American Premier League (12/12 - Week 20 Standings Update)

[PascalHugo]

Good work.

[Roadrunner8ball]

Sorry for the lack of posting in the thread, school and work have been absolutely crazy and it hasn't given me a whole lot of time to work on backstories. But I'm back with team number 8, which also happens to be one of my favorites in the league!

New Orleans FC was formed in 1991 as an APL expansion team as the league extended its growth of the game to the southeast. They were formed by 2 aging business men who desperately wanted to make the south soccer crazy. New Orleans had a rough start, they came in 2nd to last from 1991-1995 and finished in dead last in 1996. Then in 1997 came a breakthrough, and one of the biggest turnarounds in American sports history. On July 4, the team sat in 11th place, dead last, and there seemed like there was no hope. That day they traded their star player, Shaun Zachary, who lead the team in scoring with 80% of their total goals, for a relatively unknown player named Keith Anderson. New Orleans fans were so upset they camped outside New Orleans Field for 3 days. Their mood was quickly turned around when Anderson scored a league record 7 goals in his first match with New Orleans as they beat Portland 8-1! The rest is history. They went on a 12 game winning streak in which they outscored their opponents 41-11. It bumped them up in the standings to 2nd place, and it didn't stop their. They went on to get in point in every one of their matches for the rest of the year, including the playoffs en route to winning their first American Cup in franchise history. Anderson was named APL MVP with 23 goals and 19 assists after he was traded to NOFC. They've continued on their path of destruction, winning two more Cups from 2000-2009, and coming in 2nd in 2001, 2006, and 2008. New Orleans has struggled in the last few years, as they have not made the playoffs since 2012, but are looking to turn it around this year with their young new international talent.

NOFC has only had two logos in their 24 year history, their original logo was scratched in 2012 for a brand new logo that the APL has loved since it was released. It features Louisiana's state bird, the pelican (also the team's nickname), in the form of a music note as a nod to the music history of New Orleans. It is surrounded by a purple roundel with yellow accents and fleur de lis. the uniforms are modern and very popular among APL fans. The home is a purple jersey with white adidas stripes and 2 diagonal yellow stripes. The away is a yellow jersey with purple pinstripes.

Hope you guys enjoy and happy holidays!

[jdp]

Wow. I wish I would have thought of that crest. Nicely done.

[jmoe12]

I did think of that crest, but you beat me to it! It's a very well executed concept, but I think the Adidas stripes on the home should be gold instead of white. Hoping to see you join the WFA Club Championship, I think you would do well there.

[Roadrunner8ball]

Thanks for the kind words guys! As far as the home kits go. I've been toying with jmoe12's idea and it is a great change to do. I'll be posting an update of them sometime later in the week.

[Roadrunner8ball]

Here is an update for New Orleans FC. I changed the Adidas stripes from white to gold on the home jersey.

And also here is a standings update for week 8!

Enjoy!

[Roadrunner8ball]

Boise Forest is the newest team in the APL, coming in as part of the APL's expansion into the Northwest in 2012. The team's name comes from the nickname for Boise, the Forest City. Since the team was only founded 3 years ago there is very little history on the team. The have finished near the top of the table in 2013 and 2014 after spending $40 million in transfers with the Premier League and Liga BBVA in the 2012 offseason. They signed two very big names in Lawrence Naylor and Mateo Jendo. The team has a very strong fanbase as it is the sole team in the northwest. In fact, when the team was announced many APL officials thought the name was going to be Northwest United, but the team opted for a more unique name instead. They average more than 35,000 fans a game at home. The team's brand has very much to do with the lumber industry in the Northwest. The Forest, as they are known by their fans, have colors of green and red. Their logo is a roundel with the name and year of establishment in it. It features 3 trees at the bottom of the inner circle to tie in the city's nickname. It also features 2 axes and a lumberjack plaid pattern in the background. The home jersey is one of the most liked in the APL. It has solid red sleeves and jersey, but the jersey features the lumberjack plaid from the logo. The clash incorporates it in the sash.

Enjoy!

[PaperThin]

Boise Forest is probably your best one yet. The crest is really good, although I would make the trees entirely green. The jerseys as well look really good.

[jdp]

Boise Forest is probably your best one yet. The crest is really good, although I would make the trees entirely green. The jerseys as well look really good.

Completely agree with this statement.

[Roadrunner8ball]

Today's team is a team I made all the way back in September but have totally forgot to post it until today, so here we go...

