Brian in Boston

The name Memphis Showboats shouldn’t have been accompanied by a logo depicting a paddle wheel steamboat in the first place. Showboats and paddle wheel steamboats were two completely different types of vessels. Showboats were actually barge-like ships with a performance space built atop them. These watercraft were then pushed by small, steam-powered, tugboat-like tenders. As for paddle wheelers, the steam engine needed to power said watercraft would have taken up enough internal space on the vessels to make the placement of a performance area - including a stage and theater seating - impractical. In my opinion, the original Memphis Showboats’ logo was middle tier amongst USFL marks… at best.

Never. When it comes to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, I'm all for true March MADNESS!!! Bring on the Mid-Majors! Give me an All-Catholic Final Four (and I'm talking the likes of Loyola Chicago, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, and Saint Peter's... Holy Cross, Iona, Saint Mary's, and St. Bonaventure). I want nothing less than full-on, bracket-busting CHAOS!!!

One option would be for Battlehawk-style wings to be applied to the front of the Skyhawks jersey’s shoulder yoke. I’m envisioning the same sort of wing positioning as the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers utilized on their uniforms.

Why even bother with “the big reveal in June”? Just adopt the question mark-festooned uniforms full-time and adopt Maryland Mystery Monikers as the team’s identity. Unless you can get Jake Gyllenhall to come and throw out the ceremonial first pitch at your inaugural game. Then you go with Maryland Mysterios. Well, at least until lawyers from The Walt Disney Company show up with a cease and desist order on behalf of Marvel Entertainment… most likely followed by the suits from Sony, as well. Eventually, the team folds, the uniforms are bought by some outfit launching a summer collegiate team out of Bay City, Michigan and the players take to the diamond as ? and the Mysterians. Honestly, between this and the Lexington Counter Clockers fiasco, it’s enough to make a sports branding enthusiast chuck it all in.

Here in the United States, I’d always been under the impression that Skyhawks were primarily carrier-based aircraft flown by Navy and Marine Corps aviators. That’s why the name’s use by a St. Louis-based team threw me a bit. I’d always equated it with locales situated closer to the Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf Coasts. Still, as I pointed out, I do like the alliteration of St. Louis Skyhawks.

Hmmm. A lot to unpack here. Personally, I was never a fan of the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks’ identity. The name struck me as redundant. Seahawks describes avian creatures that makes their home by the sea. Nighthawks describes avian creatures that are nocturnal in their activity. Skyhawks? They’re hawks, so it goes without saying that they’re active in the sky. The modifier isn’t necessary. I will concede that the St. Louis Skyhawks moniker is pleasingly alliterative. As for the logo, while I understood the symbolic importance of the mark’s shape given the region the WLAF team called home, it always struck me as looking awkward on the helmet. There was no “flow” to it. That said, the palette you’re using for the St. Louis Skyhawks logo, along with the addition of the Gateway Arch to the mark, do make it much more attractive in my opinion. I really miss the sword in your adaptation of the Battlehawks’ identity, both in the logo and on the helmet. I’m not sold on the shield/football within the primary mark; I think I'd rather just see a football there. As for the wings, while I think they have the potential to stand alone as a helmet logo, I don’t think they’d mesh particularly well with either the Option 1 or Option 3 logo serving as a secondary mark. Ultimately, I’d prefer to see the Option 3 logo serving as both the team’s primary and helmet logo, with the Option 1 mark as a secondary logo (on the jersey sleeves, just under the collar, or on the hips of the pants). I would note that, in my opinion, the contrail for the upper jet in the Option 3 logo would look better passing in front of the furthest leg of the Gateway Arch. It would then give the impression that all three jets passed between the Arch’s legs. Your work continues to impress!

Be wary of politicians promising to put the proverbial, “lava flow in every pot. And a dildo in every backyard, to boot.”

I remember being pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to secure souvenir merchandise - including quality, personalized jerseys - for the WLAF teams. There was an entire section dedicated to the WLAF in the NFL souvenir catalog that I would use to order merchandise. I purchased personalized Orlando Thunder, London Monarchs, Ohio Glory, and Frankfurt Galaxy jerseys that my son still has to this day.

If you're going to dub a team the Continentals, forget about including a depiction of George Washington in the logo. After all, the visual elements of your branding have to revolve around this guy, no? Wowee, wow, wow, wow!!! What a mascot!

Under such a scenario, it would prove very interesting to see the response of those investor/operators of the MLS clubs designated for assignment to the second tier of play during the initial introduction of a promotion/relegation system. I think it’s safe to say that we’d quickly learn just who was willing to invest in soccer out of a true appreciation - indeed, a passion - for the sport, as opposed to those who were willing to pony-up because they were banking on securing a spot in a closed-system pro soccer venture similar to North America’s other top-tier pro sports leagues.

