WideRight

With voting showing a definite pattern, and with the leading city having g a 3-1 lead over the second-place vote getter, I am going to call this race. The winner is in and it is the city of St. Louis. Not a surprise as this former NFL city (twice) is both a large metro area, has both a solid open-air option as well as the larger dome, and has been very welcoming of the XFL. So now we consider 4 potential branding options for the Gateway City. ST. LOUIS ARCHERS A minimalist but bold forest green & athletic gold design, the Archers logo depicts a bowman releasing an arrow. The play on words here is pretty obvious, with St. Louis’s most famous landmark being the Gateway Arch, but Archers is also a name that evokes speed and calm under pressure. The simple silhouette logo allows the design to be easily transferable to a wide range of media and several secondary logos should be possible, including the flying arrows on the helmet and the arrow-pierced A in the wordmark. (I consider this a bit of an homage to the Orlando Apollos, though I simplified the idea of the large archer logo quite a bit.) ST. LOUIS KINGS St. Louis is, of course, named after King Louis IX of France, so it seems only fitting that a team in the city founded by French explorers would be called the Kings. We go with a pretty traditional depiction of a young, vibrant, and somewhat serious king with a regal crown, depicted in purple, red, black, and gold. I went with a bit of a unique helmet stripe, designed to evoke a jewel-encrusted adornment, repeating elements of the king's crown. (Those who are aware of the fantasy football league I have been a part of for decades, may recognize some similarities to the Louisville Kings franchise, though the logo is different, the color scheme is the same.) ST. LOUIS AVIATORS The city of St. Louis has long had a connection with the world of aviation, with no greater moment than the “Spirit of St. Louis” flights of Charles Lindbergh. The logo of the Aviators pays tribute to that iconic plane and the brave man who flew it across the Atlantic. Using a bright sky blue and a gleaming metallic silver, along with black trim, the Aviator’s logo and helmet depict the plane in flight, blurring across the sky. The helmet also includes another St. Louis icon, the Gateway Arch as a tie-in point for the two planes on either side. (Fans of pro basketball, or logo design, will recognize the main design of Lindbergh’s plane from the short-lived Spirits of St. Louis ABA club of the 1970’s. Fans of “The Spring League”, precursor to the returned USFL, will recognize the color scheme of their “Aviators” team.) ST. LOUIS RAMPAGE Perhaps the most “generalized” logo so far, the Rampage identity of a charging rhino makes up for a lack of local connection with a strong symbolism of power, physicality, and aggressive play. The charging rhino, like a halfback hitting the line or a DE breaking down the pocket, is a symbol of the kind of hard-hitting action fans should expect from their AAFL team in St. Louis. The color scheme of fiery orange, navy blue, and rhino grey blend together for a distinct yet classic look. (This logo is a revisiting of an earlier design I did for a St. Louis Rampage look, keeping the rhino motif from the Grand Rapids Rampage of arena football, but with a new color scheme and depiction of the angry behemoth.) Four great choices, which will prevail and become the look of St. Louis’s AAFL franchise? That is up to you. Voting will be open for the next 2-3 days (we will see when it becomes clear that there is an obvious frontrunner), and then we will debut the uniforms and move on to our next city selection process.

Fixed it. Thanks.

