CEFCU Stadium.   Around the league attendance continued to rise, as fans started to get a sense that unlike past spring leagues the AAFL seemed to have their act together and a real potential to stick around.  Yes, there were letdowns, like the Salt Lake Pioneers losing their last 8 games after a 3-1 start, but there were also stories of teams building after some rough years.  Washington finally had a winning season, finishing the year just behind Orlando for a playoff spot.  Houston won the Central, while San Diego took the West again, but was in a tough battle with Portland all year long.  The new structure of the league meant that there were 3 division champs (Orlando, Houston, and San Diego), and two Wild Cards (Washington and Portland).  The title would go to the San Diego Destroyers, their 2^nd in the first 4 years of the league, as they defeated Orlando, who lose their 2^nd straight championship game. 

In the offseason, very pleased with the growth of the league, the AAFL announced two big changes for the 2033 season, two years away.  First, they would start to sell off controlling interests in the teams, something that fans and potential investors had been clamoring for.  It was already rumored that former Arenaball owners Jon Bon Jovi and Ron Jaworski were very eager to sign on with the NJ franchise.  And they were not alone.  The AAFL had shown profits each of the past 2 years, and that was the sign that many investors wanted to see. 

The second announcement was that they were going to add 4 teams in 2033, bringing the league total to 16 total teams, exactly half of the NFL’s 32 franchise numbers.  That meant adding a 4^th division, likely splitting the Central into Northern and Southern divisions, and it meant new options for non-NFL cities.  The league committed to no fewer than 2 of the 4 new teams being in “underrepresented” (read as non-NFL markets) which was music to the ears of fans in Columbus, San Antonio, Birmingham, Virginia Beach, and the Carolina Triangle, all of whom were disappointed not to be included in the other league expansions.  With 2 of the top 3 markets, as well as 5 of the Top 12 MSA in the country already represented, there was room to add smaller markets. 

The league also announced that they would allow cities with stadia up to 60,000  in seating to compete for a franchise, still unwilling to play in the largest NFL stadia for new franchises.  That opened up several new markets as potential homes to AAFL franchises, including non-NFL markets like Louisville and Memphis, but also expands the NFL city options to include formerly excluded locations like Philadelphia (Franklin Field), Phoenix (Sun Devil Stadium), or the Twin Cities (Huntington Bank Stadium).  We will see how that impacts the decisions in planning for a 16-team 2033 season.

The 2032 Season was another good year, and we saw two more teams relocate to a bigger facility as the NY-Boston rivalry helped push both franchises to new heights.  Boston left Harvard Stadium for BC’s Alumni Stadium after the first 4 games of the 2032 season, while New Jersey announced that for 2033 they would play their home games all the way to Piscataway and Rutgers’  52,000 seat SHI Stadium.  That is quite a longer commute from NYC, but the team certainly was feeling too constrained by the limitations of Red Bull.  The 2032 season saw both New Jersey and California improve their records, though neither made the postseason. Salt Lake rebounded from their disappointing 2031 and qualified as a wild card with a 7-5 record.  Also qualifying for the post-season were Washington (East Champion), St. Louis (Central Champion),  San Diego (West Champion), and New Orleans (Wild Card).  The title game was held at San Diego’s SnapDragon Stadium (since the Destroyers had won the title in 2031) where Orlando finally broke through, defeating St. Louis for their first title. 

And so, now it was time to start looking at expansion.  The league would be adding 4 teams, with the first two slots to be decided from the contenders among non-NFL cities, the third to be an NFL city, and the 4^th to be an open competition between all remaining cities which qualify.  The league announced that it would stick with a 12-game season, with each team playing 6 divisional games and 2 games against each of the other 3 divisions to reach 12 for the year.  Playoffs would be capped at 6 teams for the first 2 years, then they league could decide to expand them to 7 teams if they saw that there were often teams with winning records left out of the postseason.  So, 4 division champs, 2 Wildcards with both the #1 and #2 seeds getting a bye week.  The divisions would be split after the 4 new teams were decided on, though it is expected that several key rivalries would be maintained.  This includes Boston-New Jersey, Chicago-St. Louis, New Orleans-Houston, and San Diego-California.  Our best guess is that we are likely to see an unchanged Western Division (unless a 3^rd California team is added) while Orlando may move from the East if more Southern teams are added.  We fully expect Chicago and St. Louis to merge with other midwestern or northern teams while Houston and New Orleans could join with any new Southern teams.  But, that all depends on where the next 4 clubs are placed.