Atlético El Paso was founded by 4 Mexican immigrants all the way back in 1932 as Mexicano Americano FC as a way to bring their Mexican culture to El Paso. The team is one of the oldest in the APL and has strong roots in the area. After 6 years with the name, they changed their name to Atlético El Paso as a way to cater to the non-mexican immigrants in the area. The name change was an instant success. They went from having 4,000 fans a game in 1937 to 13,000 fans a game in 1938. This was also due to them moving into the brand new Kidd Field which held 4,000 more than their old ground. They enjoyed steady success in the 40s and 50s in the Liga MX, Mexico's top league, but ran into problems with the league in 1958 due the the fact that they were based in America and more than 50% of their roster was American citizens. Liga MX wanted more Mexican players on the team, but El Paso refused because many of their players were Mexican born but had gained American citizenship. It ended up being one of the darkest years in the club's history as they were kicked out of the Liga MX and almost had to fold. Needless to say the owners were thrilled when they were invited to play in the APL in 1959. They had instant success as they spent years playing the top teams in Mexico. They won 6 American Cups in their first 15 years in the APL and never missed the playoffs. Like any team they had ups and downs. After their first 15 years in the league they did not win another cup until 1999 and the way they play today it looks like it'll be a while before they win they're seventh cup. The team in the last three years has had a combined record of 17-11-65 and have not finished above 11th in the league. El Paso is known for they're crazy uniforms across America. They're home kit features a orange jersey with alternating white and black horizontal stripes on the side. The away is a little tamer as it features half of a chevron going down the right side of the jersey. The logo features a recolonized Texas flag on the bottom and a silhouette of the Franklin Mountains, which overlook El Paso, on top.

Hope you guys enjoy this one! Only two more teams to go!

[XenonDesigns]

Amazing job implementing the Texas flag for El Paso

[JMtexan09]

i liked the El Paso concepts alot it is a great logo for a team like El Paso by presenting the mountain there

[Needschat]

The New York Empire was founded by three Englishmen living in Albany, New York. They wanted to have a soccer team in their home town. So, in 1955, the New York Empire were founded. They instantly gained popularity both in the state and in the community. This is largely because fans from Vermont, New York, Western Connecticut, and Western Massachusetts could identify with the team as it is very close to them. As one of the founding APL teams, the team has a long storied history. Their name reflects the state's nickname, "The Empire State". New York's logo is a newer logo, updated in 2013. It features a crown that represents the name and the year established. After an awful decade in the early 2000s, the team wanted to move on from that, so the crest shape and font were changed. The home jersey features a red chevron, an element I think looks great on a uniform, and a black base. The away jerseys are a red base with black sleeves.

Enjoy!

I'm curious as to why Kodak was chosen, when General Electric, a company that went global while headquartered in Schenectady, would have been a better choice.

[Roadrunner8ball]

AFC St. Louis is one of the 8 founding teams of the APL and have played in every season of the APL since the start of the league. The team was started by former St. Louis Browns (MLB) owner Bill Veeck 6 years after he was bought out of his ownership of the Browns when they were moved to Baltimore after the 1953 season (in the world of the APL he was never owner of the White Sox). He used the $2.5 million he got when his stake in the Browns was bought to start AFC St. Louis. By this time he had become a very good businessman and had gone away with the many gimmicks that had gone on during the Browns' time in St. Louis. Veeck began idolizing what the Yankees had done in New York during that time and wanted to bring that same attitude to his soccer club despite never owning a soccer club before. He built a ground in downtown St. Louis called Sportsman's Ground, which was almost the same name as the stadium the Browns had played in, which held 13,000 people. The team started in 1960, the same as the APL kicked off, with some of the best players in the midwest and some of the better reserves in Europe. Rumor has it that he spent upwards of $1 million just on the players and $500,000 on the ground. Almost broke he needed a big payday in the first few seasons to keep the franchise afloat. The team went beyond his expectations their first year and drew over 195,000 during the season. It was an APL record that stood until 1970. St. Louis made the playoffs and finished 3rd, but it was a major accomplishment. AFC St. Louis went on to win 3 APL titles before 1980, but by then Veeck had major health issues as he was a heavy smoker and drinker and he sold the franchise. In a move that surprised all of America the city of St. Louis bought the franchise and fans could buy stock in the ownership of the team. St. Louis residents loved the idea and flocked to get their piece of AFC St. Louis. Fans were beyond happy and the team flourished from 1984-1990. They made the playoffs every year but one and won three straight American Cups. Today St. Louis is doing great after a stellar 2nd half run in the 2014 season going 13-4-1 in their last 17 matches and went from 10th place at 4-3-9 to 4 place with a record of 17-7-10, getting in on the final day of the regular season thanks to a win on a 90' goal by Zach Accaro to send Tucson home one point away from the playoffs.

