The America League

[cohenj21]

Baltimore is really great, definitely my favorite so far. No complaints on that one. For Charlestown, I love that you have a team there first of all, it's cool to have big cities mixed in with smaller towns. I would return to your original socks for Charlestown though, the hooped socks make the uniforms really loud IMO. Maybe it's just a "tradition" thing for an old team, and in that case it's cool. Birmingham is also great.

[Greg_Fryman]

Charleston is gorgeous I love everything about that kit.

[ElTeduardo]

I love these once again, and charm city has a great home kit that I wouldn't hesitate to buy.

[Brian in Boston]

Some thoughts about Charlestown...

* I'm assuming that "Ravere's" is a typo and that you meant to say "the Reveres" was the team's nickname... as in Paul Revere. Revere isn't really identified with Charlestown in any overt way. Residents of the community certainly don't regard Revere as a "native son" of Charlestown. Yes, Revere directed the sexton of Christ Church in the City of Boston (aka, The Old North Church) to inform residents of Charlestown about British troop movements via the "one if by land, two if by sea" lantern code. Yes, Revere set out on his famous "Midnight Ride" from Charlestown. Still, given that he was born and raised in Boston's North End, and lived and worked there as an adult, Revere is far more strongly linked to that neighborhood. As such, I think you can do better when it comes to a nickname for the Charlestown side. To whit...

* Your logo for the Charlestown club prominently features a silhouette of the USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides". The Constitution is a source of pride for the Charlestown community, and has been since the vessel made its earliest visits to the Charlestown Navy Yard. The connection between the neighborhood and the ship has only intensified since the Constitution took up permanent residence in the shipyard. That being the case, I'd suggest having Charlestown's nickname be "the Ironsides".

* As for Charlestown's home stadium being dubbed Old Winthrop, I can only imagine that this is a reference to John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While Winthrop made a brief effort to establish the colony in what is present day Charlestown, he soon turned his nose up at the area and instead elected to settle the community that would become Boston on the Shawmut Peninsula. While I suppose Old Winthrop is a serviceable name for Charlestown's stadium, something along the lines of the Breed's Hill Ground, Breed's Hill Park, Bunker Hill Ground, Bunker Hill Park, or Old Mishawaum would more directly tie to the community's history.

As always, just suggestions.

[JayMac]

Camden County // Premier League

Camden County was founded in 1902 as a union of the Campbell's company team and the Victor Talking Machine Company's team. The Campbells team was well established, however Victor's team quickly rose up as a force. Campbell's saw the future and knew only one team in Camden could survive and quickly choose to merge with the Victor team and become "Camden County" in 1904.

Even though the city itself has declined, the team has still gone strong. They've won an impressive 6 championships while being in the shadow of a number of teams from New York and Philadelphia. They play their matches at the Petty Island Grounds.

The team logo takes it shape from New Jersey road signs with an image of the famous Nipper Building. The star was added after their 5th championship in 1954.

The Camden County Uniform is a red jersey paired with white shorts and red socks with thin white stripes. The change kit is the exact reverse. Whenever they play Phila SC they wear red from head to toe.

The concept sketch for Camden County is below.

This is amazing that my home county is represented...even if it is an imaginary league! I am a Philadelphia sports fan but I would root for CC to beat any Philly team!

[pcgd]

Some thoughts about Charlestown...

* I'm assuming that "Ravere's" is a typo and that you meant to say "the Reveres" was the team's nickname... as in Paul Revere. Revere isn't really identified with Charlestown in any overt way. Residents of the community certainly don't regard Revere as a "native son" of Charlestown. Yes, Revere directed the sexton of Christ Church in the City of Boston (aka, The Old North Church) to inform residents of Charlestown about British troop movements via the "one if by land, two if by sea" lantern code. Yes, Revere set out on his famous "Midnight Ride" from Charlestown. Still, given that he was born and raised in Boston's North End, and lived and worked there as an adult, Revere is far more strongly linked to that neighborhood. As such, I think you can do better when it comes to a nickname for the Charlestown side. To whit...

* Your logo for the Charlestown club prominently features a silhouette of the USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides". The Constitution is a source of pride for the Charlestown community, and has been since the vessel made its earliest visits to the Charlestown Navy Yard. The connection between the neighborhood and the ship has only intensified since the Constitution took up permanent residence in the shipyard. That being the case, I'd suggest having Charlestown's nickname be "the Ironsides".

