Alliance of American Football - Team Names and Logos

[kimball]

56 minutes ago, WideRight said:

 

PHX--Green/Yellow/Orange:  Could be snake, lizard or thunderbird or firebird logo.

SD--Graphite/Yellow:  Could be military, a trident, gladiatorial, probably not too nautical.

SLC--Blue/Sky:  Mountains/Big Sky type image, Bighorn sheep?  Something blizzard or avalanche themed (lean into the fact that they play in Utah in February)

SAN--The accidentally released logo was a shield with a cutlass/sabre sword dividing top & bottom, with an alamo inside the top half.  Silver, maroon & bright red.  Odd combo. 

          My guess is San Antonio Sabres, but could be Cavalry, Regimen, Defenders, etc. 

 

Give me the San Antonio Defenders. That works. 

[Mac the Knife]

31 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

I think I disagree, one, because you can’t trademark the form of the letter, and two, I don’t think one 50th anniversary season would be enough to convince a court that the NFL is actively using the mark. I don’t even think there’s even enough market awareness of the AFL brand to make a case that this causes market confusion, and this coming from someone who instantly thought of the AFL when I saw that mark.

 

Actually, they are still actively using the mark on a lot of 'retro' merch sold for most (though not all) of the old AFL teams.  You can find that "A" on merch they're selling right now if you look for it, perhaps not on NFL.com but in catalog sales and what-not.  I'm not going to bother to check it, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a USPTO search showed that "A" as a stand-alone, or near stand-alone, trademarked logo (probably as the old AFL logo), very much live and current.

[CaliforniaGlowin]

Uh, yea I'm gonna chill on the Iron gear for now.  I got some Nighthawks gear of the UFL when they came out and look what happened to that.  I can't afford it anyway.  

[See Red]

5 hours ago, Sabres7200 said:

Orange helmet would be great for Orlando. 

 

 

I wonder if they will go with an orange helmet to play up Steve Spurrier coaching the team since he's obviously most associated with coaching the orange-helmeted Gators.

[MDGP]

36 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

 

Actually, they are still actively using the mark on a lot of 'retro' merch sold for most (though not all) of the old AFL teams.  You can find that "A" on merch they're selling right now if you look for it, perhaps not on NFL.com but in catalog sales and what-not.  I'm not going to bother to check it, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a USPTO search showed that "A" as a stand-alone, or near stand-alone, trademarked logo (probably as the old AFL logo), very much live and current.

 

I ran a check, and unless I missed something, there has never been a trademark with the A as a standalone trademark owned by the AFL or NFL. There was a trademark featuring the full logo, but that was cancelled in 2016. http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:zzyg09.2.42

 

The only thing I could find that the NFL owns regarding either the AFL or American Football League that is still active is a standard character mark (basically a wordmark). http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:zzyg09.2.38

[LogoFan]

I am underwhelmed with most of these, and I'm really behind the AAF.  Orlando is really nice and while Memphis name is lazy, I do like the logo....although, the jet will be facing different directions on the helmet to keep the E looking like an E.  Someone mamaged to get their hands on the San Antonio logo and it is the one I thought it would be with the sword.

 

Atlanta's FB page is in full meltdown over purple being used...torches and pitchforks.  I like it...I don't get the hate.  The logo really, really bugs me...it looks unfinished like it had potential left behind on the drawing board.

 

Birmingham loves the name but most with it was Ironmen, Ironhorses, Ironwhatever and I agree.  Monochrome logo is boring.

 

So many good names available and I just feel like most unveiled so far are blah.

[FightingGoldenDevil]

I hope Birmingham goes Black-Black-Silver. Otherwise they'll probably just end up ripping off the raiders

[dfwabel]

3 hours ago, FightingGoldenDevil said:

I hope Birmingham goes Black-Black-Silver. Otherwise they'll probably just end up ripping off the raiders

Well we really don't know how much they'll spend on helmets or how much a helmet partnership will invest in them.

[Mac the Knife]

10 hours ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

Uh, yea I'm gonna chill on the Iron gear for now.  I got some Nighthawks gear of the UFL when they came out and look what happened to that.  I can't afford it anyway.  