In September of last year, the San Diego City Council entered into an exclusive, two-year negotiating agreement with the developers of the proposed Midway Rising project. Said development calls for the 48.5-acre site surrounding/adjacent to Pechanga Arena San Diego to become home to 4,250 units of housing (including 2,000 affordable and 250 middle-income homes); a 450,000-square-foot arena (with a capacity of between 14,500 and 16,500 people) to replace the current facility ; a 200-room hotel; 250,000-square-feet of retail space; a 9.4-acre public plaza; and an additional 11 acres of parks and open space scattered throughout the project.

Last Saturday night, in their first Major League Rugby match to be played at Snapdragon Stadium, the San Diego Legion sold a league-record 11,423 tickets to the event.

A Las Vegas MLS expansion bid does, in fact, have investor-operators. American Wes Edens and Egyptian Nassef Sawiris - billionaire partners in the ownership of Premier League club Aston Villa FC - have been in discussions with Major League Soccer on bringing a franchise to the market. As for a stadium in Las Vegas, Edens and Sawiris have reportedly gone back and forth between a pair of ideas. The first would be building a soccer-specific facility on a portion of a 110 acre site on the Las Vegas Strip that is controlled by Fortress Investment Group (of which Edens is a co-founder and principal). Said site is set to house a mixed-use development including the terminal for the proposed Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas Brightline West high-speed rail project (also owned by Fortress Investment Group). The second would be to see whether or not reasonable lease arrangements could be worked out to share Allegiant Stadium with the Raiders and UNLV.

Sentinels

Navy, Sky & Metallic Gold Maroon, Red & Grey Royal & Orange Red & Sky Black & Metallic Gold Black & Orange

I was aware of the history of both the building and the logo. That said, a winged horse paired with an oil-themed team name - Drillers, Oilers, Roughnecks, etc. - meant to evoke the legacy of the structure and the mark seemed to be needlessly confusing. When I suggested that the Pegasus logo could be seen as a nod to the role that aviation has played in the growth and development of North Texas, it was meant to mirror the type of branding decision a team might well make in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex of today. Indeed, there’s a reason that the logo of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings draws upon the Pegasus for inspiration, while the team name eschews a reference to the oil industry that begat said mark. Namely, with each passing year there are fewer folks who either actually remember the connection, or can be bothered to do the research to find out about it. Then again, maybe in the world of WideRight’s USFL the franchise is actually owned by the Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil of the late-‘80s through 2022. They might be the Dallas Wildcatters… with a flying horse on their helmets.