So, here we are, ready for our first vote.  The top 2 vote-getters from this pool of cities will get franchises in 2033. When you vote, please select two cities you want to see join the league.  We will hold voting open for 2 days, with no quick call should a team get a lead.  It will stay open for the full 2 days and in the end the top 2 vote totals will both join the AAFL in 2033. 

Here are your choices of locations from which to choose two cities. Notice that there are just a few more cities in the pool, added when the stadium cap was raised from 50k to 60k, with the expectation that some tarps will be used in those cities to keep capacity at or below 40k at first:

• San Antonio, Texas—Alamo Stadium (The dome is still too big)
• Austin, Texas—Q2 Stadium
• Shared Austin/San Antonio “Texas” franchise—Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos
• Columbus, OH--Lower.com Field
• Tidewater, VA Region—SB Ballard Stadium
• Carolina Triangle Region—Wallace Wade Stadium
• Louisville, KY—L&NCU Stadium
• Memphis, TN—Liberty Bowl Stadium
• Birmingham, AL—Protective Stadium
• Fresno, CA—Bulldog Stadium
• Hartford, CT—Rentschler Field
• Tucson, AZ—Arizona Stadium
• Honolulu, HI—Aloha Stadium

Two of these cities will join the league.  The others will go into the pool with eligible NFL cities for our final round of voting, Team 16.   Voting starts now and will extend until Wednesday evening at 6pm MT.    Plan carefully, everyone.  Only 2 of these cities can get in now, and all the rest have to wait for the final ballot of our entire project. 

2 hours ago, DENCLEMONCLEOSU said:

Can I get a Colorado/Denver team.

I wish I could say yes, but Denver's 2 stadiums are either too big (Invesco) or too small (Dick's), and since Denver is the only city in the Top 60 MSA in the country, there just is not an option for a Colorado team. 

Alright, football fans.  Here is the look for the Rockers. 

The music theme is consistent throughout.  Evident in the two secondary logos based on guitar picks, a reprisal of the 6-string and power chord striping from the helmet to the jersey sleeves, and a new feature.  If you look closely at the pant stripe, you will see it is set up just like a guitar neck, with several frets and the identifying dots to mark different placements.  The jersey features a black yoke with silver or white outlines and a "rockin'" font for the numbers that is reminiscent of heavy metal band names.  The Rockers mix and match their black pants with both jerseys, while the silver pants tend to only be seen with the home red & black jerseys.  

Two more items for you.  First, the 2031 12-team AAFL map, showing the three divisions, East, Central, and West.  We have the diversity of helmet colors we were hoping for with 2 helmets featuring Navy (Houston only on the upper half of the helmet) and then 1 helmet apiece for orange, red, green, purple, black, white, teal, gold, grey, and whatever color we are calling Portland's blue.  That is pretty well mixed up.  

Finally, for our 12-team league, here are the jerseys, arranged in rows based on each division.  Again, pretty good color diversity, with two maroon jerseys, two very different orange jerseys, two red jerseys, and a range of other colors including our first fully black jersey.  We still do not have a Navy jersey, despite all the panic about Navy early on.  Houston, Portland and San Diego have Navy features (sleeves or yoke) but still no navy body.  That may change as we get to teams 13-16.  We will see.   More on the next expansion soon.   We will have 3 votes in the next round, with our first vote to choose 2 more non-NFL cities to expand the league into new markets. 

Let's take a look at the early vote:

13  Rockers

4   Palisades

3  Jays & Dragons,

Well, that was fast. 

Are you ready to Rock!  The New Jersey Rockers join the AAFL for the 2031 season, filling our 12 team, 3 division format.   Expect the full Rockers' look momentarily along with the 12 team map of the AAFL.   Then we are on to the next and final expansion, from 12 to 16. 

We have our final tally.  It was a close one but we have a winner. 

Welcome the NY-NJ metro area to the AAFL!   