St. Louis is one of a select few teams to have the same logo throughout their history. Much like the New York Yankees, their crest has stayed the same with a few updates throughout the years. Their colors of orange and brown go back to when Bill Veeck wanted to keep the Browns' orange and brown in St. Louis. The logo features three stripes and a rooster to tie in with the city's French roots. Their home jersey is orange with the 3 brown taken from the crest. St. Louis' away jerseys are a simple brown jersey with orange cuff striping and an orange hem stripe as well.

Enjoy!

[Roadrunner8ball]

Here is an update on the standings through the 1st of 3 round robins in the season (Week 10)

[Jake3roo]

I'm a little bothered by the fact that you have a team called "New York Empire" because I had a idea (before I saw this) for a New york team called Empire FC. In a league that I was going to call the American Premier League. You did it better than I could have though

[Roadrunner8ball]

Jacksonville FC was founded in 1980 when Peter C. Wolters granted the city of Jacksonville, Florida with an expansion team, the third he had granted in his existence. It was the first APL team ever to play in the Southeast United States, and Wolters knew it was the only way to further grow the game in the US. They were set to start play in the 1980 season, but had trouble finding enough players in time. Three weeks before the season they were still trying to find a striker and goalkeeper. They found a striker in a 38 year old chef from Jacksonville who had last played soccer in 1975 and a 45 year old keeper who had not played for 15 years. It was looking like the team was headed for disaster and that did not even begin to describe how bad their 1st season was. They started as an absolute joke in the APL, they fielded a starting XI that had an average age of 35 their first season. The team managed to win a total of 2 games and finished dead last, 25 points behind the nearest team. Their ground Jacksonville Memorial Park, which held 10,000 people, averaged only 4,635 a game. That was good for dead last in the league by 25,000 fans. In their defense JMP was only a temporary park and wasn't all that suitable for soccer, but Wolters was furious. He bought the team himself and promised a turn around immediately. He started by releasing all the players except for a young left wing named Sal Winters. Winters went on to become one of the great APL players of all time. In his 19 year career he had the most goals in Jacksonville FC history with 541 and leads the team in all time assists with 501. As time grew on Jacksonville started to gained better players and improved significantly within the next ten years. They won their first ever American Cup in 1995 and won it again in 1999 sending off Sal Winters and welcoming in his son Sebastian Winters. Winters has been outstanding in his Jacksonville career with 500 goals and 497 assists as of the beginning of the 2015 season. Sadly, Winters is one of only two players on the team with over 5 years of time in the APL. The other being Mike Yassen who along with Winters combined for 58% of Jacksonville's goals in 2014. The young team has shown as they were 11th in the APL last year. The horizon's are bright though and Jacksonville FC fans can't wait for what the future brings.

Jacksonville FC has a simple logo with lots of meaning behind it. The logo features a man on a horse which ties in with the Jacksonville flag which features the same symbol on it. It also features a black stripe above the horse to symbolize their black stripes home jersey that they have worn at home for all 35 years of their existence. Above that is a half sun as Florida is known as the "Sunshine State". Their home jersey is a simple yellow jersey with black hoops and sleeves with a yellow cuff stripe. The away jersey features a yellow horizontal stripe in the same shape as the logo.

Hope you guys enjoy the 12th and final team! It's been a blast creating all 12 teams and jerseys and thanks so much to all of you for C+C (both good and bad) to improve my logos drastically from the 1st one that I created to the last. I'll still be posting standings updates and maybe a couple of logo revisions, but as for teams this is it. So as always enjoy!

[MDTrey4]

I'm a little bothered by the fact that you have a team called "New York Empire" because I had a idea (before I saw this) for a New york team called Empire FC. In a league that I was going to call the American Premier League. You did it better than I could have though

I agree with this 100%. I'm in the process of a 3 tiered league where the team from New York is also called the New York Empire. I just think the name is too easy and too striking not to use

[Jake3roo]

my color pick was navy and Orange, and I never finished it

[Bomba Tomba]

Yassen of JAX has 19 in the shirt but 39 in the shorts, please fix.