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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.

Early count with 12 votes in: 5 Rush 4 Condors 2 Dons 1 Cougars 0 Redwoods

Yeah, you are going to have to spell it out for me. I don't follow wrestling, not since the Iron Sheik and Superfly Snooka.

Ready for the next phase? We jump ahead 2 years to get there. With the addition to two large markets in 2029 with Chicago and Boston coming on board, the TV networks got just what they wanted from the AAFL, a 17% increase in viewership. Attendance was strong, up slightly from 2028, with a leaguewide average of 20,884. However, that number was a bit skewed by the St. Louis Rampage, who opted to pay the higher lease and play all games at the Dome at America’s Center, which allowed them to average just under 32,000 for the season. Attendance dipped under 18,000 for 3 markets, Salt Lake, Portland, and Chicago. This was largely due to poor weather in the first month of play (actually well into April in Portland) and poor play on the field as these three teams combined for only 7 wins among them (Chicago 1-11, Salt Lake 3-9, Portland 3-9). St. Louis, with their capacity advantage and solid fan support again won the right to host the league title game, despite finishing 2nd in the East to Orlando. It would be the Juice who would represent the East against the San Diego Destroyers, who repeated as Western Champions. San Diego would learn from their 2028 loss and would cruise to a 33-20 win over the Juice to take the league title. Prior to the championship game, the league announced that they would not expand in 2030, opting instead to improve the overall production and quality of play across the league. A month after the title game, which drew an impressive 38,202 despite not having the Rampage in the title game, representatives of the various clubs voted to alter the way the title game would be assigned. Rather than waiting until Week 10 of the season and awarding the game to the top attendance city (a structure which now clearly favors St. Louis every year), the league would award the title game to the city whose club won the title the year before. This means that the 2030 title game would be hosted by San Diego. With the networks very pleased with the results of the 2029 expansion, and the league looking solid on the revenue side, it was decided in January that the league would expand for the 2031 season, adding 2 more teams and moving to 3 divisions of 4 teams each, expanding the playoffs to include 5 clubs (3 division winners, 2 Wild Cards who have a play-in game). Additionally they agreed that any team which averaged 90% capacity in tickets sold could explore a larger stadium option. They had already done this with St. Louis, but this would also mean that clubs like Washington and Houston, which had regularly sold out tiny Audi Field (20k) and Shell Energy Stadium (22k) could explore other options. The 2030 season saw better weather in March and April, and more even play across the league, with no team winning fewer than 4 of 12 games. Salt Lake made a huge leap, from only 3 wins in 2029 to 7 wins in 2030. Both Chicago and Boston also improved in their second seasons, with the Clovers winning a Wild Card spot while Chicago finished a respectable 6-6. Boston would lose to Washington in the Eastern Finals, while Houston would upset San Diego in the Western finals, meaning that for a 2nd straight year the team hosting the title game would not be appearing in it. That did not diminish attendance as AAFL fans flocked to San Diego and filled SnapDragon Stadium’s 35,000 capacity, creating the first sold out AAFL Title Game in the league’s 3 year history. Houston would edge Washington 20-18 in a really entertaining game to win the league’s 3rd title. But, despite growth in many areas, one area where there was a bit of disappointment was the TV ratings. The league had the same lulls it saw in past years during March Madness, but also struggled with some decline in overall ratings across the 12 week season. The networks strongly encouraged the league to consider looking at more large markets with their 3031 expansion, citing that there were