Identities you wish were your team's

[AndrewMLind]

5 minutes ago, pianoknight said:

If I had to pick a team that I wished Nebraska would look more like, I guess I'd say Wisconsin or Stanford. 

 

Which is interesting given Wisconsin borrowed its look from Nebraska, since long-time Badgers coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez played for the Cornhuskers. They were almost identical during Nebraska’s first few years in the Big Ten, with both outfitted by Adidas. Remove the logos, only real difference was the patch on Nebraska’s shoulder and the single helmet stripe. Wisconsin definitely has the superior look now thanks to Under Armour, though.

[Mingjai]

15 minutes ago, AndrewMLind said:

 

Remove the logos, only real difference was the patch on Nebraska’s shoulder and the single helmet stripe. Wisconsin definitely has the superior look now thanks to Under Armour, though.

 

Though block numbers look better with these traditional-style jerseys than Wisconsin’s standardized font.

[pianoknight]

I think you guys missed the joke. 

 

Actually, I disagree about UW having a better look after their move to Under Armour. It's perhaps a cleaner look, but the weird slash in the shoulder stripe is totally random, and their curved/serif number font has always bugged me. It looks like a basketball number that made its way onto a football uniform. 

 

[MilSox]

6 hours ago, pianoknight said:

If I had to pick a team that I wished Nebraska would look more like, I guess I'd say Wisconsin or Stanford. 

Ironic to hear this from a Huskers fan.  Badgers fans generally don't care for Wisconsin looking too much like Nebraska and would prefer we looked more like Stanford.
 

7 hours ago, AndrewMLind said:

 

They're named after the Maple Leaf Regiment of World War I. The regiment is a proper noun, so its plural is Maple Leafs. Similarly, Ohio State’s helmet stickers are called Buckeye Leafs. 

I didn't know this.  But plenty sports nicknames are just the pluralized version of an organization's name.  It's the same way we got Montreal Canadiens out of Canadien Hockey Club.

I wonder if it would it appease the grammar nazis if the Dallas Stars changed their corporate name to "Lone Star Hockey Club, LLC" or something of the like so that Dallas Lone Stars could be "proper."

[MilSox]

5 hours ago, pianoknight said:

I think you guys missed the joke. 

 

Actually, I disagree about UW having a better look after their move to Under Armour. It's perhaps a cleaner look, but the weird slash in the shoulder stripe is totally random, and their curved/serif number font has always bugged me. It looks like a basketball number that made its way onto a football uniform. 

 

The slash in the stripe points "Forward," which is Wisconsin's state motto.  I know that's something people who aren't from here probably wouldn't get.  But I understood it the first time I noticed it during a game and liked it for that reason.

[flyersfan]

If I had to cheer for a team on look alone, it’d probably be Clemson. But I still believe in my heart penn state has the best uniforms in football. 

Nfl- a lot of good choices, Id probably take the saints or chargers though

nhl- flyers still

mlb- blue jays or athletics

nba- sixers still (maybe pelicans or jazz tho)

[MJWalker45]

On 2/16/2019 at 10:37 AM, -Akronite- said:

Here's my highly improbable fantasy:

 

1) Oakland Athletics move to a new city. I'm not actually rooting for this because franchises moving is the most BS part of American sports, but anyway...

2) The franchise decides they want a fresh start/brand and come up with something city specific.

3) The Cleveland Indians, in need of a new identity that both doesn't suck (see: various Spider concepts, no offense to those that have tried!) and isn't controversial, buys the rights to the Athletics brand and continues the multi-city legacy of the fairly generic ID while sporting that gorgeous green and gold.

 

All ya gotta do is swap the "Oak" for "Cleve" on the roads and blammo. The Indians have a fine set of jerseys, but the colors are generic and the name will never shed its stigma. I am so jealous of how good the A's look while being unique in the MLB. So that's my answer. AND STICK WITH THE DARK GREEN PLEASE. Throwbacks are great, but keep em as throwbacks.

 

I've recently started thinking the Indians could go with the old tradition of naming themselves after the league they are in, thus the Cleveland Americans. They are already red, white and blue and they can use a Revolutionary War theme for the mascot.

[MJWalker45]

On 2/18/2019 at 7:35 AM, wildwing64 said:

As someone pining for his team to return to their old identity or any improvement over the current look sans that marvelous third, I get the sentiment of wanting the North Stars back. The green, yellow and black uniform is among my all-time favourites despite not being around for that era. And to be fair, it is a better name than Wild.

 

That said, I absolutely love the Wild logo and uniforms, which more than make up for the weirdly abstract name.

 

 

Speaking of the Stars...

 

 

This is also a fantastic look, taking the classic North Stars uniform and evolving it to suit their current locale. Yes, it's a bit similar to the Blackhawks, and the logo has some minor issues like the NHL's insistence on using the green outlined version on black backgrounds because yay brand guidelines, and the Texas State patch drives me nuts because the D-Star is uncomfortably off-centre. But that aside they're easily among the Top 10 in the NHL.

