Worst Designed Division in Professional Sports?

[Thaumatrope]

With the unveiling of the Tuscon Roadrunners identity last month (if you can call that poorly executed abomination an "identity"), I've come to the conclusion that the AHL's Pacific Division (as it will likely exist next season) is by far the worst looking division in professional sports. Take a look at the designs below and find a single logo that isn't without some major flaw. I realize its minor league hockey, and that minor league sports are not held to the same standards as top-tier leagues...but I'd like to challenge anyone to find an uglier sampling of logos in any other professional sport (I know there are some truly god awful amateur leagues out there so I'm not going to open up that can of worms). Show us your worst.

 

 

[generalshepherd141]

In the majors I'd say the AL West. Every logo in that division has some sort of problem with it, albeit some of them minor. Minor league it'd have to be the Northern Division in the PCL's American Conference.

[buckeye]

Unpopular opinion probably but NFC East in the NFL

[OnWis97]

1 minute ago, buckeye said:

Unpopular opinion probably but NFC East in the NFL

I don't know that I'd agree, but I do feel each team has big enough issues that I get where you are coming from.  Eagles dark, blah, color scheme and goofy numbers.  Giants separating of colors (i.e., no blue on road; no red at home), Cowboys lacking consistency, and Washington's name (though that's not quite the point of the thread) and (to me anyway) the yellow pants that just don't work.

[OnWis97]

I took a look at the MLB divisions and it's tough.  I was thinking NL West because three are pretty bad, but the Giants and Dodgers kill that thought.  I'll go NL East.  But I even feel weird about that because there's not nearly as much bottom-feeding there as in the NL or AL West.  But while the Mets look good, there are no classics.  I think the Phillies are getting a bit stale (particularly the numbers on the sleeves), the Nats have always been blah, and I am not a huge fan of the Braves look (unpopular opinion).  WHile I've warmed up to the Malrins, it's kinda weird and they have too many colors and wear black too much.

 

What that really tells me is that MLB is doing OK.  

 

So for the NFL, I'll go with the NFC South.  Saints are solid.  But the rest, to me, are below-average.  I hate the Falcons robo-bird and Reebok-era sleeves, we know what a mess the Bucs are, and (possibly unpopular opinion) I've never liked the panthers logo or uniform.

[C-Squared]

The Jaguars, Titans, and Texans are in the same division. Oof.

[neo_prankster]

The AFC North could be vastly improved if the primary logos were these...

 

[ScubaSteve]

Goin with the NFC South.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - duh

Carolina Panthers - the jerseys have really worn out their welcome

Atlanta Falcons - they've had some great looks in the past, but their current is an eyesore

New Orleans Saints - the best of the group, but still could use some tweaks

[ramsjetsthunder]

My Vote goes to the NBA's Eastern Central Division. While it does have a classic in the Bulls, the Bucks (Good Unis, Bad Logo) & Pistons drag it down enough. The Pacers and Cavs are mediocre.

[panthers_2012]

13 minutes ago, ramsjetsthunder said:

My Vote goes to the NBA's Eastern Central Division.Cavs are mediocre.

 

[Morgan33]

The Cavs are anything but mediocre.  Reduce the number of unnecessary alternates and they become the class of the league.

[2001mark]

AFC South for me & it's not close.

I've always thought the Indy Colts logo looked safe & lame.  Titans have always looked like an arena team.  Texans keep trying too hard.  Jaguars have hope with a solid nickname & palette, alas they keep f'ing it all up.

 

btw, the best is AL East.  

[Dynasty]

I'll do the ones for the major four...

 

NFL (NFC South)

 

Falcons - The piping and yoke makes the uniforms look outdated.

Panthers - They modernize their logo and script, but leave their uniforms as traditional? That's not a good mix. There also needs to be more blue and less silver in their uniforms.

Saints - The best of the group, but their gold is mismatched and their pants stripe doesn't match their helmet.

Buccaneers - The number font is terrible, the over-sized helmet logo is terrible and their set has a bit too much pewter. I do like the brighter red, however.

 

MLB (NFC West)

 

Diamondbacks - Everything but the logos and script.

Rockies - Black and purple is a terrible color scheme that doesn't contrast well enough and their entire set is in need of a rebrand.

Dodgers - Great.

Giants - It couldn't hurt for them to get rid the the piping on the away uniforms, but otherwise they're great.

Padres - Their entire set is horribly inconsistent; pick an identity and stick with it.

 

NBA (Pacific Division)

 

Warriors - The copperplate font is weak (especially for the numbers) and the logo at the center of their jerseys just never sat well with me.

Clippers - The WORST looking team in the NBA. I can't think of anything positive to say about their look.

Lakers - Great.

Suns - I don't even know what their colors are anymore... Orange and purple? Orange and black? Orange, purple and black? I also get how they were trying to illuminate the 90's set, but the execution just wasn't there.

Kings -  Their new look is actually better than I thought it would be. I personally would've liked to see a newer color scheme, but they use purple and silver (grey?) pretty well.

