WideRight

OK, my full evaluation. DC: Grade-A. The cleanest and overall most professional design. Easy to do with a 1 color scheme. Recommendations: 1) Add some red to the socks (2 stripes as in DC flag is ideal) 2) Wear the white pants with red jersey and vice versa. 3) Make the logo slightly larger on the helmet. NY: Grade A- All the pieces are decent, only the shoulder stripes are awkward. Best helmet in the league. Recommendations: 1) Wear grey pants with black jersey and vice versa. 2) Remove shoulder stripes and add TV numbers STL: Grade B+ Some minor quirks, and I am not sure the way they used the navy really adds much. And a non-unitard, which seems to be rare. Recommendations: 1) Make the helmet logo smaller all the way around (smaller wings, smaller sword) 2) Change the pant stripes and shoulder stripes from 2 fat stripes to a more standard 3 stripe (navy-grey-navy or Navy-royal-navy) TBY: Grade C+ I like the colors and the jerseys are decent, but there are some obvious things to fix too. Recommendations: 1) Put the snake logo on the helmet and the V logo on the chest. 2) Use sleeve caps, but eliminate the side panels on the jersey. 3) White pants with green jerseys and vice versa. DAL: Grade A- The pieces are all there, but having 3 Black jerseys in an 8 team league is ridiculous. Recommendations: 1) White pants with dark jerseys and vice versa 2) Switch the dark jerseys to Sky Blue with a black yoke, not black with a blue yoke. 3) Make the sleeve ends the same color as the rest of the sleeve, not contrasting. HOU: Grade B I like the helmet a lot, I like the star on the sleeve, and the color balance is good, but... some issues. Recommendations: 1) straighten out the derrick logo on the helmet, it is tilted too far to the left. 2) keep the contrasting sleeves, but lose the side panels on the jerseys so that pants are interchangeable. 3) If at all possible use a metallic sheen on the grey/silver pants to parallel the helmet. 4) On the red jersey with blue sleeves, the star should be white or silver (metallic) LA: Grade D- I like the logo, and I appreciate that they wanted to add the claw marks to the uni, but so much is bad. Recommendations: 1) Helmet: Black facemask and change the claw marks to 2 outer red and 2 inner orange to balance colors 2) Home Jersey: Too many teams with the same side panels and sleeve color system. Total overhaul--- Orange jersey with red, white & black shoulders similar to Atlanta Falcons, or do something more like the Dallas Renegades, with a red sleeve and black slash. 3) Away Jersey: Better. Remove the side panel, keep the orange sleeves, add black & red elements to sleeves (Atlanta/Dallas style) 4) Pants: Of course, white pants with orange jersey and orange or red pants with white jersey. Disconnect the slashes. Make them separate slashes (unconnected at top) and imitate the helmet (red-orange-orange-red) 5) Socks-- As always, I hate solid color socks. White socks with either stripes or the top 1/3 a color block (Yes, I am a child of the 80's so seeking any athletes wearing black socks makes me think they are accountants and not athletes) SEA: Grade B- Some good pieces but, way too much going. I like the colors and the attempt to go Michigan Panthers with the logo on the helmet.. Recommendations: 1) Helmet: Use a green helmet, not white, widen the dragon to take up more helmet side, and remove the stripe. 1) Home Jerseys-- I actually like these as a single element, Add a secondary logo to the sleeves to give it something. And, again, remove the side panels alltogether. 2) Away Jerseys-- Same, remove side panels, add logo to sleeves. Otherwise good. 3) Pants-- Of course, white pants with dark jersey and vice versa. Otherwise OK 4) Socks-- White with Green or orange color block. Overall I think the AAF aesthetic was better. It had more variety (of colors, of design--especially sleeve + side panel). I would have liked to see perhaps 1 other team with a yoke instead of contrasting sleeves, and maybe 1 team or more with sleeve stripes (NY?) not shoulders. I also would, with only 8 teams, want to ensure that there are 8 different helmet colors and 8 different jersey colors instead of so much dependence on black. Apparently no one is willing to be the team that risks an odd color jersey/helmet anymore (See the WFL's California Sun or WLAF Orlando Thunder). I hesitate to toot my own horn, but overall I think the designs I did when I imagined the new XFL uniforms are just better (You can see them on page 3 or 4 of the Concepts section) but I am probably biased.

And the Vipers go full Arenaleague 2 with their look. The helmet and jersey are fine on their own, but the pants just kill it. Why have side panels on the jersey when the pants have a tapered stripe that does not line up with them? I like the colors, but the pieces of the uni do not go together. And you have that really nice snakehead logo, but put the boring V fang logo on the helmet? Swing and a miss.