Welcome to the AAFL the San Diego Destroyers. By a nearly 2-1 vote over 2nd place (Surf), the Destroyers were chosen as the identity of San Diego's AAFL club. The club pays homage to the city's rich naval history and will wear uniforms in navy blue, gunship grey, and sunrise yellow. In a surprise move, San Diego opted to go with gunship grey as their jersey color, though the sleeves of both home and away jerseys are navy blue. They will wear navy pants with the grey home jerseys and grey pants with the white away jerseys. The sleeves features stylized chevron patterns, as do the pants. The number font uses a shadow style designed to mimic the numbers that adorn the side of naval craft. So, we have one franchise in place. Time to start our quest for a second. We turn to the East now to find the most suitable non-NFL city for a AAFL franchise. Here is the list of 8 nominated cities for the initial non-NFL city slot in the Eastern Division. Again, these are listed in order of Metro Area size, with comments on the population, stadium availability, positives, negatives, and my notes. Select your favorite, and all others will go back in the pool for our 2nd round of non-NFL cities coming later. ST. LOUIS, MO Metro: 21st – 2.8 million Stadium: CityPark MLS Stadium (22,500) Positives: Brand new stadium in non-NFL city, Strong anti-NFL sentiment, Strong support for XFL, Dome available if demand is higher than the 22,500 capacity of the outdoor field. Negatives: May need to move some early season games to the Dome just for weather, MLB Cardinals are very popular My Notes: Another city jilted by the NFL (twice), St. Louis is the largest market and has two stadium options. They may quickly find that CityPark is too small, and the dome is there, though getting a bit old. ORLANDO, FL Metro: 22nd – 2.76 million Stadium: Exploria Park MLS Stadium (25,500) Positives: Newer stadium, nice size, great climate, neither NFL or MLB, strong football state, larger stadium is available if demand is high. Negatives: Can be hot in mid-summer, has had decent, not great attendance in past spring leagues. My Notes: A good-sized market with a solid stadium option and not too many other sports (NBA, MLS). Mixed results with AAF and XFL clubs. COLUMBUS, OH Metro: 32nd – 2.16 million Stadium: Lower.com Field MLS Stadium (20,011) Positives: Strong football culture, no MLB or NFL, only NHL competition. Newer stadium. Negatives: Stadium is on the smaller side, and Ohio Stadium is too vast for a good 2nd option. Winter weather in early season. My Notes: The stadium is smallish, the weather a possible concern. Could a regional approach work, with games moved to Canton or Akron if demand is higher? Or would that gut local support? TIDEWATER REGION, VA Metro: 37th – 1.78 million Stadium: SB Ballard Stadium (21,944) or Dick Price Stadium (30,000) Positives: Two possible venues with SB Ballard preferred due to renovations, untapped market with no major league sports, strong local support for football Negatives: Lower corporate and individual wealth in region My Notes: As untapped markets go, this is the classic one. Would likely need/want a regional identity as the cities in the region are not well known outside the region, diminishing TV viewership nationwide. RALEIGH-DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL, NC Metro: 41st – 1.48 million Stadium: Wallace Wade Stadium (40,044) Positives: Good weather, strong economy, good corporate presence, three viable stadiums (two are larger), decent and growing football culture, no MLB Negatives: Less well-known area than Charlotte, for example. Would mean Charlotte is out of NFL-city pool. My Notes: A good market with a spotty history (WLAF) but possibly a clean slate. Would choose Duke’s stadium as the best from a size standpoint, but could relocate to UNC or NC State if demand was high. RICHMOND, VA Metro: 45th – 1.34 million Stadium: U. of Richmond Stadium (22,000) Positives: Untapped market, no major league sports, mid-to-high income Negatives: Close to DC if the league wants a DC team, not known as “football country”, stadium is smallish and not as modern or with as many amenities as many others. My Notes: Richmond feels like a longshot, particularly if DC is among the NFL cities being considered. It does not have much football tradition and the stadium is not exactly state of the art. BIRMINGHAM, AL Metro: 47th – 1.18 million Stadium: Protective Stadium (45,000) Positives: Outstanding new facility, “football country”, decent to good attendance for USFL in 2022-23 Negatives: Have been burnt many times by failed leagues, lower indiv. wealth than many markets My Notes: If the league can gauge that Birmingham is not burnt out from all the past teams (WFL, USFL, XFL, AAF, USFL2.0, etc.) then this could be a pretty fervent fan base. HARTFORD, CT Metro: 50th – 1.16 million Stadium: Rentschler Field (40,642) Positives: Solid and bigger stadium, no MLB or NFL, high corporate & indiv. wealth Negatives: spring weather can be iffy, not a huge football region, Boston & NY are close enough to draw fans away with MLB and other sports. My Notes: Not exactly a football hotbed, but Hartford is close enough to other mid-sized cities (Bridgeport, Providence) that it could draw a regional fanbase. Stadium is strong draw, weather a possible issue. There you have it, 8 cities with solid stadiums that could be good homes to an AAFL franchise. Sorry for those hoping to see places like Memphis, OKC, Louisville, or Milwaukee, but they just don’t have available facilities that meet the 20k-50k sweet spot. Some don’t really have one at all (OKC, Milwaukee) while others have stadiums that are a bit too big for a league just starting out, maybe when it gets to year 3-4 and has more of a base. Once again, 2 days of voting, then the winning city will be revealed with its 4 potential identities. I am trying to focus on local culture, fauna, and history with the identities, but there may be a wild one thrown in (there are no Bengal tigers in Cincinnati or Barracudas in Birmingham, as two examples). But, in most cases the brand should match the city. But, first things first, let’s pick a franchise destination first.