still several major markets that were lagging in viewership, largely due to a lack of local interest. With the move to 12 teams for the 2031 season it was agreed that Houston, New Orleans, Chicago, and St. Louis would make up the Central Division, meaning that the two expansion clubs would be placed into the Eastern and Western divisions. The pool of cities was quickly established, with two cities in California the only sites considered for the Western team and a short list of markets on tap in the East. By midseason in 2030 the league reached a surprising deal with the two investor groups that represented San Jose and Sacramento, California. The two cities would share a team, with each city hosting 3 home games. The team would use the “California” moniker, and would alternate home dates throughout the season between 21,000 seat Hornet Stadium in Sacramento and 30,000 seat CEFCU Stadium in San Jose. So the question now turned to what identity this regional team would take on. The investors chose from the 8 different concepts they had begun developing and chose the five which they felt worked best for the combination of the two cities. And now it is time to vote. Which of these five identities will the new California dual-city franchise take on? CALIFORNIA DONS Celebrating the legendary period of the Spanish Colonial years, the Dons refers to the early colonists who set up missions and the first cities in California. Depicted with a swashbuckling, sword-wielding figure, not unlike the most famous fictitious “Don”, the masked Zorro, the Don’s use black, metallic gold, and a pale royal blue as their color scheme. CALIFORNIA REDWOODS The towering sequoia tree is the central feature of this identity, with 3 trees in bold green and burgundy forming the team’s logo as the earth beneath them forms a football. Symbols of strength, fortitude, and California’s unique ecosystems, the Redwoods stand tall as a symbol of the northern half of the state. Forest green helmets with a bold burgundy stripe helps pull the look together. (Now that I look at this logo again I realize I have it backwards, the leaves/needles should be green and the trunks should be maroon. I will fix this later today and repost this design.) CALIFORNIA RUSH The goldrush helped to build what is today one of the strongest economies and richest histories in the U.S. Thie California Rush pay homage to that legacy with the figure of a 19th century prospector, complete with his pickaxe, and depicted in black, white and gold, on a golden helmet. The prospector “rushes” towards paydirt, football in hand, as he and the team hope to find gold on the football field. CALIFORNIA CONDORS The iconic California Condor is the first of two animal-based concepts, but one that would provide this club with a truly unique color scheme. The black feathers of the condor provide the primary inspiration, while the combination of orange and pink found on their heads provides two bright pops of color for the club. The logo depicts the raptor and scavenger’s head, with its unique white neck plumage, set within a shield with a shifting orange-pink “sunset border”. CALIFORNIA COUGARS Another iconic predator from the mountains of northern California, the cougar is depicted in mid-roar, it’s golden and white fur offset by a deep Kelly green outline and four clawmark slashes. The Cougars use Kelly green, black and gold as their color scheme, with metallic gold helmets a shade or two lighter than the Dons’ concept and considerably lighter than the more bronzy gold of the Rush. Voting is open now and will continue through noon on Sunday unless one team can garner that all-important 4-vote lead before that time. To help with voting, a reminder that currently no team in the league has a gold helmet, so the three gold options would add a new helmet color. No team currently has a black helmet either. And while Boston has a green helmet, the difference between the Clovers’ Kelly green and the proposed Redwood forest green color is significant. The dominant jersey colors for the clubs are almost certainly Cougars-green, Condors-black. Rush-black, Dons-blue, and Redwoods-forest green. If that helps folks decide.