I am holding off to do a full eval later, but so far all teams are B or higher, but these are my quick thoughts DC-- cleanest, but that is easy when you have 1 color + white. Dallas-- I think they should reverse and have sky blue jerseys with black shoulder yokes. Houston-- Several problems here. Metallic silver helmet with dull grey pants (why can't we have metallic pants anymore?), logo is not straight on helmet, Side panels are very 1990's. St. Louis-- Helmet logo is too much. Smaller wings and maybe no sword would be better. Navy, as used here, does not add much to the look. NY-- Love the helmet, shoulder stripes just don't work when they don't wrap around. ALL-- so far it looks like every team can have 4 options, since pants and jerseys can be exchanged. Not a fan of an 8 team league having 3 jerseys the same color (NY, DAL and likely LA). Dallas could easily be sky blue and LA could be red or orange instead. Overall pretty strong, more later when we have the final 3.

What stuns me is this line from the article: "The XFL, meanwhile, is also working on a separate deal for an on-field uniform supplier, said sources." They don't have a uniform supplier yet? They start minicamp in January!!! This does not bode well, and certainly means that the odds of being able to buy replica or authentic jerseys for Christmas are not good. Is it me or is this something that should have been locked down maybe in June or July, to giver the companies time to make unique uniforms. I am afraid we are going to see some generic-looking template jerseys this season. Very disappointed, because for me (and I doubt I am alone in this) the look of the team (helmets, uniforms, logos) is perhaps the #1 factor in determining if I take the league seriously, and if I do, which team I root for.

Someone on one of the boards said the 23rd, but the supplemental draft is the 22nd, so I would expect at that event perhaps.

I think the wings on the helmet are a no-brainer, but adding more wings on the sleeves, not so sure about that. Surprised as well that it is so much white instead of silver being more prominent. Guess we shall see within the next month.

XFL Draft is next week. I wonder if they will reveal helmets or full uniforms at that event. At least helmets would be a good touch.

It is always hard to quantify, but I would say the following would define "traditional" vs. "modern looks" TRADITIONAL--- Sleeve, pant and sock stripes. Helmet stripes are straight, not tapered. Jerseys may have different colored yoke or sleeves, but not side panels or any sublimated images. No chrome or matte helmets. Logos are standard size, not huge and not only on 1 side of helmet (with number on the other). Fonts for numbers are relatively blockish and could have fit in back in the 80's or even 90's. MODERN-- Chrome, Matte, combinations of yoke, sleeve and side panels, pants without stripes or with wild tapered or swooshy stripes. Helmets with oversized logos or with transition from 1 color to another (recent Jags helmet), sublimated images (Oregon duck wings) or use of "slick" fabrics mixed with traditional fabrics, fully colored socks (all the way down to foot) instead of color on calf only, horizontal stripes on pants (U Hawaii), sleeve stripes that extend to front (Seahawks, Browns), use of logo on front of jersey (CFL in America, old NFL Europe). I am a traditionalist in most cases, so in my ideal world it should be hard to tell that the XFL jerseys were not created in 1983.

Come on. Be realistic. You know going in that every coach, every player, every scout, every trainer, every official, every executive on the XFL payroll will jump at the chance to join the NFL as soon as possible. The XFL is a secondary league, and that is all there is to say about it. I don't know if you are an NFL-hater or just a big fan of alternative football, but you have to go into the XFL with a realistic view, if not with a grain of salt, because it is not the NFL in quality, funding or potential. If you think the XFL is going to somehow roll over the NFL and become the predominant football league in the USA, you are in for a world of disappointment. Might as well bet a huge sum of money on the Dolphins winning the Super Bowl this year.

Rethinking it, a few tweaks of just the names could go a long way: LA Pumas, as B-Rich said, would be a much better big cat, and wouldn't alter the main logo at all (maybe adjust from Red & Orange to Red & Gold instead) DC Power would still work with the logo, and makes the lightning bolts more relevant. NY Gargoyles is more original and aggressive than Guardians Seattle Serpents or SEA Serpents would work for the Dragons logo and be more alliterative. Houston Roughnecks is fine, as is Dallas Renegades (derivative as it is) St. Louis Squadron or St. Louis Swords would be better than Battlewings. Tampa Bay Vipers is fine, but Tampa Venom would also work with the same logo and be a bit more unique.