With a pretty clear consensus and only a few dissenting votes, I think it is safe to say we have a winner and our first AAFL founding franchise. And so... The AAFL is proud to announce that San Diego, California has been granted the first franchise in the new league. The San Diego franchise will play its home games at Snapdragon Park, current home of San Diego State University football. But, what will this new team be called? That is up to you. There are four identities which the fine folks at AAFL Properties and their design partners, Nike and Riddell, have originated, but the final say will be yours. Voting will be open through Thursday at 5pm MT (7pm ET) right here on these boards. So, with no ado at all, here are the four choices for the San Diego brand. 1. San Diego Surf Recognizing San Diego’s fame as a surfer’s paradise and paying tribute to the power of the Pacific Ocean, the Surf identity focuses on the sea, the current, and the sun that define San Diegan culture. A crashing wave, with white foam and a yellow sunset sky are the key features of the Surf identity. The helmet features an oversized decal that creates a wave that crashes over the entire side of the helmet. The team colors are reminiscent of a former pro football franchise in the area, with bright yellow, navy blue, and a powdery, sky blue. Not a new concept for me, but an identity I have kicked around in many, many forms over the years. You may recognize elements of the wave from my USFL Breakers redesign, but the idea of this logo and color combo goes back at least to the mid 1990’s. 2. San Diego Sharks The Apex predator of the seas and shorelines of California, the shark is a symbol of power, speed, and ferocity, all aspects of a quality football team. The San Diego Sharks will sport the Image of this ultimate predator, fresh after a successful hunt. The logo in deep purple, silvery grey, and blood red, shows the shark in all its aggressive splendor, surrounded by an offset red oval. The color combination is unique in professional sports. The helmets will be white with a purple facemask and a complex stripe pattern. This design borrows a lot from LIU’s new identity (great logo, horrible colors for Long Island), while incorporating elements from several other shark logos, even one from the old NFL2k8 video game and the blood streak, well, that’s just a bit of Buffalo Bills thrown in for fun. 3. San Diego Destroyers What would San Diego be without the presence of the U.S. Navy? The city’s naval history is celebrated with this design, which depicts a naval destroyer cutting across the water with a rising sun just behind the speeding ship. With an emphasis on power, speed, and discipline, the naval theme will be found throughout the team’s look, including chevrons incorporated into the team stripes and a number system similar to that found on naval vessels. The helmet is navy blue with a single gunmetal grey stripe which transforms into yellow and white chevrons at the rear base. This design is heavily influenced by the San Diego Fleet of the AAF, but I opted to go with a ¾ profile of the Destroyer rather than the front shot. Again several Destroyer logos were referenced as part of the process of designing this ship, with the sun a late addition, but one which seems to fit San Diego nicely. 4. San Diego Suns What is more iconic to southern California than the glorious heat of the sun? The San Diego sun logo is not just a tribute to the lifegiving power of our brilliant star, but also a tribute to the Hispanic culture which has been a part of the region since before California was a state. The Aztec sun symbol is the focal point of our depiction of the sun. The one alteration made is to adjust the central lines to form an SD monogram. The colors are also unique, a metallic gold to represent the fiery heat of the sun and a deep magenta, recalling one of Southern California’s first alternative football clubs, the WFL’s Southern California Sun from the 1970’s. The Helmet will be a bright metallic gold (akin to Notre Dame) with the magenta sun symbol on each side. I wanted to both pay homage to the SoCal Sun from the WFL and have at least one option that fits in with San Diego State and with their Aztec symbolism. Magenta and gold is certainly a unique color combination, though the darker hue does make it look a bit like BC or other burgundy teams. I expect to use more Aztec patterns in the uniform as well as small amounts of black as a tertiary color. Voting is now open and will remain so through 5pm on Thursday. Losing designs may be repurposed or recolored for other future franchise options. We will see how creative I am over the course of this process. For now, 1 team, 1 identity. Once this vote is complete we will move on to select our first club for the Eastern Division. Hope you all are enjoying this series. I am having a ball trying to create these identities and looking forward to see which 8 (then 10, then 12) cities and identities make the final cut.

The H with star logo does not do much for me. I like the Wolf, but what if it was running through the H, perhaps leaping over the crossbar? I like the idea of a mix of roughnecks and gamblers, but the design feels a bit generic because the wolf is not used much and it is basically an H and a star as other symbols. I think there is great potential here, but it needs to go a bit futher to set it apart.