 

NHL (Pacific Division)

 

Ducks - Unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer the current logo and script over the Mighty Duck's set. However, the colors are extremely dull (mainly the black and metallic gold). Their uniforms are also too busy with all the excessive piping and striping.

Coyotes - Their color scheme is pretty drab, plus their uniform template looks weird.

Flames - So, they're a red and black team now? It's not like we don't have enough of those, right? Also, their piping is ugly and their flag shoulder patch is as well.

Oilers - Too much orange, and honestly, I think they could do better with a different color scheme.

Kings - Their logo isn't very good (replacing it with the crown would move them up pretty high in my uniform rankings).

Sharks - Their uniforms are kinda boring and they need to scrap the orange from their color scheme altogether.

Canucks - Their logo is terrible, and their agency font isn't very good either.

[OnWis97]

8 hours ago, Dolphins Dynasty said:

MLB (NFC West)

 

Diamondbacks - Everything but the logos and script.

Rockies - Black and purple is a terrible color scheme that doesn't contrast well enough and their entire set is in need of a rebrand.

Dodgers - Great.

Giants - It couldn't hurt for them to get rid the the piping on the away uniforms, but otherwise they're great.

Padres - Their entire set is horribly inconsistent; pick an identity and stick with it.

 

 

This was a tough division.  Three teams that think are absolute garbage (D-Backs for obvious reasons and Padres/Rockes for same reasons you give).  But the Dodgers and Giants make this a very polarizing division.  It's top-heavy enough that I did not pick it.

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

AL Central:

 

None are terrible uniforms, but they seem all pretty dull to me.  None jump out to me as a great uniform.  

 

NFC West:

 

Rams and Cardinals are both overdone with piping.  The 49ers sleeve stripes always look terrible with the ever shrinking jersey templates, and the black alternate is an abomination.  The Seahawks probably have the best look in the division.

[SFGiants58]

I gotta go with AL Central.

 

White Sox: Could be one of the best in the league, but they keep chipping away at the road uniform and insist on putting out their trashy 1980's uniforms far too often.

 

Indians: Trying to slowly phase out Little Red Sambo (who should have been dumped decades ago) has left the team dependent on the boring Block C. The color balance and script style of the road uniform makes it look too different from the home set (red text with navy outline would solve this problem). Also, why do they still cheap out and use nameplates for NOB's?

 

Tigers: A top ten uniform set, only mildly let down by white outlines on the road uniform.

 

Royals: It's a fantastic uniform set, if a bit unremarkable due to how much it makes them look like the Dodgers. Emphasizing metallic gold in some capacity would rectify this.

 

Twins: While I think that the "Target Field-ization" of the uniform set was a good thing for the road uniform, the team missed the mark on creating a proper home uniform (only mildly cleaning up the Metrodome set, introducing a cream alt that more people liked than the white home set, and dumping pinstripes for gold drop shadow). This produces a disjointed set that didn't have to be disjointed.

 

My issues with the division is that there is so much potential for great looks, but each team has some problem holding them back.

[AstroCree]

21 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

The AFC North could be vastly improved if the primary logos were these...

 

I prefer this dog.

[AstroCree]

Well....

[LAWeaver]

From a uniform standpoint in the NFL , the AFC North has to be the worst.

 

Pittsburgh: number font & cutoff stripes

Cincinnati: mid-2000's mess,

Cleveland: "Browns" down the leg, orange numbers, 

Baltimore: Everything.

 

I can tolerate the AFC & NFC South divisions. Carolina & Atlanta need updated, but for now, they're alright. Jacksonville's only problem is the helmet. Tennessee is the same way, as they need a real helmet stripe and not a Baltimore knockoff. I've even grown to tolerate Tampa Bay's look. 

[Morgan33]

14 hours ago, Dolphins Dynasty said:

NHL (Pacific Division)

 

Ducks - Unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer the current logo and script over the Mighty Duck's set. However, the colors are extremely dull (mainly the black and metallic gold). Their uniforms are also too busy with all the excessive piping and striping.

Coyotes - Their color scheme is pretty drab, plus their uniform template looks weird.

Flames - So, they're a red and black team now? It's not like we don't have enough of those, right? Also, their piping is ugly and their flag shoulder patch is as well.

Oilers - Too much orange, and honestly, I think they could do better with a different color scheme.

Kings - Their logo isn't very good (replacing it with the crown would move them up pretty high in my uniform rankings).

Sharks - Their uniforms are kinda boring and they need to scrap the orange from their color scheme altogether.

Canucks - Their logo is terrible, and their agency font isn't very good either.

 

Yeah, this division warrants inclusion just for the Flames alone.  Nothing wrong with their colour scheme (as the 2004-07 set proved) but the uniform template and flag shoulder patches are terrible.  The Ducks and Coyotes are similarly awful while the Kings and Sharks are simply mediocre.  Only good looking teams, and this is where we disagree, are the Oilers and Canucks.  The Canucks get a pass for their beautiful colour scheme and the Oilers look really good on the road.