My quick takes: Each one, with the possible exception of Seattle, has something that I think could have been addressed and fixed quickly to improve the identity. None of them are horrific, no "Krunk-Wolverines" or Maniax in the bunch, but all could have been tweeked just a bit more. Without railing against any team, here is the 1 thing I would change for each: 1. DC: The shield logo works. I am interested to see if they add a 2nd color or stick with Red & White like the DC flag. My one change: The name. DC Power, Washington Warbirds, something a bit more dynamic than "Defenders". 2. NY: I like the gargoyle reference, though this one looks like a mix between gargoyles and the lions from the NYC Public LIbrary. My one change: I might say the name for the same reason as DC, but no, I will say that the league already has too much red, so adding red in the logo just makes that worse. Replace the red in the logo with another color and you have a winner. My suggestion, the oxidized copper green of the Statue of Liberty, a slate/sky blue, or maybe orange instead of red. 3. STL: I am ok with the name, though it is awfully close to "Blackhawks" which is not what you want in STL. The logo is a fine secondary logo, but will it look good on the helmet? My one change: Create a secondary logo which can be used on the helmet, perhaps a monogram with a plane/flight motif. 4. TBY: Great colors for TBY, remind me of the Rowdies from the NASL. The secondary logo is ideal, the primary looks like a secondary. My one change, obvious, swap primary and secondary logos. 5. DAL: This is a very derivative logo. So many teams, as far back as the USFL's OK Outlaws had something similar. Then you add that it is Houston Oilers colors and it is a missed opportunity to do something stronger, and it adds to the overload of red in the league. My one change: Keep the logo but change the colors (in order) from Black-Sky-Red to Dark Brown--Sand Gold--Orange like the old SA Riders of WLAF. 6. HOU: It's the Oilers, right? We all get that? The H is weak, the colors generic, the star on top of the derrick is unnecessary. A lot I would change about the logo in general. The name is perfect, but that is about all. My one change: Not sure I can limit this to one change. I guess if I only changed one thing, again it would be the color scheme. Get rid of silver and make this navy, luv'ya blue and red. Maybe they get sued by the Titans and the NFL, maybe not. 7. LA: I love the monogram, but it does not say "Wildcats" to me. Keep the colors and the monogram. The secondary logo adds almost no value. So... My one change: Change the name to "Hotshots" and switch to a firefighter theme. You can keep the monogram as is, the AAF has no money to sue anyone about the name use, and Hotshots in southern California works. If you fear a lawsuit, go with Scorchers, SunDevils, Flames, Blazers, etc. but find a way to use a fire or sun theme rather than the very generic HS team name Wildcats (especially if there is no cat logo). 8. SEA: My favorite of the bunch, though I am not sure what color helmet will work with this logo. The name is not very "Seattle", but it might appeal to the large Asian population. My one change: Somehow incorporate a plaid or flannel pattern into the uniforms to tie the identity closer to Seattle culture.

You do realize your avatar is the Geelong Cats, right? Just sayin' animal names can't be all bad.

With all 8 images released, and likely logos announced tomorrow. Here are my predictions: Dallas (Something to do with storms or a hawk?) New York (Gargoyles, Night imagey, bat, spider, etc.) Tampa Bay (Tropics, Crocs, etc.) Houston (Something oil/fire related) Washington (Warbirds?) St. Louis (Archers?) Seattle (Surge? Dragons?) LA (a bird? Angel? Swords?)

Not really, but Seattle and green is kind of a minor version of Pittsburgh with black & yellow. That did not stop the USFL though. They went purple, orange and grey in Pittsburgh, so maybe Seattle is the red & white team.

I think the opposite. Don’t use the same colors as NFL teams in those markets. Go for something unique that does not remind people of their past or current NFL teams. But, it is all speculation at this point. If I had to put money on any Inwould say Red-Blue-Silver and DC is the most likely just because of the nation’s capital thing.

My guesses, and they are pure guesses: SEA= greens with blue & orange NY=Black & silver HOU=sky, red & black DC=Red, Blue, silver DAL=Red & white LA=Red,Orange & black 2 teams left and so far no metallic gold, yellow, teal, purple, brown, burgundy and only minimal orange. I expect at least 1 team in purple and 1 with either yellow or gold in the final 2.

Some rumors,claiming to have inside info, that the XFL will release team names & logos next week. Of course the XFL promised we would see these in April, then May, then June, then for sure July, so don't bet the deed to the ranch on this one. I sure hope they do because as much as I love the Bills, even I cannot get excited about the NFL preseason, so I am still over a month from football I will be excited to watch.