@nbitterman I hope you don't mind my jumping on your post instead of starting another one. I like the use of the Texas flag imagery with your design. A lot of good stuff there. With mine I tried to largely avoid the flag and use the secondary logo a bit more just to do something different. Also wanted to stay pretty basic, especially with my all blue and white color rush.

We have our winner for the league logo. Thanks to all who voted these past couple of days. The new logo will be used on all designs for the league. And the winner is… OPTION #2 Here is your AAFL Logo, including a simplified version which will appear on the right chest (not collar line) of each club, opposite the jersey producer brand (UA, Russell, Adidas,etc.) and a "minimalist" version that we will see from time to time: So, now we get on to the business of selecting the 8 franchises that will serve as the inaugural team lineup. Here is how it is going to work. I will provide a category and as many options as pass muster based on population and stadium options. I will give a brief synopsis of each bid, you vote, we pick a city, and then I will provide 3-4 identity options (logos & helmets) to vote on. Once we select the team name/colors/design, I will finalize the whole uniform, and we will move on to the next team to be selected until we have our 8 founders. Then 2 more for the 2nd season (10 teams), and 2 more for the third (12 teams). We will see if we get larger than that as we get to that phase. So, this week, here is our category: Non-NFL city for the Western Division. Based on the MSA population and stadium options we have 8 contenders and we will select one. All others will return to the pool for later consideration. Eight teams, pick your favorite and maybe give a bit of a rationale as to why. I will pick the winner in 2-3 days, depending on vote tallies. I have given you my assessment of positives, negatives and an overall assessment, but you vote the way you wish. These are listed in order of MSA Size, largest to smallest: SAN DIEGO, CA Metro: #18 – 3.28 million Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium (35,000 capacity) Positives: Weather, jilted NFL fanbase, ideal stadium size, new facility Negatives: MLB Padres as sports $ competition, famously fickle SoCal sports fandom My thoughts: The likely frontrunner due to market size, a new and well-sized facility, and the anti-NFL sentiment. SAN ANTONIO, TX Metro: #24 – 2.66 million Stadium: Alamo Stadium (18,900) Positives: No NFL/MLB, Solid weather, good track record of fan support, Texas as football region Negatives: Alamodome too big, Stadium is old and has few amenities My thoughts: Would be a great option but 2011 renovation to Alamo Stadium put it under 20,000. I envision them adding another 3,000 seats via temporary bleachers at one endzone. I just did not want to leave them out (and they could use the Alamodome if popularity warranted a bigger facility. PORTLAND, OR Metro: #25 – 2.43 million Stadium: Providence Park (25,218) Positives: No MLB/NFL, high individual & corporate wealth region Negatives: Stadium shared with MLS team, possible issues with rain games, distance from other cities My thoughts: Early spring weather and ongoing rain could be a concern for turnout. Would need to share with MLS Timbers, but in this reality that is something MLS and AAFL have worked out for many venues. AUSTIN, TX Metro: 27th – 2.42 million Stadium: Q2 Stadium (20,738) Positives: No MLB/NFL, Football crazed region, growing & affluent city Negatives: Stadium is smallish and shared with MLS My thoughts: As a growing metro area with none of the Big 4 sports, this could be a prime market. Stadium is a bit smallish. SACRAMENTO, CA Metro: 28th – 2.42 million Stadium: Hornet Stadium (21,195) Positives: No MLB/NFL, Affluent region, decent weather in early spring Negatives: Could hinder possible Bay Area team, Stadium lacks amenities My thoughts: A bigger market than I had in my head, and the stadium is decent. SAN JOSE, CA Metro: 36th – 1.94 million Stadium: CEFCU Stadium (30,456) Positives: Affluent region, stadium recently renovated, could draw from rest of bay area Negatives: 49ers play somewhat close by, MLB in nearby SF, cost of housing players My thoughts: Stadium size is ideal, but will they draw from the whole bay area or just the south bay? SALT LAKE CITY, UT Metro: 46th – 1.26 million Stadium: America First Field (20,213) Positives: No NFL/MLB, Could be a regional team, solid option for bigger stadium at U. Utah if needed Negatives: Smaller market, smallish stadium and shared with MLS My thoughts: Did not draw all that well in AAF (2019), and weather late into spring can be dicey. HONOLULU, HI Metro: 55th – 995k Stadium: Aloha Stadium (50,000) Positives: Great weather, possible regional draw, large stadium Negatives: flight distance from other clubs, smallest market of the 8 here, cost of housing players My thoughts: Big stadium, untapped market, but the travel and player lodging costs will be high. There you go, 8 choices from non-NFL cities. Pick your favorite in the next 2 days and we will get started on team identities. Only 1 please. Remember that those not chosen go back in the pool for possible selection later. We will have 1 round of non-NFL cities in each division, then 1 round of large market NFL cities, then two more rounds, likely 1 more non-NFL and 1 wide open Wild Card for the 4th team in each division. Let’s see where the AAFL is headed first! I will tally the votes on Tuesday morning and go with the top votegetter.