* As for Charlestown's home stadium being dubbed Old Winthrop, I can only imagine that this is a reference to John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While Winthrop made a brief effort to establish the colony in what is present day Charlestown, he soon turned his nose up at the area and instead elected to settle the community that would become Boston on the Shawmut Peninsula. While I suppose Old Winthrop is a serviceable name for Charlestown's stadium, something along the lines of the Breed's Hill Ground, Breed's Hill Park, Bunker Hill Ground, Bunker Hill Park, or Old Mishawaum would more directly tie to the community's history.

As always, just suggestions.

See this was my biggest fear with this project, getting half right on facts or history. The last thing I wanted to do was use a flag that nobody knew existed (or even worse, the wrong one cause of a bad source) I certainly can admit when I'm wrong, I just don't want to offend a local with my lack of knowledge but acting like I do know.

Specifically, yes I called them the Revere's (an inexcusable typo) because the midnight ride began in Charlestown. I didn't know he was a bigger hero to other parts in Boston. I love your idea for the "Ironsides" name so I think I'll steal that and make that change when I get a chance.

For stadium names, I honestly looked at maps of each city or location and was looking for a name that sounded cool or perhaps an area I thought may be a cool location cause it might provide a cool view or was by another landmark. I knew that I could counter any "that's a terrible location cause X" with "It was built in Y before X happened so its cool!" In this case I saw Winthrop Square (which must have been named after John Winthrop) and it caught my eye. I lived on a Winthrop Ave before and I liked the sounds of "Old Winthrop" along the lines of "Old Trafford."

So this could come up again certainly, so please everyone call me out on it. I may not get it corrected until the end but I'll do my best to get huge misses and mistakes corrected.

[LAWeaver]

By no means am I a soccer fan. But these uniforms are excellent. I had a similar Idea as well, but It was with Football. Awesome job so far!

[Brian in Boston]

See this was my biggest fear with this project, getting half right on facts or history... I just don't want to offend a local with my lack of knowledge but acting like I do know.

Patrick... given the sheer magnitude of your undertaking, it stands to reason that there might well be some innocent oversights on your part with regard to the history and culture of locales that you don't have first-hand knowledge of. While I can't categorically speak for anyone else, I'm fairly certain that nobody in the CCSLC community is going to come to the conclusion that such oversights are meant to "offend". I know that I certainly don't.

Further, part of the beauty of this community is the ability for designers to gain valuable feedback from their fellow CCSLC members. In fact, so long as we offer-up corrections to you in a polite and pleasant manner, I think it is our duty to provide encouragement, offer-up constructive criticism, point out oversights/errors, etc. When it comes to the latter two categories of feedback, please take them in the manner in which they are offered. As for this project in particular, I know that my goal is to help you render the world you've created as historically and culturally accurate as possible.

By the way, I'm thoroughly enjoying the roll-out of the America League. Outstanding work!

[BigRed618]

Brian said it better, but yeah, there's nothing to worry about. We just want this project to be the best it can be and we wouldn't piss all over it because of a few minor mistakes. This isn't /ic/.

Anyway, nice job on everything. I'm looking forward to your next concept.

[Guest darkpiranha]

To be honest, none of US matter as far as opinion goes, or offending people, or historical accuracy. So what if any of us think a certain street corner is a better representation of a region in these fictional sports teams? It's YOUR league. Have FUN with it (which you clearly are, and that is what is making it so enjoyable for the rest of us). In these forums there are plenty of fictional leagues where the creators go way off the rails as far as historical accuracy, and those leagues are just as much fun, and just as legitimate as one that rigidly adheres to reality.

To be honest (part 2), if you're even remotely striving for accuracy, than you shouldn't even be creating the idea of an America League, because clearly as a nation, we said NO to soccer. If soccer HAD taken root here, then we WOULD have seen many different sorts of neighborhoods and regions gaining prominence. Just look at Green Bay. If not for the development of (American) football, no one would ever have heard of the town of Green Bay outside of Wisconsin. All it would have taken is one Camden County team to emerge as an early great team, and we might be speaking the name Camden County in the same reverent tones as Green Bay or Manchester United.

Finally, what's most important is what YOU want for your league. If you crave as much historical and social/geographical accuracy as possible, then by you letting us know, we'll be better able to hold you to it. For those league-creators who don't require it, a simple disclaimer up front will probably save lots of wasted energy. My personal leagues have Gotham City right alongside Tokyo and Baton Rouge and Tatooine. Clearly I could care less about geographical authenticity, lol. But for those that do seek it, that's awesome and if I can ever give you any clarifications on regions I'm familiar with, I'll be happy to pass them on.