The largest metro area in the USA joins the league, a sure boost to the ratings, and a great potential rivalry for our Boston franchise.  By the final tally of 17-13, NY-NJ joins the league.  With the team set to play at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, and with the backup facility being the stadium at Princeton University, it should be no shock that this franchise will follow in the footsteps of the classic USFL and use "New Jersey" as their location designation.  Will that deter New Yorkers from coming across the bridges or through the tunnels to watch them play?  The AAFL does not think so, but only time will tell.  

Columbus put up a good fight, and we will likely see them again, along with other non-NFL cities like San Antonio or Birmingham, when the league opts to grow from 12 to 16 clubs, but for now, market size and TV appeal win out.  So, what will New jersey choose to be called?  We have four identities rolled out and ready for voting. 

The voting, as always is 2 days (noon on Wednesday) or until a team reaches a 4-vote lead.  Here are your contenders:

NEW JERSEY JAYS

it's a callback identity, way back, before the Generals, before even the WFL of the 1970's, all the way back to the Continental Football League of the 1960's.  Those Jays lasted only 1 season and wore orange and brown as a farm team for the NFL Browns, but this club will pull out the bright blue, black and silver of the bluejay.  Bright royal blue helmets with a tapered stripe, black facemasks and the oversized Jay logo on each side will be the trademark of this identity.  

NEW JERSEY ROCKERS

The state that brought you the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and one of the best hair bands ever, Bon Jovi, is celebrating its place in Rock & Roll history with this rockin' identity option.  Black is the dominant color with bright scarlet red and a deeper shadow tone of red, with just a hint of silver help to set up the rock & roll vibe.  The helmet has the NJ monogram on the side, upholding a tradition of monograms for metro area teams that includes the Yankees, Giants, and Devils.  The bold red monogram is trailed by 6 thin white stripes representing the 6 strings of a lead guitar.  And what do we see on those strings, but the finger placement notations for some of music's hardest hitting power chords.  Add to that the guitar pick frame for the player number and you have a very tuned in design for a team with a musical theme. 

NEW JERSEY DRAGONS

Not exactly a native animal to the shores of New Jersey, this design and identity is all about the cool factor.  The serpentine dragon rises out of the New Jersey forests,  harkening to the popularity of everything from Game of Thrones to D&D.  the team will feature a forest green uniform with silver and bright green as complementary colors.  Can NY and Boston both wear green?  It could very well be if fans select this identity.  

NEW JERSEY PALLISADES

An identity that recognizes one of the state's most famous geological formations. The New Jersey Palisades tower over the Hudson River just across from the city, forming a fortress-like obstacle for the opposition.  The design features orange palisades surrounding a stylized NJ monogram in green, but not any green, the same exact shade used on all NJ Turnpike signs, because, well, Jersey!  The Green & Orange color scheme is unique for NY/NJ sports, but calls upon several traditions, from the orange of the NY City flag and the green of the NY Jets, to colors that evoke the "Garden State".  If chosen, the Palisades would be the first team in the league to suit up with a white helmet. 

There you have it, folks, 4 identities for the Garden State's team. You can go with the mythical Dragon, the imposing Palisade, the too-cool-for-school Rockers, or the speedy Jays.  Which will it be? 

Post Superb Owl check in: 

NY/NJ:  15

Columbus:  12

If the next vote is for NY/NJ, then they win.  If it is for Columbus, then the battle continues. 

The current vote:

10  NY/NJ

9    Columbus

I am removing Nashville, Birmingham and Atlanta from the running.  If you voted for one of those three, you may now cast a 2nd vote for either Columbus or NY-NJ. 

Checking in and we have 21 votes in so far.  Here are the vote totals:

6  Columbus 

5   NY/NJ

4   Nashville

2   Birmingham & Atlanta

1   Tidewater & Miami

So, the cities eliminated are the Carolina triangle, Tidewater and Miami.  The two who voted for those last two can recast votes. 

I have to say that these polls never cease to surprise me.  I thought NY/NJ was the obvious choice, but perhaps there really is a groundswell for non-NFL cities to have more of a roll in this league.  that is my guess, but then why is Nashville doing as well as it is?  

If you already voted, why did you vote for the city you did?  If you have not voted yet, it seems that we are going to have a tight race with 5 teams still alive.  