Looks like 1 v. 2 right now. Have to say I am a bit surprised, but we will go another day and see what the final count is. Meanwhile a sneak peek into how we will pick teams for this league, starting with 8 Season One clubs. Round one will be non-NFL cities, where we will pick 1 city for the West and 1 for the East from 8 viable options. Round two will be one major market city (NFL market) for each of the 2 divisions with cities from the top 20 MSA that have viable 20k-50k stadiums available. Round three returns to non-NFL cities for the 3rd club in each division. Round four is the Wild Card with all unselected cities now in play for the final spot in each division. Balance of regions and potential rivalries will be added as factors for this round. We will kick this off tomorrow morning with the competition for non-NFL cities in the West. When one city is chosen, we will then look at 4 designs for 4 possible nicknames for the club, and once that is chosen I will mock up full uniforms. Then we will move to the East, then into round two, etc, building each club identity as we go. So, about 16-18 hours left to get votes in on the league logo.

Hey Sportslogos.net fans, With the recent news about the merger of the USFL and XFL into the new United Football League, I got to thinking about what works and what doesn't work about spring football. We all know the obvious stuff, that it would take tens of billions of dollars to do what the AFL did in the 70's or what the USFL tried back in the 80's, to go head to head against the NFL for top talent, so any spring league is going to be a de facto feeder league for the NFL (officially like WLAF or not like XFL/AAF). Basically a AAA level football league. The second big issue, if you are building a AAA football league in the spring, is the issue of markets. This is where what I call the Spring Football Catch 22 comes in. Any AAA league for football is going to want to do what the G-League in basketball or AAA baseball don't do, get national TV coverage. Football is an expensive sport and you need that sweet, sweet TV money to make it work, but... if you go for the big markets like NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Bay Area that the networks will want for viewership, you are likely paying for huge stadiums that will be 1/4 filled at best, especially for those teams that inevitably end up being the worst in the league, and that is horrible if you want to project that this is a winning and potentially long-lasting league. You also have almost no chance of being taken seriously by local media in your cities. No NY TV station is going to go gaga for a AAA football team when they have to cover the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders and all the offseason Jets and Giants news. NY may be the toughest market, but the same is true in most Top 20 cities that have multiple major league teams. Why cover AAA football if there are 3-4 major league teams to focus on? But, if you go the other route, picking smaller cities with smaller stadiums that may get local media attention and fill pretty well, you end up with Boise v. Omaha on TV, which will get worse national TV ratings than professional cricket or women's golf. So, what can be done if a spring league wants to succeed. You may need to mix the two to get enough viewership, good spring markets, and decent stadium sizes to show filled stands each week. That is where this "fantasy" or "concept" league comes in. I am going to work on a concept league, starting with 8 markets, growing to 10, 12 and maybe 16. I have done the research, looking at the Top 60 markets in the USA, determining what pro sport competition (particularly MLB and NFL) exist in the market, and what stadiums are available in the AAA sweet spot of 20k-50k capacity. No playing in huge NFL stadiums or 100,000 seat college bowls. No converted minor league baseball fields with 9,000 capacity either (looking at you Las Vegas Vipers). And while there will be no cities outside top 60, the only current NFL or MLB cities that are eligible are ones with a stadium in the 20k-50k range that will work for them to actually look somewhat full on gameday. No Meadowlands, SoFi, or Soldier Field. And along the way I am going to be asking for you, the folks who bother to stick with this concept, to help me make decisions, on everything, from cities to team identities. My hope is that this is a fun, interactive activity durign what I expect will be a long NFL offseason for me (I am having trouble being UFL excited.). It may take a while since I am not abandoning my alt history of the USFL (3 years of real time and 29 simulated seasons deserves to keep going for sure) so I think a few months of polls and posts at the least. i hope this sounds interesting for all the logo/uniform geeks like me. OK, so here is the first post, and, in keeping with website rules, it involves a concept logo. I have made the one initial choice, the name for this fictional league, but most future choices you will get a say in. I went with "All-American Football League", which I think serves three potential purposes, it evokes the classic AAFC that brought us the Browns and 49ers, a touchpoint to the past, it emphasizes Football as the All-American sport, and it highlights that while the players in the league may not be NFL 1st round draft picks, many will be highly touted college players, including All-Americans (as well as all-conference, and the best of the FCS and lower divisions). So, we need a logo for this new 8-team league. I have made 4 options, and I want you to give me your preference. As a starting point, my concept for this league is that the UFL has failed, it is about 2030 or so and the combination of ESPN, ABC, and Amazon Prime (the streaming service) have decided to try again, which provides the financial base. They will start with 8 teams, centrally funded, but sell ownership in clubs in year 3. They will play in each city's home stadiums, with a season that begins the 3rd week of March (with a schedule favoring dome and southern teams in weeks 1-2) and runs for 12 weeks, leading to a 4-team playoff and a title game on July 4th (or the closest Sunday to July 4th if it is not on a Fri-Mon date). So, AAFL, we kick off with the league logo and then I will start providing lists of approved cities for the two divisions (East/West). I am going to say right now, many cities that you may like will not appear as options simply because they lack a stadium within the 20k-50k range. I will also say that this new league will absolutely need to cut a deal with Major League Soccer, because so many cities in the top 20-30 metro areas only have 1 stadium in the right size and it is the MLS stadium. No baseball stadiums will be used because they stink for football and because this league is during the baseball season. OK, get your votes in on these 4 options and let's get the AAFL Project rolling:

Updated Bulls and then the last of the 4 2012 teams, the two potential versions of the New Orleans Breakers uniforms. The vote is still ongoing so no choice yet between the original double blue or the 1994-present double teal. JAX-- Fixed the sleeve issue. Thanks @raz for the catch. And now New Orleans. First the current teal color scheme. And now, the potential return to double blue colors used from 1983-1994.

Hi all, back to the uniform ideas, here are 2 more UFL clubs, both XFL. St. Louis-- Pretty much a mix of the 2020 and 2023 looks, with a bit more emphasis on the arch (shoulder stripes). And the Houston Roughnecks, removing the 3 color helmet and the weird yoke and focusing on the oil spill element. I still think sticking with the Gamblers, or going with 10 teams by keeping the Roughnecks and adding 2 more USFL teams (Stars and Breakers for me) like @zoads82 suggested would have been preferable. Oh well. It isn't my money being spent so they can do what they want.

Just to keep things balanced. Here are two modern-day USFL updates I did a while back for two of the three teams that have survived. Birmingham-- created a more traditional and consistent stripe pattern. And Michigan, pretty much a retro version of their 1980's uniform with some slight striping changes and with the current logo. Memphis, San Antonio and Houston Roughnecks still to come.

Taking a break from my Alt History of the 1983 USFL (now midseason in 2011), and as a way to process my general displeasure with the announcements and decisions behind the new UFL, I thought it might be a good time for me to dust off my earlier reimagining of the XFL (2020 and 2023) and USFL (2022) designs. So, limiting myself to the 8 franchises that "made the cut" for the newly-dubbed United Football League (no relation to the 2009-2011 entity) Here are my earlier redesigns for the 8 clubs #1 Dallas Renegades (Because Arlington, let's face it, is a suburb, and no one calls the Giants the East Rutherford Giants or the Bills the Orchard Park Bills). Besides the obvious DR monogram logo makes so much more sense with it being Dallas, not Arlington. And a 2nd one today (I will re-release these ideas 2 at a time). The DC Defenders.

Just going to say that from a design perspective I see the Roughnecks as a major downgrade from the Gamblers. The logo is fine, but those uniforms were pure clown show with the 3 color helmets, numbers on one side, the weird overalls shoulder yoke, just a bad look. I am also not a fan of the Brahmas' look. Electrified broaster chicken for a logo. Not great. DC is fine, St. Louis is solid, but sad to see the good designs for the Breakers, Stars, Generals, Maulers (though I prefered the purple & orannge) and the Gamblers gone. Yes, I am a USFL guy, I get that, but overall a downgrade in my book. That plus I expect we will get the Rock and Dani Garcia shoved down our throats at every possible turn, which I find really annoying. Considering that by all accounts the USFL was more financially solid than the XFL, I cannot figure out why the XFL seems to have dominated this merger. I guess having stadium contracts really was the factor for this league.