That sounds like wishful thinking to me. I don't disagree with that wish, but I don't think it is very realistic. McMahon would not want retread logos from a league he had nothing to do with. He would want his own identities for the teams. That said I would love to see: LA Express vs. Seattle Breakers Dallas Gunslingers vs. Houston Gamblers St. Louis Showboats vs. Tampa Bay Bandits New Jersey Generals vs. Washington Federals But I do not see this happening. I will just be happy if it is not the Tampa Bay Mystery Ships vs. the St. Louis Krunk Wolverines.

I think a case could be made for picking "boring" traditional names as long as they are not NFL names. Bring in a nostalgic, olde-tyme football vibe with... Dallas Mustangs Houston Outlaws Tampa Bay Sharks Seattle Wildcats Los Angeles Dragons New York Knights Washington Warriors St. Louis Skyhawks Boring, non-controversial, "classic" and yes, boring. I don't think the XFL will go there. I think they will want names that are "new", "fresh" or wost of all "kewl". Hopefully he does not stoop to the degree of having the Seattle Forest Sharks or Washington River Lions or any other minor league baseball BS. I also hope he doesn't go full MAGA with hyper-patriotic names.

Here, just to kill some time, are some top names I would love to see for the different XFL cities: SEATTLE 1. Sasquatch is my all-time favorite name for a Seattle team. 2. Steelheads is also a good one, especially for football. 3. Orca would also work well for the region 4. Rangers, as in forest rangers. DALLAS 1. Drillers--oil reference but also pseudo-violent/hitting reference 2. Rawhides--old west, just sounds cool. 3. Wildcatters--another oil reference, but one with a dual logo option (rigs or cats) 4. Roughnecks--one last oil reference HOUSTON 1. Any of the Dallas names could also work here 2. Apollos--not likely since the AAF Orlando team used this name, but it makes sense. 3. Howlers--could be a reference to wind or to wolves. 4. Bayous-- Could use a gator, pelican or other bayou creature as a logo/mascot. LOS ANGELES 1. Stars--too obvious? 2. Aztecs--Too close to SDSU? 3. Gladiators--best if they play in the Colisseum, but if not, can still be a good name. 4. Surf-- obvious beach culture reference ST. LOUIS 1. Lightning-- underused in sports and alliterative. 2. Rampage-- A poke in the eye of the St. Louis Rams, and you could use all kinds of animals to depict this. 3. Stallions-- Almost good enough for the NFL, certainly good enough for the XFL 4. Leopards-- an underused big cat option. TAMPA BAY 1. Plunder-- Nice pirate reference to go with the ship sitting in their stadium. 2. Sharks-- By the bay, the Gulf 3. Tritons-- Another nautical reference. 4. Tigersharks-- Perhaps a bit more specific than #2 WASHINGTON 1. DC Power-- Dual meaning, both electricity and national capital 2. Washington Warhawks-- could use planes or birds as logo 3. Washington Wolves-- nice alliteration and an underused animal 4. DC Dozers-- A bulldozer would be a great football logo NYC 1. New York Nightowls-- City that never sleeps, Nighthawks could work as well 2. Gotham Knights-- Yes, you might need to check with DC about this first. 3. New Jersey G-Men-- Not sure if the Giants have trademarked this. If so, DC G-men would be good for Washington too. 4. New Jersey Pallisades-- Hyper-localized reference, but an image of strength and immovability.

Apparently someone has been scouring the TESS database, waiting for the XFL (Alpha Entertainment) to trademark names for the 8 new XFL teams, and it paid off. The XFL has trademarked 5 identities for the new Seattle franchise. They are: Seattle Fury Seattle Force Seattle Surge Seattle Dragons Seattle Wild My pick from this group would be either Dragons (Use an asian dragon motif?) or Surge (ocean reference?). The complaint online so far has been that none of these names has an obvious Pacific Northwest connection (Unlike the NHL name such as Steelheads, Sockeyes, or Emeralds). I would have loved it to be the Seattle Sasquatch, but I guess that is not in play. But, that said, any of these names, generic as they are, would be better than the early rumors that the team would be either the Seattle Submarine or Seattle Subterranean. Here is one link to this info: http://sports.mynorthwest.com/663280/xfl-seattle-team-5-potential-names/?fbclid=IwAR00lXFGlm2azFeFiGlBIn463LVSC6M33lIDtMWB5Ac94oIVAUc8ssMFAio

This is the first one that popped into my mind. This would be a great logo for a lot of the college Wildcat or Bobcat teams if not already in use for the company.