I just saw that (the white pants) that is weird. OK, I will have to wait until i get home today to fix that but I will.

We have a winner. Get ready for the bittern venom of the Chicago Sting!! Sure, spiders don't actually sting people, so maybe not the perfect name/logo combo (Would Chicago Spiders make more sense?) but the purple and red arachnids are coming to Chicagoland. The Sting will play their home games at Seatgeek Stadium in Bridgeview and will rock a purple uniform with red and white secondary colors. It's a unique color combo in Chicago sports, but one we think fans will love. Here is the Sting's uniforms for the 2029 season. The Sting introduce white and purple jersey sets, both featuring the same thin tapered stripe as the helmet. The two stripes (side panel on jersey and pants) are designed to line up with each other, of course. The Sting also introduce a secondary logo, a bold font "C" with a web that forms the famous star of the Chicago flag in the open space. The Sting complete the roster of clubs for the 2029 season, 10 teams divided into Western and Eastern Divisions. I will be back later today with the story of 2029 and the next wave as the league opts to move to 12 teams. (NOTE: I fixed the issue with the white pant set.)

Just checking in and I do see 15-11 for Chicago. Congratulations tot he Windy City, the City of Broad Shoulders, Hog Butcher to the World, the Second City. Chicago will be the 10th franchise of the AAFL, and with it a natural rivalry with St. Louis. That also means that New Orleans will relocate (for now) to the Western Division to be paired up with Houston. But, what about Chicago's identity? You know the names, but what will the look be. We have 4 contenders, each tied to different aspect's of the city's rich cultural and historical identity. Here we go, with voting going for 2 days (or until the 4-vote lead, as always). CHICAGO BLUES It's the sound of the city, the soulful guitar riffs and driving beats of the Blues. From Buddy Guy's on the South Side to Kingston Mines, Chicago is one of the great music cities thanks to its blues tradition. That tradition is celebrated with this look. A silver helmet is crisscrossed with the familiar 6 strings and fret of a blues guitar. The guitar head forms the central element of the logo, surrounded by a circular C logo. Royal Blue, black, and silver will be the team colors for the Blues. CHICAGO HOGS In the city known for Bulls, Bears, Cubs, Hawks, and Wolves, how can the Hogs not fit in? This ferocious razorback hog is ready to tussle with anyone, tusks out and feeling ornery. The black, orange, and grey design incorporates the two-toned hog on a dark grey helmet (non metallic) with a broad tapered stripe from the facemask to the rear bumper. Expect a wild time when the Hogs get to tussling. CHICAGO WINDS We all know Chicago is called the Windy City because of its politicians, not really its climate, but it is still a city where the wind can rip through the man-made canyons. That image is the center of the Winds logo, with the Sears (Willis) Tower at the center and a stylized "C" made up of sweeping winds. The Winds will wear uniforms in a combination of sky blue, charcoal grey, and silver. (While this image does borrow elements of the Chicago Staggs identity created by Gridiron Labs and the Chicago Windstorm concept of Matt Curley on Dribble, I actually designed this concept--using the John Hancock originally--over 10 years ago, so I feel pretty good about using it here.) CHICAGO STING The Sting name harkens back to prohibition era Chicago, or to the NASL soccer club that first used it in the 1970's. Rather than go with a bee image we switch it up to a spider, with the arachnids' 8 arms helping to frame the creature within one of the enduring symbols of the city, the 6-pointed star found on the city flag of Chicago. The team colors, while they may look a bit like the blue and red of Spider-Man, are actually a deep purple and bright red combination, a new combination for a sports team in the city. The helmet features a thin tapered stripe, a motif that will continue in the design if this identity is chosen. There you have it. Four very different potential looks for the Second City's newest pro sports franchise. Which one will win out and become the 10th franchise in the All-American Football League? Let's get this voting started!!

I had a feeling this one would be down to the wire: Chicago 10 votes, San Antonio 9 votes. 5 hours to go.

13 votes in and it is neck and neck, San Antonio 7, Chicago 6. When we have our 10-team 2029 AAFL I will be posting an updated map. The league will go 2 seasons at 10, then add 2 more as it moves to 3 divisions. Right now, with 9 teams, this is what I am picturing for the divisions: EAST: Boston, Washington, Orlando CENTRAL: New Orleans, Houston, St. Louis and either Chicago/San Antonio WEST: San Diego, Salt Lake, Portland So. that essentially means that teams 11 and 12 will have to represent the West Coast/Mountain region and the East Coast/South.

We have our non-NFL city competitor. It will be Chicago vs. San Antonio for Team #10. The Alamo City garnered 13 votes to Sacramento's 7, which is more than enough to clinch the spot for them. So, you have a choice for the 10th franchise: Chicago-- The #3 MSA market in the USA, with a population of 9.27 million, where the club will play at 20,000 seat Seatgeek Stadium. San Antonio-- The 24th largest MSA in the country, with a population of 2.63 million, where the club will play at 23,000 seat Alamo Stadium. Both cities do have an option if good attendance pushes them to a bigger stadium, with Chicago potentially relocating to Northwestern's 47,000 seat Ryan Stadium or even Soldier Field, while San Antonio could move indoors to the Alamodome. Voting is just between these two cities. We will stick with the same voting rules, with the vote ending tomorrow at 5pm or if one team gains a 4 vote lead after 15 total votes or more are cast. And, just to spur on some discussion, I am going to reveal the team nicknames possible for each city: Chicago: Blues, Hogs, Sting, or Winds San Antonio: Squadron, Toros, Suns, or Copperheads Let the voting begin in our 2-team battle to be Team #10.