(This essay brought to you by Google Earth)

[pcgd]

"Offend" was the wrong word, I just was worried about getting some details wrong, I was mainly worried about them being wholesale wrong, but I knew it would happen. I appreciate the comments (historic and art) and keep em coming! Like I said, it may be awhile before I change bit I will do it!

I went out for dinner and some drinks tonight for a belated birthday so I'm gonna skip today. I'll post up six tomorrow though!

Thanks!

[BigRed618]

"Offend" was the wrong word, I just was worried about getting some details wrong, I was mainly worried about them being wholesale wrong, but I knew it would happen. I appreciate the comments (historic and art) and keep em coming! Like I said, it may be awhile before I change bit I will do it!

I went out for dinner and some drinks tonight for a belated birthday so I'm gonna skip today. I'll post up six tomorrow though!

Thanks!

Sure thing. Lord knows you've earned a break.

[curswine]

This is a tremendous series and your logos are works of art, really looking to seeing this expanding.

The only place where I would put any criticism is your player models, I don't think their realism lends itself very well to your overall project look.

[GFB]

This is great stuff Patrick. The only little thing that gets to me is that the clash kits are a little too matchy-matchy to the main kits.

[tj4eck]

I'm in love with this series, and I'm not a big footie fan (working on it). Can't wait to see more concepts!

[TShaw528]

I like that you either recolor the sponsor logos or pick ones that match the uniforms. I hate when the sponsor logo clashes with the kit and looks ugly.

[pcgd]

Chicago North // Premier League

Chicago had a number of neighborhood teams throughout the early 20th century. At one time they had 8 teams competing in the top 3 flights of America League. By the 1960s there were only 5 teams still standing and they were struggling.

In 1970 a merger was discussed to split Chicago into 2 teams: Chicago North and Chicago South. Chicago North was built out of Gold Coast SC, Ravenswood, and Logan Square. They took on the colors of the Chicago flag and mascot and stadium of the most successful of the 3 teams: Ravenswood.

The single star came with some controversy amongst other teams. Chicago North "earned" the star by combining championships from the 3 teams. They have won 3 on their own however the star is still viewed as "tainted" by many fans.

The kits are made by adidas and feature the Chicago Flag on the chest. The team has struggled to keep primary kit sponsors because of this feature but stand their ground as they see it as a source of pride with Chicago residents. The home kit is light blue and the change kit is white.

Below is the initial concept for Chicago North.

[pcgd]

Emerald City SC // America One

Seattle's team in America League is known by the city's nickname: Emerald City SC. The team has extremely passionate fans and has built a reputation as unpredictable year in and year out. Some years they'll come out and be unstoppable, and others they are easy relegated. It keeps things interesting in Kings County. Speaking of which, they are nicknamed the Kings and a crown is featured in their crest along with a Seattle skyline featuring the Space Needle. They are sponsored by Starbucks which has also named their home stadium Pike Place.

Some of my favorite uniforms are worn by Emerald City. The primary kit is a dark grey with green patterns straight from the Seattle Flag. The change kit is plaid which was added during the rise of grunge music in the 1990's. They were so popular they've become a staple and get worn nearly as much as their primary kit.

Emerald City SC began with a slightly different primary kit. Originally I wanted to do a skyline motif on the bottom but then figured the Seattle flag would make a great uniform.

[pcgd]

Carolina SC // America Two

Carolina SC was founded in 2002 and was intended to draw fans from both sides of the border, between North and South Carolina! The colors are based on the flagship schools from each state. Its sheild is half and half inspired by each states flag with the crescent moon of South Carolina on the left, and the Star and NC of North Carolina on the right.

The team has been in America Two its entire existence, never being a serious contender to be promoted or relegated.

The uniforms feature a bold stripe that is the boarder between North and South Carolina. Equal parts maroon and light blue are used at all times in order not to offend either state.

The final output is pretty much exactly as I imagined it when I sketched it out.

http://pcgdstudios.com/america-league-day-5-part-a-chicago-north-emerald-city-carolina/

I'll be back tonight for the next 3!

[dakotapalm]

Just saw this for the first time- I wish I had something good to add, but your work speaks well for itself; this is outstanding!