This is the XSL Season 2 (North American Soccer) (All team logos added)

[thebutkiker]

Wow, it has been a while. I haven't posted on here since I was a teenager trying to make logos and uniforms in Gimp.

 

That was a fail.

 

So, I stepped away for a few years, graduated high school, and am now in my senior year of college at the University of Texas. I like to think my mindset for creating logos has changed. I discovered Inkscape and got Illustrator with the adobe creative suite for a year for $18 and now I've gotten back into logo creating.

 

This is the XSL, inspired by the dead dreams of the XFL before its demise thanks to COVID-19. It was originally 16 teams that I based in 16 cities around the US, Canada, and Mexico. There were 12 teams in the US, 3 in Canada, and 1 in Mexico. Season 1 was done mainly as an experiment to put together teams and create logos by learning how to make them in the previously-mentioned programs. I made all but a few from scratch. A few were inspired by real life logos, and a few others were just taken from their real life logo from when they existed (i.e. a few teams from the past that were brought back for the league.) These are the teams from season 1. (Also, I know travel for the teams would be highly unrealistic, but this is all just a concept league and we'll just say all logistics is taken care of)

 

XSL Season 1 Teams

Eastern Conference:

Boston Rovers

Paumanok AFC (Long Island, NY)

Arch City FC (Columbus, OH)
Toronto Marlborough AC

Montreal Wanderers CF

Queen City FC (Charlotte, NC)

Racing Club Daytona

DCFC

 

Western Conference:

San Antonio Scorpions

Porte Saint-Louis

San Jose Surf

Colorado 14ers

Las Vegas 05

Dynamo Edmonton

Águilas de Toluca

Anchorage Icecaps

 

This is all for the first season between the 16 teams that will play every team at least twice making for a grand total of 30 games per team. The best of the East and West would then meet in the playoffs to determine the first winner of the Thomas W. Cahill Cup which would be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This would be to celebrate the expansion of the new team in Atlanta. But who else was added to the mix to expand the league to 20 teams? What would the new league format look like to avoid a 38-game season? Well that's where this thread comes in. Season 2 of the XSL is seen on this map: 

 

 

There are four new teams to create four new divisions. The four new teams are the aforementioned Atlanta Forest FC, FC Mission Bay (San Diego, CA), FC Cascadia Seattle, and Newfoundland Celtic FC (St. John's, NL)

 

How will the matches work now?

Each club will play every team in their division three times, every other team in their conference twice, and the rest of the league once. 4 x 3 is 12, 5 x 2 is 10, and another 10 for the rest of the league makes it 32 matches in total. I will post the schedule for each team as I introduce their profile, logos, and uniforms as this thread goes on.

 

Yes, I know the travel for these teams will be a nightmare, but this is all not real so we'll assume as I said earlier that there is infinite money for teams to go as they please. As for season 3, I plan to add more teams to the northwest division so that St. Louis can move to the southeast division.

 

I understand the city choice may be a bit odd considering it is a mix of large and small markets, but I wanted to make a good mixture for cities that don't have any professional sports and those that are a haven for them as well. Season 3 will see many possibilities of newly added teams in any market, big or small.

 

I will start after this post soon with the posting of the Northwest Division with the introduction of FC Cascadia Seattle, their logo being shown here:

 

 

I hope you stay with me for the rest of the series

[sky1324]

Points for including Charlotte, always a good thing. The Cascadia badge is well-made and looks nice, even if it's a tad uninspired, but that's ok! The colors seem a bit dull but once you realize it's supposed to be referencing the Cascadia flag it becomes a much better design in my eyes. Good start and I'm excited to see what you do with the Queen City!

[Guest darkpiranha]

Welcome back!  XSL!  HA!.  I guess you're going to be riffing off of the newer, 'classier' XFL rather than the XTREME version from the turn of the century.  I think we deserve at least one classic "turn back the clock" alt jersey for each team.  

 

Cascadia looks nice and classy.  Off to a cool start.  More please!

[thebutkiker]

Introducing FC Cascadia Seattle.

 

 

The first kit is the mainly green home kit, but has a white upper front and navy blue sleeves, obviously inspired by the Doug flag, aka the flag of Cascadia.

The second kit is the mainly white away kit with the Doug flag as a fading sash. The sleeves are a sea green with a forest green lines partly-inspired by the Aeroswift jersey sleeves and are supposed to form a Douglas fir.