And our next count update: 7 San Antonio 5 Sacramento 3 Austin 2 Birmingham & Columbus 1 San Jose Looks like it is shaping into a Texas v. California race to take on Chicago for that 10th spot.

Well, to a degree that is a real issue (IRL) because of cost and media presence. As much as it would seem to make sense for NY/NJ to have a team in a new league, it can be a tough market to crack. Costs are high (worker's comp, player housing, stadium leases, etc.) and it is very hard for what is essentially "minor league" football to get any decent media coverage when the region has 2 NFL teams, 2 MLB teams, 2 NBA teams, 2 MLS teams, and 3 NHL teams. So, while on the one hand one would hope that a new league would want to be in NY/NJ, it is not unprecedented that they would find it a tough market both financially and from an exposure standpoint. That is very likely why NY/NJ was not included in the AAF, or in the 2023 version of the XFL, and now the UFL. One of the reasons the NJ Generals came back in the USFL was very likely because they would not actually be playing in NY or NJ. My suspicion is that either when the league reaches 12 or 16 teams we will see the tri-state area get its franchise.

These are all really solid. I like what you did with Seattle particularly. I am still not sold on silver being the secondary color for the Cardinals, but that is not on you. Absolutely wish the Titans would go back to something closer to their original uniforms. Now, the question, will you get rid of or keep Carolina's weird helmet swooshes. To me they are one of the weirdest and most dated elements of any current uni.

Early vote totals with 13 total votes cast so far: 4 San Antonio 3 Austin & Sacramento 1 San Jose, Columbus, and Birmingham

BTW, as commissioner of the AAFL, I am making the following proclamation and edict: In the AAFL no player will be allowed to participate in a play on the field if... ...they are not wearing all the requisite pads (including thigh pads), ... their pants are not cut to go beneath the knee, ... their sock/legging combo covers up the colored or striped portion of the sock, ...or they have cut the sleeves on their jerseys to such a degree that the full armpit is visible. That's right, we are demanding 1980's or at least 1990's uniform conformity, because, honestly, these punk kids today with their bike shorts, plain white socks and sleeveless jerseys make my angina act up. And they damn well better stay off my lawn!!! Uniform = uniformity, team over individual.

And I see that Chicago has garnered a 4-vote lead, so they will be the first of the 2 finalists in the vote for the 10th AAFL team. Who will be the other finalist. There are only 5 non-NFL cities that qualify by being in the Top 35, but I am going to add a 6th (Birmingham), because that region of the country (deep South), might need more representation and because Birmingham is always in the mix for spring football. Here are the 6 cities, along with some potential impact if they are chosen San Antonio, TX --- If they beat Chicago for #10, no Eastern team is moved to the West. Austin , TX--- If they beat Chicago for #10, no Eastern team is moved to the West. San Jose, CA--- If they beat Chicago for #10, no Eastern team is moved to the West. Sacramento, CA--- If they beat Chicago for #10, no Eastern team is moved to the West. Columbus, OH-- If hey beat Chicago for #10, then New Orleans is moved to the West to form a CBS-STL midwest block Birmingham, AL--If they beat Chicago for #10, then St. Louis is moved to the West to form a BIR-NOR southern block And, of course, if Chicago wins, then New Orleans is moved to the West due to the potential for a STL-CHI rivalry in the Midwest. Of course, once we move to 12 teams in the league's 4th season, then this all shifts again as the league would have a West, East, and Central division. And in its final form of16 cities, we would add a Southern division as well. Voting for the non-NFL finalist for Team #10 is now open. Sticking to the plan, it will close either at 7am MT on Thursday or when there are 15 total votes or more and one team gains a 4-vote advantage. And , as enticement, here are the helmet colors available to each city: San Antonio: black, red, metallic gold, or copper Austin: two red options, copper, or mid-level grey San Jose: two gold options, black, forest green Sacramento: two gold options (one shared with SJ), black, forest green Columbus: two black options, royal blue, and I am still working on a 4th Birmingham: two black options, yellow (athletic gold), and a navy & red ombre effect There are some repeats of designs used before as well as some designs from past concept threads, but also some new ideas. Let the voting begin.