 

Buy certain AAF things as an investment rather than something to wear.  In 1993 I went to the Florida Marlins first-ever game at Joe Robbie Stadium, driving from Pennsylvania to Florida with an empty, small U-Haul hitched to my car.  I got there super-early and got a parking space as close to one of the gates as I could.  I went in (with my now wife), got my ticket marked (I still have it), and proceeded directly to the nearest merch kiosk armed with $10K cash.  I bought every bit of their "Opening Day" exclusive merch - miniature bats, caps, t-shirts, souvenir programs, if it had "Inaugural Game" on it?  I bought it.  Had them carry it out to the U-Haul, my wife supervised the loading and locked it up, and we then proceeded to go watch the game - being escorted to seats in one of the few suites Joe Robbie had at the time, apparently because I'd made an impression on someone.

 

Flash forward 25 years.  Over time I've sold about 30, maybe 35% of the haul from that day, mostly to other collectors in private transactions, occasionally selling a one-off item via eBay for sake of establishing its general market value.  Thanks to that investment I've thus far been able to make a down payment on (my first) house and fully furnish it, cover some serious medical bills my wife and I have encountered over the years, and back before we had kids take annual (and sometimes semi-annual) 10-day gambling excursions to Las Vegas.  The rest, along with my USFL materials, are my "retirement fund" and should I never retire, my financial legacy to my kids.  The most recent estimate of what I have left of the Marlins gear would value it probably at around $100K today if sold for maximum market value.  Some of the USFL stuff auction houses have said some individual items I have are so unique that they defy appraisal.

 

I don't say this to brag, but to advise:  buy the stuff, but don't wear/use it.  Buy a dozen hats.  When they arrive, open the box to make sure you get all twelve.  Take out one for yourself, then close the box and store it somewhere safe.  Initially you'll think, "****, I paid $300 for a hat."  But after the AAF implodes, over time you'll be able to sell those remaining 11, piecemeal, and realize significant profit doing so.

 

*Note:  this doesn't always work, however.  Original XFL stuff, save the white-lace balls?  Never did appreciate in value.

[Mac the Knife]

Note:  All AAF.com merchandise sales have been suspended.

 

Coincidence to the "A" thing?  Or is it some other Titanic-level screw up on their part?

[CaliforniaGlowin]

8 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

 

Buy certain AAF things as an investment rather than something to wear.  In 1993 I went to the Florida Marlins first-ever game at Joe Robbie Stadium, driving from Pennsylvania to Florida with an empty, small U-Haul hitched to my car.  I got there super-early and got a parking space as close to one of the gates as I could.  I went in (with my now wife), got my ticket marked (I still have it), and proceeded directly to the nearest merch kiosk armed with $10K cash.  I bought every bit of their "Opening Day" exclusive merch - miniature bats, caps, t-shirts, souvenir programs, if it had "Inaugural Game" on it?  I bought it.  Had them carry it out to the U-Haul, my wife supervised the loading and locked it up, and we then proceeded to go watch the game - being escorted to seats in one of the few suites Joe Robbie had at the time, apparently because I'd made an impression on someone.

 

Flash forward 25 years.  Over time I've sold about 30, maybe 35% of the haul from that day, mostly to other collectors in private transactions, occasionally selling a one-off item via eBay for sake of establishing its general market value.  Thanks to that investment I've thus far been able to make a down payment on (my first) house and fully furnish it, cover some serious medical bills my wife and I have encountered over the years, and back before we had kids take annual (and sometimes semi-annual) 10-day gambling excursions to Las Vegas.  The rest, along with my USFL materials, are my "retirement fund" and should I never retire, my financial legacy to my kids.  The most recent estimate of what I have left of the Marlins gear would value it probably at around $100K today if sold for maximum market value.  Some of the USFL stuff auction houses have said some individual items I have are so unique that they defy appraisal.

 

I don't say this to brag, but to advise:  buy the stuff, but don't wear/use it.  Buy a dozen hats.  When they arrive, open the box to make sure you get all twelve.  Take out one for yourself, then close the box and store it somewhere safe.  Initially you'll think, "****, I paid $300 for a hat."  But after the AAF implodes, over time you'll be able to sell those remaining 11, piecemeal, and realize significant profit doing so.

 

*Note:  this doesn't always work, however.  Original XFL stuff, save the white-lace balls?  Never did appreciate in value.

The differences are 1: fans still love the Marlins teal.  2. The Marlins are still around and have a lot more fans.  If the AAF gets as many fans per game as the Marlins it would be a huge success.  Plus the cost of the storage to keep that stuff for years would be through the roof.