The third kit is inspired by the other sports teams of Seattle, but mainly the colors and jerseys of the Seattle Seahawks. It uses the Nike retro logo and the crest is centered to go with the kit.

 

FC Cascadia Seattle is one of four expansion teams added to the XSL in their second season. Formed to celebrate the bioregion of Cascadia. Their home stadium is CenturyLink Field which has a capacity of 37,722, but can be expanded. Their main sponsor is Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington. Their sleeve sponsor is Seattle's Best Coffee, which is based out of Seattle and owned by Starbucks. The three players on the jerseys here are their first three signings. (Yes it is highly unrealistic that a few of these players would play on these teams but again, it's all fake.) These are Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, Finnish defender Niklas Moisander, and American striker Andrew Wooten.

 

The team joins the newly formed Northwest division, and hopes to make an impact when XSL season 2 starts! The next team posted will be Porte Saint-Louis.

[thebutkiker]

Just wanted to provide an update on logos. I'm going to upload the five crests of the Northwest Division before I show jersey designs due to upcoming finals. Now, I did take inspiration for presentation from Hawkeye15, but I am in no way trying to copy his great designs. Here is the Northwest Division:

 

 

• Colorado 14ers: Their name takes inspiration from the 14ers, which are mountain peaks that are 14,000 feet or above. Colorado has the most in the US with 53 of them. Their color is a burgundy-maroon color inspired by that of Lanus of Argentina. Their symbols include the Colorado flag 'C', the mountain peaks atop their crest, the 14ers name, and the state of Colorado with the star on it as they play out of Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.
• Cascadia Seattle: this team is pretty much all been explained, but their symbols include the Space Needle, the trees of the region, the mountains of the region, and the states/province of the Cascadia bioregion.
• Anchorage Icecaps: they are a funny pick, but they have little presence of professional sports. Their colors are based off the Alaska flag, and their name comes from the ice-capped mountains in Alaska. Their symbols are the anchor from the Anchorage flag, the icecap mountains in the logo, the big dipper and Polaris from the Alaska flag, and the state shape of Alaska.
• Dynamo Edmonton: This name is inspired by Dynamo Kiev, the biggest football club in the Ukraine. But why the Ukraine of all places? Edmonton has the largest presence of Ukrainians making up 14.1% of their population. Thus, the idea for Dynamo Edmonton was born. They share similar colors and a slightly changed badge, with a ribbon added to hold the Edmonton name, a oil drop for the oil industry in Edmonton, and an edited diamond shape. Their symbols are the stylized Cyrillic 'D' for Dynamo, Edmonton in Ukrainian, the oil drop, and the diamond shape of the bade.
• Porte Saint-Louis: This team is inspired by their French roots. Their name translated from French means literally "Door St. Louis" but is meant to be "Gateway St. Louis". This gateway of course being the Gateway Arch, the Gateway to the West. Their symbols include the Fleur-de-lis from the St. Louis flag, the Gateway Arch, the Mississippi River, and the badge for which the crest has.

(I just noticed three of these teams focus a lot on mountains. Oh well, they still look nice.)

 

Kits will be posted after finals are done and will continue with the Southwest Division.

[hkynik_55]

Really enjoyed this! I always appreciate in-depth explanations behind team names, especially. There's something different about soccer logos, but I think you really hit the nail on the head when it comes to making them American, which has been sorta lost in the recent years.

 

If I would change anything, and really this is a nitpick, I would say that the "XSL" in the league logo throws the balance of it off. Maybe just throw it at the top or bottom, with the option of not using letters at all when this hypothetical league gains enough popularity to be recognized without the name alone.

 

Fantastic work!

[thebutkiker]

8 hours ago, hkynik_55 said:

Really enjoyed this! I always appreciate in-depth explanations behind team names, especially. There's something different about soccer logos, but I think you really hit the nail on the head when it comes to making them American, which has been sorta lost in the recent years.

 

If I would change anything, and really this is a nitpick, I would say that the "XSL" in the league logo throws the balance of it off. Maybe just throw it at the top or bottom, with the option of not using letters at all when this hypothetical league gains enough popularity to be recognized without the name alone.

 

Fantastic work!

Thanks for the feedback! As for the XSL logo, I tried to recreate something close to what would be an American-ized version of a soccer logo ala NBA or MLB. The NBA has their initials in the logo and maybe thought something like that would work, but looking at the MLB it's a very recognizable logo without the 'MLB' in the logo. I'll have to test how it looks without it. Again, thank you!