Both the Stars and Wild would look better with an outline on the numbers. But I agree, the Northstars were a great look in their day but they are no more. The Wild have had a great logo but poor uniform execution but that can always be fixed easier than a rebrand would. 

[MJWalker45]

On 2/23/2019 at 12:57 PM, AndrewMLind said:

I wouldn’t swap Ohio State, the Raiders or the Orioles for any other team’s identity. However, I do wish the Blue Jackets — though I like their name, reason for it and alternate logo/uniforms, and believe they should create an entire identity around that — had a unique color scheme/identity like the Sharks or Mighty Ducks (and a different name to match, of course). 

A washed out type of blue would work, with dark blue and red as secondary colors. Something like the denim USA 1994 jerseys without the white splashes across it. 

[-Akronite-]

8 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

I've recently started thinking the Indians could go with the old tradition of naming themselves after the league they are in, thus the Cleveland Americans. They are already red, white and blue and they can use a Revolutionary War theme for the mascot.

 

Don't think Revolutionary War theming works in Ohio BUT I could live with something generic like that if it came down to it. Ties in to their previous name too actually.

[MJWalker45]

56 minutes ago, -Akronite- said:

 

Don't think Revolutionary War theming works in Ohio BUT I could live with something generic like that if it came down to it. Ties in to their previous name too actually.

Fort Laurens was built in Bolivar, Ohio during the war and George Washington scouted out Ohio during the French and Indian War. I always thought a good retro design for a Philadelphia team would be the Franklins. 

[AndrewMLind]

The Civil War would be more appropriate, but the Blue Jackets have that market cornered.

[SFGiants58]

Just now, AndrewMLind said:

The Civil War would be more appropriate, but the Blue Jackets have that market cornered.

 

There's also the War of 1812. That could be an important Ohio-centric conflict (as the state was heavily involved in the proceedings - there's so much more to that war than the burning of Washington, DC, the Battle of New Orleans, and impressment) on which to base an "Americans" identity.

 

Of course, I prefer both Spiders and Guardians. 

[The_Admiral]

On 2/18/2019 at 1:49 PM, BrandMooreArt said:

so the question is really, what are the best sports identities? speaking only for the NFL, and as a Colts fan, i wouldn't trade the Indy identity for anything. but, i think the Atlanta Falcons have the best identity in the league. 

 

start with the colors; you can apply red, white, and black in any order of hierarchy and its going to look powerful, fast, and beautiful. your marketing materials can be all red, or all black, whatever— you can't go wrong with the colors. same for the uniform, make the helmet whatever color and it still works

 

Not having a clearly defined hierarchy of colors feels like more of a bug than a feature. The Blackhawks and Bulls are also red/white/black teams, but it's pretty clear that it's red and black, not black and red, and I think that's to their benefit. The Falcons should be black and red but seem to flip-flop and I don't think that helps.

 

Oh and Wild is still the worst name in the major leagues. The lamest.

[Bmac]

I am absolutely in love with the St Louis Cardinals identity and want to follow the team solely for that reason. However, I've always disliked the team and their fans and there's no way around it.

[BrandMooreArt]

8 hours ago, the admiral said:

 

Not having a clearly defined hierarchy of colors feels like more of a bug than a feature. The Blackhawks and Bulls are also red/white/black teams, but it's pretty clear that it's red and black, not black and red, and I think that's to their benefit. The Falcons should be black and red but seem to flip-flop and I don't think that helps.

 

Oh and Wild is still the worst name in the major leagues. The lamest.

 

its clear what they are uniform and identity wise, but sticking to the same hierarchy gets pretty stale when you apply it to stadium graphics, video boards, marketing pieces, Season Ticket packages, apparel, social media graphics... there's no reason to only use black backgrounds on everything, for example. i dont think it ever gets confusing and just switching the colors up year to year can make those pieces feel pretty fresh.

[AndrewMLind]

9 hours ago, Bmac said:

I am absolutely in love with the St Louis Cardinals identity and want to follow the team solely for that reason. However, I've always disliked the team and their fans and there's no way around it.

 

That’s why I was a big fan of this board’s alternate universe thread, where the Orioles were the Cardinals; the two birds sitting on a bat is about the only identity I’d consider swapping. 

[DeFrank]

When the Pigskins are out of it (aka most of the time) I have a hard time rooting against the Eagles because I really admire their strong identity. This does not happen with the Giants or Cowboys.

[MilSox]

On 2/26/2019 at 5:43 PM, -Akronite- said:

 

Don't think Revolutionary War theming works in Ohio BUT I could live with something generic like that if it came down to it. Ties in to their previous name too actually.

Isn't Ohio known for birthing a lot of Presidents?  That's a natural enough tie-in for the Americans name.

[Bobster]

I would take just about anybody's over the current Diamondbacks' look!