Spirits of St. Louis - Inspired by Charles Lindbergh's aircraft and featuring a modernized take on the ABA franchise's logo as the team's primary mark. The helmets could feature aviator goggles on them in the style of the Arena Football League's Iowa Barnstormers. Portland Steelheads or Portland Stags -The first identity refers to the form of coastal rainbow trout that is spawned in fresh water, later migrates to the Pacific Ocean, lives in the saltwater body for several years, then returns to their natal waterways to spawn. Steelhead - known for their line-peeling runs and acrobatic leaps while fighting - are highly regarded game fish. A search of the internet will turn up no shortage of logos from Steelheads franchises in a variety of sports that could serve as inspiration for a team logo in your take on the USFL. As for Portland Stags, the name is a nod to to the illuminated sign that has adorned Portland's White Stag Building since 1940. Beginning in 1957, the sign was altered to feature an outline of the State of Oregon and the silhouette of a leaping white stag. This was part of an advertisement that touted the building as "Home of White Stag Sportswear". While the White Stag company has since left Oregon and the lettering on the sign now reads, "Made in Oregon" and "Oldtown", the illuminated outline of the state and the stag remain on the city-designated historic landmark. I could see a Portland Stags USFL team adopting a helmet much like the one Dane Storrusten designed for the Chicago Staggs of the proposed A11FL. Dallas Wings/Flight or Dallas Vipers - When choosing an identity package for a Dallas-based USFL team, I'd love to see you go in a direction that isn't the stereotypical Cowboy/Wild West theme. Your USFL is already home to the Bandits, Gamblers, Outlaws, and Wranglers... with two of those teams based in Texas and three in the Southwest. About the closest I'd be willing to see a Dallas-based team get to the Old West would be adopting an equine-centric logo... albeit, one based off of the Pegasus sign atop downtown's Magnolia Hotel. That winged horse has not only been a landmark in the city's skyline for going on 89 years, but it can be seen as a nod to the significant role that aviation has played in the development of North Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth is home to the world's largest airline (American), the world's biggest low-cost carrier (Southwest), the fifth-busiest global airport in the world based upon capacity of flights in 2022 (Dallas Fort Worth International), and the world's first 100=percent industrial airport designed for cargo and corporate aviation (Fort Worth Alliance Airport). I don't know whether the WNBA's Dallas Wings exist in the world of your USFL, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Dallas Wings or Dallas Flight taking to the field in your circuit. Nothing too over-the-top with regard to branding either. A straightforward depiction of that winged, red horse on each side of the helmet... a classic red, white, and blue color scheme... and a primary logo consisting of the aforementioned creature accompanied by a simple word mark. Barring that, I'd opt for Dallas Vipers. Dallas is well within the range of the western diamondback rattlesnake. While I'm normally a sucker for alliteration, Dallas Diamondbacks strikes me as a bit of a mouthful. Diamondback rattlers being members of the viper family, that name will do... and it has some "punch" to it. There are plenty of great Vipers logos online to draw inspiration from. Miami Makos, Miami Mantas/Manta Rays or Miami Morays - The logo of the Fall Experimental Football League's Florida Blacktips could be reworked as a mark for a team dubbed the Miami Makos. Similar to the situation with finding an inspiration for a Steelheads mark, a web search will turn up plenty of Manta Ray-based logos. I also recall a team named the Miami Morays playing in one of the indoor football circuits - I want to say the National Indoor Football League - in the early 2000s. Carolina Monarchs or Carolina Rhinos/Carolina Rampage -While I like CDCLT's suggestion of transferring the Atlanta Legend's logo and color scheme to Charlotte for a Carolina Monarchs USFL franchise, I've also long thought that there was something pleasing about the way the name Carolina Rhinos rolls off the tongue. That name - or Carolina Rampage - could be paired with the primary mark of the Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage for a pretty sharp identity. I also like the logos that pro soccer's Rochester Rhinos introduced in 2016. Virginia Destroyers or Virginia Ironclads - The first identity would be a tribute to the U.S. Navy's presence in the Hampton Roads region and would utilize much of the work you created for your outstanding Boston Commanders logo and uniform proposal. The second would not only serve as a tribute to the historic U.S. Navy presence in the region, but would also reference the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack). These two ships - the first ironclad vessels to meet in combat - engaged on the second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads, which took place just offshore of where the piers of Naval Station Norfolk are situated today. I could see using the San Diego Destroyers/Boston Commanders logo as the basis for an Ironclads logo, but altering the mark to depict one of the ironclads - likely the Virginia as it had a more distinct shape above the waterline - in the original mark's minimalist style. Minnesota Legends - When looking to American folklore, why limit yourself to basing a team identity upon a single figure? If Babe the Blue Ox is a good source of inspiration, it stands to reason that Babe and his constant companion - Paul Bunyan - are a GREAT source of inspiration. So, why not use them both under the Minnesota Legends name? "Minnesota Legends Football.... it's LARGER THAN LIFE." I could see using something akin to these simple silhouettes in a primary mark and/or as a helmet logo. Kansas City Bombers or Kansas City Stealth - Where the identity of their cross-state rivals embraces aeronautical history, Kansas City's USFL entry is all about invoking images of modern aerospace combat with their name and logos. Either of these team names references the fact that the USAF's B-2s are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, just over 53 miles - as the bomber flies - from Arrowhead Stadium. As always, I'm eager to see what you whip up!

Velcro.

Rendering the uniforms less... well, uniform. In fairness, individual numbers - and in the case of some teams, player names - are just as guilty of rendering uniforms less uniform, but that's in the service of player identification. This is a move away from uniform uniformity solely to facilitate turning human beings into walking billboards. What's next, different virtual corporate logos being added to each player's uniform during broadcasts. How about corporate logos and company names being added to a player's eyeblack during close-ups? Hmmmmm.

Numerous media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, are reporting that Cristian Arango is being transferred from LAFC to Pachuca of Liga MX. https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2023-01-31/lafc-cristian-arango-pachuga

NWSL = No Woman’s Safe League

The only BMO presence that I’ve run across in California is their ATM machines... and that's a fairly recent phenomena. I've seen them in chain pharmacies and supermarkets here in Santa Monica. That's going to change now that BMO Financial Group has received regulatory approval to acquire Bank of the West from BNP Paribas and merge said financial institution with U.S.-based BMO Harris Bank. The reason for BMO snatching up the naming rights to the former Banc of California Stadium is undoubtedly linked to promoting the BMO Harris brand in California prior to the merger with - and rebranding of - the Bank of the West assets in the Golden State.

