Colorado Rapids Concept: Return of the Caribou

[scottyeagle]

For those of you who don't know, the North American Soccer League (NASL) was the first major attempt to establish a professional soccer league in North America.  Running from 1968-1984, it built the foundation for the United States hosting the 1994 World Cup and, subsequently, the founding of MLS and soccer's increased popularity in this country. 

I thought it would be fun to make a concept series combining elements from former NASL teams with current MLS teams.  So here we are, with my first team:  the Colorado Rapids!

 

Colorado Rapids

Soccer in the Centennial State started with the Denver Dynamos from 1974 to 1975, but it's the 1978 Caribous of Colorado that are probably most well-known.  Their notorious uniforms were the height of gaudy 70's aesthetic:  fringe, disco collars, and short shorts.  This concept follows the general design of the original team but with those 70's elements removed and recolored for the Rapids (don't worry, those white lines on the clash won't be fringes, just a design).  I also created a new badge out of the wordmark from the Caribous, placing it on an oval which gave me the impression of a beer label.  In a similar vein, I have the sponsor as Coors, which just makes sense to me.

Many (all?) of the uniforms in the NASL were not as, um, ambitious (?) as the Caribous, so some of these MLS concepts will be a little bit less exciting (I'll probably take some artistic liberties in those instances).  Anyway, here's the Colorado Rapids and I hope you have plenty of comments about it.