As much as I would love to see the USFL come back, I do not see the XFL buying the rights to USFL names and drawing that connection in people's minds. That said, if they went with a look for their teams that paralleled the look of the USFL (instead of the style of the 90's, 2000's or today's Nike crapfest) I would be extremely psyched. USFL had designs that rivaled and even surpassed the quality of the NFL in many cases.

OK, having only contributed the concept of the SharkBear to this conversation (You are welcome) I feel I owe it to the board to actually propose identities for the 8 XFL teams, so here goes: XFL NY: New Jersey G-Men-- Same colors as the old XFL Hitmen (Royal, Black, Grey) but inverting from mobsters to the feds who busted them. Logo is a Silver/black badge, which will look great on a blue helmet. I chose to go with NJ since they will actually play in the Meadowlands and this is a way for them to distinguish themselves from other NYC area teams. Yes, it links to the Giants, but the name is different enough to stand on its own. Blue helmet with black/silver logo. Blue jersey with black yoke, silver pants, blue socks. XFL DC: DC Power-- A double meaning name for the halls of power, but also DC electricity. Logo will involve lightning bolts. Colors: Purple & Old Gold. I wanted to get away from the red-white-blue color scheme and the obvious poltical/military names but still have a name that makes sense for the nation's capital. Purple helmet with gold & white lightning from front to back (similar to old XFL Birmingham but only 2 bolts), Purple jersey, Old gold pants. XFL TBY: Tampa Bay Plunder-- With a huge pirate ship in the endzone you really have to try to tie in. I picture a logo that includes either a treasure chest, gold dubloons, or some other pirate booty reference without copying the Buccaneers pirate images. Colors would be something like teal, black and metallic gold, or possibly Navy and metallic gold with teal or silver. Teal helmet with gold & navy logo. Navy jersey, white pants, teal socks. Something similar to NFL Europe's Hamburg Sea Devils. XFL STL: St. Louis Bombers-- A red, white & blue team with WW2 motif in design. Helmet logo is the classic star in circle with wings. Main logo should include a B-52 or other classic plane. Helmet is white with logo, red jersey with blue sleevecaps, white pants, red socks. XFL DFW: Dallas Rawhides-- Logo is horse-related, somewhere between Boise St. and SMU. Colors: Brown, Old Gold, orange, similar to WLAF's SA Riders. I am picturing an old-gold Helmet with a brown/orange logo. Brown uniform with swirling "cowboy shirt" design on the yoke, old gold pants. XFL HOU: Houston Flames-- Flame logo that forms an H, secondary logo uses an oil derrick with a flame to evoke the Oilers. Colors: Navy, Red, Orange Navy helmet with flaming H logo. Navy jersey with red & orange sleeve caps. White pants with flame similar to AZ Wranglers of USFL. XFL SEA: Seattle Sasquatch-- Logo is a Bigfoot silhouette similar to the heisman pose (RB running). Colors: Athletic Gold, Forest Green, Brown Yellow helmet with brown facemask. Green jerseys and yellow pants. Brown used only as piping. XFL LA: Los Angeles Condors-- Logo is a condor head with the white neck plummage. Colors: Black & White with thin piping in neon pink Black helmet & jersey (white collar to parallel Condor head). White pants with black stripe. Thin neon pink piping around yoke & pant stripes.

I realize that as a logo/uniform geek I represent a small minority outside of these boards, but the wait on the XFL team identities is killing me. I really thought the AAF hit it out of the park on most accounts (not a fan of B'ham's uniforms, and the use of helmet numbers, but otherwise very strong) and I am hoping that the XFL has faired as least as well in creating viable, interesting and innovative identities and uniforms. Really hoping they don't look too Arenaball/Nike-Oregon outlandish, but you never know with new leagues. Sometimes they feel the need to "innovate" for its own sake instead of using a classic or more traditional aesthetic. Here are my hopes for the XFL. What are yours? 1. Stick to a traditional look, maybe even retro to the 80's-90's (USFL era being my favorite) 2. Stick to reaonsable/conservative names like "Sharks" or "Renegades" instead of Xtreme names like Maniax or SharkBears. 3. Use a full palette of colors, not 8 teams all trying to use black, silver or navy. 4. Find a way to connect the team name to the region/city. 5. Avoid custom fonts which are all but illegible (see Orlando Rage in 2001 XFL) 6. Have merchandise ready on day 1 of the identities coming out. Since there are no XFL teams anywhere near where I now live (CO), I will almost certainly pick my XFL team based on their identity, colors, name and uniform. Hoping it is a tough choice because so many are really solid, not because so many are horrible.