Third of 4 new looks for 2012: Jacksonville Bulls. Not a major overhaul, more of a tweak. The helmet stays the same, but the jerseys and pants get a bit more "Buccaneer" ish in their look. This brings up an interesting question. With the USFL Bulls already using a dark grey helmet, maroon and orange colors, with an ample amount of black. Would that have been enough to keep the NFL Buccaneers from altering their creamcicle look into the current pewter, red, black and orange? I suspect it would. Maybe they would have gone for the same flag/crossbones logo, but on white, or on red or black helmets, as we saw with several of the concept mock ups they made before settling on pewter. Or maybe Bucco Bruce persists in the alt history of the NFL that parallels this alt history. Hmmm... intriguing. Anyway, here is the updated Bulls look. While the main look, and primary logo, are unchanged, I did add a monogram secondary as well as a rondel secondary that includes the state of Florida in it. Something about trying to capture more of the statewide market, a constant theme with 3 teams in the league but none in southern Florida. Here are the two secondaries up close.

I am a huge fan of a deep green and copper/bronze as a color combo. It works really well here. It was also really good looking when a fan group tried to convince the then-Tennsessee Oilers to become the Copperheads instead of the eventual Titans. They used that combo really well.

Hey, not so fast. Yes, Dallas is seeking a team, but the Outlaws are still in San Antonio, and after the renovations to the Alamodome, they may not be the most likely club to relocate if Mark Cuban gets his way.

Ready to reveal the 2012 Texas Outlaws in all their kelly & royal blue glory, but first, I decided that the USFL 30th Anniverary Logo needed just a bit of tweaking, so here is the modified patch. Still pretty simply, but at least it has the U in it. And here is your newly designed Texas Outlaw look. Notes to follow. The changes are... 1. Mostly the striping, which is now (as described above) an unbalanced 4-stripe pattern, seen on all surfaces. 2. Decided Texas would join the club of teams with colored sleeves on the white jersey. 3. Incorporated the "Ottawa Renegade" version of theirl logo on the sleeves, while keeping the traditional (CFL Texans) logo on the helmet. 4. Created a small Alamo-themed patch that says "San Antonio" to highlight the city for the club. It appears on the back of each jersey. 5. Kept the facemasks black, but that is basically the only black still in the uniform, so it may switch to white before too long. 6. There will be alternate uniforms coming around before 2024, so you can eventually expect a reverse version where the helmet will be royal blue and the jersey will be green, but it has not happened yet. Next up is Jacksonville, while New Orleans will have to wait until we finish the voting on whether they should go with their 1983-1993 colors ((actual Breaker colors) or the 1994-2012 colors (teal, deep navy teal, grey). That will be happening on the website as soon as Week 1 of 2011 is posted.

Getting ready to kick off the 2011 season, the league's 29th, which means that designs will be released for the 30th seaosn of the USFL. That will include throwbacks for all original 12 teams (even the relocated ones), a commemorative patch, and the new looks for 4 franchises. So, let's get started with the anniversary patch and the new design for one of the 4 teams getting an Adidas redesign this year. Here is the 30th anniversary patch that will be worn on the chest (left) by all 28 clubs. And now the first of the 4 clubs to get new looks for 2012. Our first new look belongs to the Washington Federals, starting with a revised logo. Gone is the "Dollar Bill" font and replacing it is a script font that incorporates with the minimalist eagle logo, now curvier than ever. And now the uniform. Design sheet first, then a few comments. The changes we see this year include: A brighter Kelly green. The new "swooping" eagle logo. A balanced three stripe pattern on the helmet, repeated on the pants in an angled form. For the first time ever, the Feds use kelly green sleeves on the white jersey. the sleeve stripes are the only time that the three stripes touch each other instead of being separated by the background color. A new number font (St. Louis Rams) The secondary crest on the back above the nameplate. The 30th Anniversary patch replaces the standard "U" league logo on the left chest. As with all Adidas jerseys there are small 3-stripe details on the cuffs and back of the collar on each jersey Still to come, the Gamblers, Bulls, and Breakers, and our color vote for the Breakers as they debate returning to their 1983 color scheme.