[Maroon]

Love the St. Louis badge and the name - I'm hoping the actual St. Louis MLS team ends up having a French inspired team name. I also appreciate the subtle use of the St. Louis flag.

 

But also noticed that St. Louis would be in the Northwest division and have to travel to Alaska and Edmonton for divisional games. Yikes! 

 

Also glad to see Indy getting a team, and Brickyard SC is clever. I look forward to seeing their badge as well.

[sky1324]

Just noticed that both Indy and Daytona have racing themed names, so I think it'd be cool if Charlotte also had one. How about something like Charlotte Stock FC (for both stock cars and trading, like the banking in the city), Charlotte Chase FC (NASCAR's Playoff name), Charlotte 40 FC (NASCAR runs 40 cars in a race), or Charlotte Superbirds (like Richard Petty's famous car)? I just think it'd be cool if all three major racing cities in the country were united by a common theme and it also sets up a cool derby.

 

Seattle looks great, I especially like the Cascadia-inspired white set. The Northwest looks good with one exception: Dynamo Edmonton is a strange choice. Dynamo Kiev actually takes its name from a Russian sports group based in Moscow. The Ukrainian connection doesn't work quite as well when that's taken into account. That said, Anchorage is probably my favorite of these five but they all look great.

[thebutkiker]

15 minutes ago, QCS said:

Just noticed that both Indy and Daytona have racing themed names, so I think it'd be cool if Charlotte also had one. How about something like Charlotte Stock FC (for both stock cars and trading, like the banking in the city), Charlotte Chase FC (NASCAR's Playoff name), Charlotte 40 FC (NASCAR runs 40 cars in a race), or Charlotte Superbirds (like Richard Petty's famous car)? I just think it'd be cool if all three major racing cities in the country were united by a common theme and it also sets up a cool derby.

 

Seattle looks great, I especially like the Cascadia-inspired white set. The Northwest looks good with one exception: Dynamo Edmonton is a strange choice. Dynamo Kiev actually takes its name from a Russian sports group based in Moscow. The Ukrainian connection doesn't work quite as well when that's taken into account. That said, Anchorage is probably my favorite of these five but they all look great.

Hey thanks for the feedback! I do like the name ideas for Charlotte and I'll have to take them into account.

 

As for Dynamo Edmonton and Kiev, the name comes from the Dynamo Sports Society created in the Soviet Union, back from when the Ukraine was still a part of it. Now many teams with the name are private clubs but still keep the name as a connection to the society and name. I decided on Dynamo since many clubs in the Eastern Bloc use this name like Minsk, Zagreb, and Bucharest. I also chose it since Dynamo Kiev is one of the easily recognized clubs of the Ukraine. I'll have a reasoning in their kits post with a history of the club and everything like that. Again, thank you for the feedback and help! I'm glad you like Anchorage!

[ThunderHawkPA]

On 5/7/2020 at 8:31 PM, thebutkiker said:

 

 

Great concept series. I was wondering where did you find the North American Locator Map template. I have been searching for something like this all over.

[thebutkiker]

Introducing Porte Saint-Louis

 

 

The first kit are half and half royal purple kits of different shades, similar to that in the crest. The whole kit follows this scheme.
The second kit is the silver of the gateway arch, the main symbol of Porte Saint-Louis, and also the Mississippi River on the crest.

The third kit is a simple slate-black fade kit with bright green highlights, just in case either of the kits clash with another team.

 

Porte Saint-Louis is one of the sixteen original XSL teams. The club was formed in 2015 in the lower divisions of American soccer until the creation of the XSL. They will return for their second season at Hermann Stadium, which while only having a capacity of 6,050, has been rumored to be the site of a new soccer-specific stadium for years. Their main sponsor is Budweiser, which is produced by Anheuser-Busch which has been brewed in St. Louis since 1852. Their second sponsor is World Wide Technology based out of Maryland Heights and sponsors other sports projects around the St. Louis area. The three players are perhaps some of the biggest signings of the XSL. American star winger, Christian Pulisic, French winger Adama Traore, and Mexican star Giovani dos Santos. Also on the team include Loris Karius, Atiba Hutchinson, and Chanathip Songkrasin.

 

While they will play in the Northwest Division for this season, they will move to the Southwest Division in season 3. The next team will be the Colorado 14ers.