[dfwabel]

4 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

Note:  All AAF.com merchandise sales have been suspended.

 

Coincidence to the "A" thing?  Or is it some other Titanic-level screw up on their part?

BOOM!

i's not dotted and t's not crossed.

[Mac the Knife]

23 minutes ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

The differences are 1: fans still love the Marlins teal.  2. The Marlins are still around and have a lot more fans.  If the AAF gets as many fans per game as the Marlins it would be a huge success.  Plus the cost of the storage to keep that stuff for years would be through the roof.

Actually, I'm not sure of this but I think all of the sales I made of Marlins-related stuff was before the Florida-to-Miami rebrand.  So if anything if you're right the stuff I have left is now more valuable.  And the storage costs for me were zero - some storage racks in a garage have served me well for 25+ years now.

 

My point is that when it comes to sports memorabilia, there's a buyer out there for everything.  That buyer might take a while to find, but no matter what?  He's out there.  He's always willing to pay you appreciably more the longer your stuff remains unblemished.  And the longer it sits, the more he's willing to pay.  The only drawback?  Sometimes it takes a while - and sometimes quite a while - to find that buyer.  But he's always, always there.

[LogoFan]

5 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

Note:  All AAF.com merchandise sales have been suspended.

 

Coincidence to the "A" thing?  Or is it some other Titanic-level screw up on their part?

No...my wife was trying to buy a tshirt and the size options were messing up.  A number of people complained about the site not working right and then it was taken down for repairs.  I don't think one team's possible problem would cause all teams to cease and desist.  There's not even a link to their shop today.

[LogoFan]

Bottom center.  Wow...I was saying Atlanta's logo looked unfinished like it was missing something and find something very on a site's clipart.  It just seems lazy.

[Mac the Knife]

1 hour ago, LogoFan said:

No...my wife was trying to buy a tshirt and the size options were messing up.  A number of people complained about the site not working right and then it was taken down for repairs.  I don't think one team's possible problem would cause all teams to cease and desist.  There's not even a link to their shop today.

 

 

You're probably right, but nevertheless, it's yet another lesson that'll someday be taught as part of "How Not To Launch a Pro Football League 101."

[Pengin.]

Honestly, I really like the simplicity of the Atlanta Legends' brand so far. Only thing I don't like is the script. "s" looks like a d. 

 

I'm not fan of the Apollos name nor the logo, but I don't like overshadowed or thick lined logos. Their visual brand looks decent, but it reminds me of the old Titans social media design elements before the graphic designer left for the San Diego Padres. 

 

Birmingham Irons logo and script seem pretty generic, but it works. I bet they go full on Raiders with their jerseys though. 

 

Memphis Express has the right idea, but it could have been a little bit more simple. I like the Jet splitting the E, but the doubling the middle of the E is weird to me. 

 

So far, it's alright. Can't wait to see how they muck up the Arizona team.  

[mkg74]

On 9/20/2018 at 5:32 AM, WideRight said:

 

 

Not to toot my own horn, but I honestly think the names and designs I came up with in the alternate history/concepts thread are more original, locally relevant and engaging, and I forced myself to use only non-count nouns for names.  

I agree, your ideas are much better/legit than these jokes so far, not passing judgement yet(for the league on a whole)  til i see the West teams. 

 

I mean, they could do no worse than consult guys like you or hugevolsfan or Veras for original ideas,imho. I;'ll be honest i dont like one team logo from the East, i'm not excited

[CaliforniaGlowin]

A poll on twitter for best AAF name has the Legends getting half the votes of the others.  The others are pretty even.

[Soblito]

Frankly, these names are lame and the logos are weak. It's almost as if being PC was their

foremost goal. They look like they belong in the WNBA.

 

There's really nothing to sink your teeth into with these. They missed the mark on these.

 

I would've gone with something with just a little more attitude, but not as much as the XFL had.

 

Birmingham Bulls or Vulcans

Atlanta Leopards or TrailBlazers

Orlando Ospreys or Thunderbolts

Memphis Pharaohs or Showboats

 

San Antonio Stallions or  Wranglers

Phoenix Firebirds or Arizona Outlaws

Utah Pioneers or Golden Spikes

San Diego Armada or Destroyers

 

Legends, Apollos, Express and Iron are just blah, no pop to them..