My original critique of St. Louis CITY SC’s branding still stands. Name / Wordmark The team name - particularly the emphasis on CITY - is tone deaf given the acrimony that has historically existed between the municipality and surrounding St. Louis County since the 1840s. Team ownership can trumpet all it likes about how "the name celebrates the area's diverse, iconic neighborhoods"... blah, blah, blah... "region's recent growth"... blah, blah, blah... "cultural renaissance"... blah, blah, blah. All of those niceties aside, the fact remains that following the official split of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County in the 1870s, the invisible political barrier that separates the two entities has been a continual source of friction with very real socioeconomic impact visited upon residents of both the city and surrounding, independent communities. Anger, mutual misunderstanding, and resentment has been a very real part of the relationship between those who call the city home and those who reside in municipalities within the county. A chorus of "Kumbayah" under the St. Louis City SC - pardon, St. Louis CITY SC - name isn't going to suddenly make that disconnect disappear, no matter how much Carolyn Kindle Betz and Company might want it to. You want your Major League Soccer franchise to serve as a rallying point for the entirety of the St. Louis Metro Area, both city and county residents? Here's a tip - don't play up one half of the region's historic city/county divide in the team's name. Instead, try leaning into "the city's rich soccer tradition as America's First Soccer Capital" and go with a name like St. Louis Legacy SC. Or, if you truly want your club "to be bigger than soccer... and a symbol of [the region's] future", adopt a name like Gateway St. Louis SC. There's just no upside in even remotely running the risk of antagonizing either side of the traditional city/county schism. Colors I'm a fan of the City (Not) Red and River Blue. They complement one another nicely, with the Raspberry/Magenta shade of red particularly unique upon the North American pro sports landscape. With the iconic Gateway Arch destined to play such a significant role in team branding, Arch Steel Gray also strikes me as a welcome part of the club's palette. All of that said, the Energy Yellow gives me pause. I get that the team is trying to come up with its take on the Red, Blue, and Yellow of the St. Louis municipal flag, but I fear that the Energy Yellow is going to be overkill, particularly when paired with the City Red. I found the combination over-the-top when used in the teaser videos leading up to the identity unveiling and I'm not at all convinced it's going to prove any more pleasing when utilized in logo or uniform applications. If it were me, and I wanted to include a nod to the flag's Yellow, I'd have taken a page from Cerezo Osaka's book and gone with more of a Gold. Crest When I learned that "[a] diverse group of over 20 local designers created" the St. Louis CITY SC crest, I couldn't help but think "design-by-committee" and "too many cooks spoil the broth". I can't say for certain that the number of designers led to what I consider to be a misfire, but I don't believe the scenario helped matters. It strikes me as being a very disjointed mark, with little thought given to how the various components of the logo might most effectively integrate. For instance, the description of the crest says that the top of the shield "[f]ollows the shape of the Gateway Arch". Except it doesn't, really. Not quite. Given that the top of the shield and the top of the depiction of the Gateway Arch within the shield are rendered at two different sizes, they follow one another's shape for what amounts to a very short length of space. If anything, the curve at the top of the shield and the depiction of the Gateway Arch within the crest serve to inspire one to wonder why the designers didn't elect to enlarge the Gateway Arch and shift it upward within the logo so that it's curve would define the curved portion of the top of the shield. It seems a lost opportunity, aesthetically, not to do so. Then there's the logo's depiction of the Gateway Arch itself. It really doesn't reflect the actual structure very well. The angle at which the legs descend and the curve of the upper section are all wrong. While I understand that this is an "abstract representation of the iconic landmark", given that it is arguably the centerpiece image within the crest's design, it just seems to me that more care should have been taken to render its depiction a bit more accurately. And speaking of accuracy, I can't help but think that I'd like to see how the badge might have looked with the Gateway Arch rendered in Arch Steel Gray, as opposed to City Red. Similarly, I wonder how the depictions of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers would look if the outer lines of said waterways were rendered in White, with the center lines remaining River Blue? I'll concede that it might be a bit busy, but it would be interesting to see the contrast compared to the current color way that leaves the Arch and Rivers resembling - at least to my mind - an abstract depiction of a highway interchange. The righthand third of the crest is, to put it bluntly, abysmal. The band of City Red cutting off nearly half of the depiction of the Gateway Arch, as well as the rotated word mark descending down said strip of color, come across as design decisions made solely for the sake of trying something "new" and "outside the box", with little thought given to how they might have been better incorporated into the crest's overall design. Overall, St. Louis CITY SC's logo strikes me as looking like an early draft within the conceptualization and design of a major professional sports franchise's logo. I don't consider it a successful finished product. I'd say it's a missed opportunity that ranks in the bottom half of MLS club marks and, off the top of my head, may well slot in amongst the bottom third of the league's team logos.

Well, it appears I'll be limiting my LAFC kit purchase this coming season to an authentic home jersey featuring the addition of the MLS Cup Championship star. Unless it looks radically different in person, I can't say that I'm a fan of this change kit's design. Further, while there's a place for simplified crests (I love LAFC's when applied to baseball caps), I'm not in favor of them on the kit itself. In my opinion, that's where your official, formal club badge should be.

Tough choices. I mean TOUGH. Denmark #2 (by MDGP) Argentina #2 (by lightning25) Quality work by all of the designers throughout the tournament and a tip of the cap to rsaline for running the event.