[thebutkiker]

And now introducing the Colorado 14ers:

 

 

The first kit is a maroon top with white sleeves along with white shorts and maroon socks. The maroon top has darker stripes with diagonal blurry lines that I think make a good-looking design.

The second kit is a white top with maroon sleeves and is basically an inverse of the home kit minus the stripes. Instead the mountain tops from the logo are on the front of the kit that make it's design.

The third kit is based off the sky blue third color with multiple shades of it along with a giant C for Colorado on the front of the shirt.

 

Another original 16 member of the XSL, the Colorado 14ers take name from the 53 mountain peaks in the state that are 14,000 feet and above, dubbed "14ers." The name was used by a former NBA G-League team before becoming the Texas Legends. The team was formed after the moving of the basketball team in 2009, after disgruntled basketball fans wanted to try out soccer instead. The team played semi-pro and several friendlies with the Colorado Rapids MLS team before being contacted by the XSL to join their new professional league. They play their home games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver which has a capacity of 18,000. Their front jersey sponsor is Arrow Electronics which is based in Centennial, Colorado, which sponsors motorsports teams and drivers and is now dipping their toes into soccer. The team made big signings in American Jordan Morris, Russian mid Alexandr Golovin, and Dutch mid Davy Klaassen. Also on the team include Korean striker Hwang Hee Chan, Honduran Alberth Elis, and American goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

 

The next team in the Northwest will be the Canadian member of the division, Dynamo Edmonton.

[thebutkiker]

Here is Dynamo Edmonton:

 

 

The first kit is inspired by a previous Dynamo Kiev home kit with the Ukrainian vyshyvanka, which is an embroidered shirt from the Ukrainian region. The embroidery pattern is seen down the middle collar of the shirt and is the main lighter blue color of the crest.

The second kit is the all blue kit with the darker blue of the crest as pinstripes, featuring the darker blue as shorts and the regular blue as socks.

The third kit is a fade from blue to the orange-ish color of the oil drop on the crest. It features diagonal stripes which is a darker blue than the previous jerseys. The shorts follow the oil drop color while the socks take the darker blue.

 

Dynamo Edmonton is another member of the original sixteen teams. Though settlers from Ukraine moved to Edmonton in the late 19th century, the club wasn't formed until 1946, after World War II. A group of Ukrainian-Canadians from Edmonton, who served in the war as a part of the Canadian Army, witnessed a soccer match in 1945 in their native Ukraine. This match would occur during the 1945 Soviet Top League, while the group were on leave. They witnessed Kiev's only win of the season over Lokomotiv Moscow, but that was enough for the men to fall in love with the club. Once they returned to Edmonton, they formed their own unofficial Dynamo club in honor of Dynamo Kiev, thus sparking Dynamo Edmonton. Though one of the oldest clubs in Canada, it never really got the steam going to join any professional league. Until the XSL arrived and offered them to join their league. They maintain a city rivalry with FC Edmonton, though these are mainly just friendlies. The team will play at Clarke Stadium near Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. It has a capacity of 5,100, but the team will play games at Commonwealth if the demand is high. Their front jersey sponsor is BioWare, the video game developer from Edmonton. Their sleeve sponsor is PCL Construction, also based out of Edmonton. The three big signings for this club are Kiwi striker Chris Wood, Ukrainian international Volodymyr Shepelev, and Canadian wonder-boy Jonathan David. Other signings include Ukrainians Vitaliy Mykolenko and Denys Boyko, American center back Ike Opara, and Brazilian right back Junior Caicara.

 

Next up will be the final team of the Northwest Division, the Anchorage Icecaps.

[thebutkiker]

It's been a while.

 

Alas, I decided once I returned to finish all the logos for the rest of the league and did just that. This is what I got:

 

 

From left to right on down:

• San Jose Surf: The only team to use orange as their primary. I'm aware there's not much of a surf culture in San Jose, but I thought the name sounded nice. Also didn't realize there was a youth team of the same name until after all was chosen. Anyway, the logo is based off a generic surfing company logo, which features the symbols of calm and high waves, both suitable for surfing. Other symbols include the "SURF" text and the surfboard.
• San Antonio Scorpions: The return of the former NASL side, I redesigned the logo with a new shape that features the shape of the Alamo at the top, thus showing more of San Antonio's culture in the badge. Their symbols include the scorpion, the lone star, the "SCORPIONS" text, and the badge featuring the Alamo at the top.
• FC Mission Bay: San Diego gains a professional soccer team in this team. Their badge is based on that of Atletico Madrid in shape, but is gold and white, features an orca as SeaWorld was originally started in the Mission Bay area of San Diego. Their symbols include the orca, the MB monogram, the mission from the San Diego seal, and the badge shape.
• Las Vegas 05: One of the only teams in the world to feature a pink primary. Their name is based off the year that Las Vegas was founded. Their logo is (obviously) based off the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign that has a poker chip with the "05" on it and the four suits of playing cards. Their symbols include the previous two, the star from the Vegas sign, and shape of it too.
• Águilas de Toluca: The only team from Mexico in this league, their name is from the symbol of the entire country: the golden eagle. Their logo is a triangle that features the eagle looking left, with the monogram name of the team on the lower half of the eagle. Their symbols include the previous two, the shape of Toluca, and the triangle badge.

Now for the next division:

 

 

• Boston Rovers: This team is based off the former United Soccer Association team which was basically the Shamrock Rovers but in America. I based their logo off the current Shamrock Rovers but with a different shaped badge, flipped stripes, and a different font. Their symbols include the shamrock, a BR monogram, Old Boston from their seal, and the green and white hoops of their jersey.
• Paumanok AFC: Based out of Uniondale, NY, this name comes from the Native name for Long Island, their logo is based off a Native American dreamcatcher. It features yellow and black stripes, a Native thunderbird, and a soccer ball to show that it's a soccer team. Their symbols include the thunderbird, the "PAUMANOK" wordmark, Long Island, and the dreamcatcher badge.
• Toronto Marlborough AC: In this alternate timeline, Toronto Marlborough becomes a full athletic club and introduces a side for soccer. They keep the leaf and crown, but make it a circular logo to differentiate from their old logo. Their symbols include the maple leaf, the crown of Marlborough, the CN Tower, and the number 6 for the nickname of Toronto.
• Newfoundland Celtic FC: The team is based in St. John's, NL. Since it was under British rule, it has a differing sports culture, as soccer is more popular here. The team name is based off the many Celtic teams that exist in the world, but mainly Celtic FC in Glasgow. Their logo includes the trinity knot and the "CELTIC" wordmark, with other symbols such as Newfoundland Island, and "ST. JOHN'S" below the main wordmark.
• Montreal Wanderers: this is based off the former NHL team in Montreal. Their name fit well with being a soccer team, that I decided to go with it. Their logo is based off the design of Sam Bolles, just with slight tweaks in the wordmark and badge shape. Their symbols are the "W" as on the old logo, "MTL" for the city, the four-petal flower logo of the city, and the shape of the badge.

Last, but not least:

 

 

• Brickyard SC: This team moved from Columbus in the last season to Indianapolis. Their name obviously implies the heavy influence that Indianapolis Motor Speedway has had on the city. Their logo features the row of bricks from the speedway that gives it it's namesake. The other symbols are the the ball with wings (yes, I'm aware it looks like a snitch), the star and circle from the Indianapolis flag, and the shape of the badge.
• DCFC: Perhaps the most simple name in the league, but is enough to tell you what it is. Their logo features the capitol building, the two red bars and three stars from the iconic flag of the city, and "1976" for when the club was formed on Americas's bicentennial. Their other symbol is the recognizable shape of the district.
• Atlanta Forest FC: This name comes from one of the city's nicknames: The City in a Forest. While obviously sharing similar imagery of that of Nottingham Forest in England, their logo features more, with the city skyline on the tree, "ATL" forming in the tree branches, and a badge inside a circular logo. These are their symbols, along with the cream "A."
• Charlotte Superbirds: Thanks to QCS for the name of this team, this team's logo is simpler than other and features the iconic Richard Petty Plymouth Superbird, the crown logo of Charlotte, which could mean queen for the city, or king for King Petty himself, and a CS monogram. All their symbols are seen on the badge.
• Racing Club Daytona: This team borrows imagery from the iconic Racing Club in Argentina. The name was chosen for Daytona International Speedway, the "World Center of Racing." Their symbols include a soccer ball with all racing flag colors, with the checkered flag in the middle for victory, "DAY" for a shortened name for Daytona, the tri-oval track at Daytona, and the badge shape.

These are all of the logos for season 2, and more kits are on the way in a different form, so looks our for those coming soon!

[Blindsay]

Pretty good, pretty good.

[RJ Ciancio]

Loving the work so far