@JH42XCC casts the vote that puts the California Rush over the top. Sorry Condor Fans.  

Welcome the California Rush to the AAFL as the league's 11th franchise.  The team, which will split games between Sacramento and San Jose, is testing just how regional a team can be.  The Rush will wear black and old gold uniforms.   Their look is somewhat traditional, with a gold helmet bearing the team logo and a black stripe outlined in white.  The jerseys feature a thick shoulder swoosh, with a thinner swoosh beneath it.  Metallic gold numbers on both jerseys will reflect the California sun and use metallic threads to provide just a hint of shimmer.  The team unveiled two secondary logos, one being their primary across a bold font R, and the second being a crossed pickaxe and shovel, tools of gold mining, with a banner that has three letter abbreviations for both of the host cities. This new secondary appears on the collar of each jersey and on the hip of the pants. 

(I will say that I did experiment with all kinds of "modern" touches, including ombre effect jersys and pants, and hated them all.  So, i gave this club a very traditional look with gold perhaps being used a bit more than most teams would.)

The arrival of the Rush means that the 12th and final team for the 2031 season will be found in the East.   There are 8 cities vying for the final expansion slot for 2031, with the winner joining Boston, Washington, DC, and Orlando in the Eastern Division.  Six of the seven are in the Eastern time zone, with only Birmingham in the Central.   Here are the seven locations which are competing for an AAFL franchise:

• New York/New Jersey:  Team would play at Red Bull Arena.
• Atlanta: Team would play at Georgia State Stadium
• Miami:  Team would play at FIU Stadium 
• Columbus: Team would play at Lower.com Field
• Nashville: Team would play at Geodis Park
• Tidewater Region: Team would play at SB Ballard Stadium
• Carolina Triangle: Team would play at Wallace Wade Stadium
• Birmingham: Team would play at Protective Stadium

Voting is now open.  Once we get to 15 votes (or whatever number over 15 when I recheck the page), we will eliminate all teams that are more than 5 votes behind the leader and anyone who voted for one of the eliminated teams can revote for one of the remaining cities.  If the leader has a 4-vote lead on all teams, they will be declared the winner. 

Factors to take into consideration include:  Stadium quality, Market size, market financial breakdown, distance or proximity to other AAFL franchises, potential media buy-in, and football following in the region.  Since the the California Rush have the potential to bring in a large market area (San Jose, Bay Area and Sacramento), the pressure is not as great on the league to add a huge market like NJ, though both the league and the TV networks would certainly not turn their noses on the nation's largest market. 

Team 12, here we come. 

As I check in it is Rush 14, Condors 11, all others kind of out of it right now.  Despite the obvious 49ers parallel, the Rush could well take it, but I am not calling it yet in case there is a late flurry of ornithologists who want to go for the Condors. 

Despite the fact that I have been spending a lot of hours on  my AAFL project, the USFL alt history continues to roll on.  We are just now finishing up the 2011 season, which means 2012 and a new set of teams changing their uniforms is on the horizon.  

I have 3 of the 4 teams that will get new looks ready to roll, so I will be posting those here soon.  The 4th is still in planning phase. 

For now, I can offer you the logo from the league's 30th title game, Summer Bowl 2012.  The game will be held in St. Louis, which explains the coloring of the logo. 

Next up will be one of the three teams I know is getting modifications from Adidas in 2013:  Michigan, Memphis, or Houston. 

It has been 12 hours since we have received any votes.  Currently the Rush is in the league.  I am going to give it a few more hours, but if there are no votes by this afternoon, I may, may, call the question and declare a winner.  

There was a point where I think Rush had a 4-vote lead, but when I check in I see this now:

13  Rush

11  Condors

3    Dons

1   Cougars

1   Redwoods

I am going to let the voting continue (in part because I need some time to get the designs ready), but I will call it the next time I log in.  

Until then, here are two items you all might want to see.  

First, the Condor colors on a Snowbirds helmet.  I don't think this works the way people hoped.  

Second, The Redwoods with the corrected coloring.  I had to switch the helmet color as well, and honestly, it is worse than the original, even with the more accurate tree coloring.  I guess this is why Redwoods is not getting many votes.