Hey all, a quick update. 4 new team redesigns by Adidas are coming for the 2012 season. On the docket for 2012 are: Jacksonville Bulls New Orleans Breakers Washington Federals Texas Outlaws I may also have a poll ready for you guys as we look at moving the Breakers closer to their 2022 USFL look. One big question is if the Breakers should stick with the teal, navy teal, and grey or go back to the original light blue, navy blue, and grey look. They have been a teal club since the late 1980's, so a change back to Boston's colors could be very controversial, but it is also a very good look. As for the others, Washington loves to tweak their minimalist eagle logo, Texas fans hate the idea of every losing their cowboy logo, and the Bulls, well, they just always look good with that color combo.

The 4th and final new look for 2011 is the Baltimore Blitz, and it is the most thorough of any of the initial redesigns by Adidas. Basically, the Blitz have eliminated red from their look. After beginning their existance as a red-dominant team in Chicago, the Blitz became blue-dominant when they moved to Baltimore in the late 1980's trying to draw in angry Colts fans. Since then they have remained much the same, a silver helmet and pants, royal blue jersey, with silver and red highlights. Beginning in 2011, the red is gone, the helmet is now royal blue, and the team uses silver as their secondary color. The look certainly recalls several elements of the old Colts identity, while also helping Baltimore stand out a bit more from other Red, White, and Blue teams like Ohio or New Jersey. Here is the look (and a few notes to follow) As it says in the image file, there is quite a bit of CFL-USA Baltimore Stallions here, as well as Colts elements. The question is whether or not a Blitz fanbase which has come to love the silver helmets and use of red will accept a change to blue and silver alone, as well as blue helmets, a solid 25 years after the team first came to Baltimore, and in a world very distant from the original pain of the Colts leaving.

Third of 4 new looks for 2011. The Nashville Knights, originally based on the NY/NJ Knights of the WLAF, but now more aligned with the look of the Tennessee Titans (who don't exist in this alt reality). Another more moderate alteration here, not a major overhaul. Notes: I am not a big fan of the current Titans look. For me a huge downgrade from the earlier Steve McNair period. But, I did borrow several elements including the thin sword-stripe on the helmet, a slightly more prominent version of the twin stripe on the pants, and both the primary and secondary logo are heavily Titan-inspired. OTher elements which are new are the modified numbers with the "slash" in them and the use of offset color sleeves with shoulder stripe accents.

Yes and no. I think you have to assume that any team that is based on a "real world" USFL team is less likely to be relocated, folded, or changed drammatically in this alternative reality, whereas teams based on other leagues are a bit easier to pick on. So, that means potentially bad news for: Seattle (WLAF) Portland (Original/CFL) Las Vegas (WLAF) St. Louis (XFL/WLAF) Nashville (WLAF) Charlotte (AAF/WLAF) Boston (Original/Lacrosse) Chicago (WLAF) Ohio (WLAF) Man, I did not really realize how much WLAF I borrowed for this, and how little of the AAF, UFL, and XFL has been used. I have been using their logos but not their identities, nicknames, etc. Hmmmm...

Next up on the Adidas releases, Philadelphia, and, yes, we are seeing more 2022 USFL style creeping into the 2011 alt history USFL to be sure. Some rainbow style stripes on the jerseys, a doppler effect striping on the pants, but still very much the Stars being the Stars. By the way, the helmets are still a metallic gold. Hard to capture that in the imaging I am doing. It looks far more yellow than I would really like.

To your questions: 1) Dallas would not get permission to use Jerry World. Jones, like Kraft, is a vehement "We should destroy the USFL, not work with them" voice in the NFL. So, Cotton Bowl seems the best option right now, but that could change over time. 2) Unlikely, it is such a small city compared to most USFL cities, and it really does not have a viable football stadium. Someone woudl have to build a new stadium in hopes of getting a team, and that seems unlikely. That does not mean that the Stealth logo is out of the question, just perhaps not in Omaha. 3) The question with San Diego is where would they go? The stadium issue is real, but the Raiders never left LA, so they sort of have a claim on the city. But, that means...? OK, now on to the first redesign of the Adidas era of the USFL. Birmingham is up first. The theme here is simplification (minimalism) as Birmingham uses simple designs (some borrowed from the 2022 USFL) and reduces the use of gold, especially in the White jersey. The look is clearly Stallions, with a lot of Bama feel to it, but it is more basic. The wordmark is simplified, but the Stallions do add a new secondary logo, the monogram B from the 2022 USFL. Some of the other designs will not be quite so minimalist, and one team makes a major decision about colors.