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NORTHSTAR UNITED

Stadium: Allianz Stadium

Sponsor: Dish Network

Colors: Navy, Sky blue, Gold

EPL Affiliate: None, former alliance with Leeds United was dissolved when they dropped from EPL.

 

The Twin Cities have been home to Northstar United since the 1992 league expansion.  The team, initially affiliated with Leeds United, has been independent for several years. The team colors still reflect this initial pairing, as blue and athletic gold remain the primary colors.  Their crest, which features the state of Minnesota as the primary feature, also includes a representation of the North Star as well as the team name, separated by a bi-color U in United as a representation of the Twin Cities. 

 

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The primary kit of NUFC is navy with a vertical sash in sky and gold on the jersey.  This is paired with sky blue socks and shorts.  The away kit, also subtly implies the Twin Cities home of the club by using alternating diagonal stripes in two shades of gold on both the jersey and socks. . 

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Last one for today, rounding out the central region teams:

 

MOTOR CITY 1

Stadium: Keyworth Stadium (expanded to 17,900 in 1997)

Sponsor: Door Dash

Colors: Claret & Sky Blue

EPL Affiliate: Aston Villa

 

One of the more unique names in the league began play as Motor City 1701, commemorating the founding of the city of Detroit.  Over time, the team has continued to shorten it, first to MC '01 and now simply MC1.  The team has had two EPL affliliates over its history, and both have worn the Claret and Sky.  For their first 8 years of existence, MC1 worked with West Ham United, but the past decade has seen the West Ham move on and MC1 has aligned with Aston Villa as their second sponsor. 

 

The crest of Motor City 1 has several elements which speak to the racing and automobile connections for the team.  Most obvious is the use of a checkerboard flag pattern, but we should also note the motion lines around the "1" in the upper section.  Finally, the team opted for a more modern and italicized font, also to denote speed. 

 

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The home kit for the "Racers" is also heavily influenced by their current and former EPL affliates.  Typically a claret jersey with sky blue sleeves, the 2020 version incorporates a sublimated checkerboard pattern as well. The claret jersey is paired with sky blue shorts and claret socks.  The away kit uses the same colors, but swaps out to a white jersey, claret shorts and sky blue socks.  The jersey on the away kit has a Sampdoria style "racing stripe" across the chest. 

 

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4 hours ago, WideRight said:

Today we will see the last 3 central region teams, starting with one of my favorite designs so far:

 

Grant Park Rangers

Stadium: Soldier Field (New in 2020 after several years at SeatGeek Stadium)

Sponsor: Virgin Mobile

Colors: Red, White & Green

EPL Affiliate: Liverpool

 

When Chicago was announced as one of the founding NAPL franchises it took Liverpool no time at all to jump on the market and the Reds have been a stalwart partner with GPR ever since.  The team began play in Soldier Field, and opted to reference the iconic park that stood just outside the stadium gates when deciding on a team name.  Grant Park Rangers have played most seasons downtown in the Loop, but did have a short 5-year stint out in Bridgeview at the smaller SeatGeek Stadium.  But for most Chicagoans, GPR are as linked to the downtown loop as the park that inspired their name.

 

The logo of GPR is a shield composed of a green center with two red side panels ( thanks, Liverpool).  In the green center is a depiction of the central square of Grant Park, complete with its gardens (in green), walkways (in white) and the iconic Buckingham Fountain at its center.  Below the park image is the monogram of GPR, which features the G and P of Grant Park surrounding the larger R of Rangers.  A bit confusing to the uninitiated, but pretty standard in monogram style.  On some occasions this monogram will also be shown alone, without the other shield elements.  Atop the shield are three red six-pointed stars, another callback to the city, and in this case the Chicago city flag. 

 

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It does not take much imagination to guess that the Rangers' home kit links them with their English club.  Liverpool red is the dominant color from jersey to socks.  There are occasional hints of white and green most years, but red is by far the overwhelming image.  The away kit has changed often over the years, but in most years, including 2020, the dominant color is white with green as a secondary.  The combination of green and red in some kits has led many in Chicago to refer to the Rangers as the "Chicago Welsh", though my favorite fan name is "Rangerpool". 

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As a Welshman, I like the fact that this team is unofficially named Chicago Welsh.

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Of the two, the first crest strikes me as the better design. In the second logo, the shaping of the badge to suggest a 'V' seems forced, while the bottom third of the badge seems very empty.

To be honest, I'd place the soccer ball-as-sun device (along with its emanating rays) inside the first badge - specifically, in the 'V' formed at the bottom of the shield. I'd suggest keeping it the same size, with the rays potentially extending a bit shorter. In that way, the 'sun' would be seen in a 'valley' within the logo. As it is, the team's namesake solar orb is depicted rising over/setting behind a horizon. 

As for the upper two thirds of the shield, I'd place the 'FC' (rendered in yellow) where the soccer ball used to be, but without emanating rays. However, instead of being partially hidden behind the badge, the letters would slightly overlap the red band. 'VALLEY of the SUN' (in either white or, perhaps, orange) would slide up to fill the space between the red band and the soccer ball-as-sun device.    

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I am going to reveal all 3 of today's teams this morning (as I have a busy day ahead).  All three represent the southern region. 

 

Caribeña (Sociedad Futbolista Caribeña de Miami)

Stadium: SF Caribeña Stadium (at the site of former Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale)

Sponsor: Goya Foods

Colors: Flamingo (pink), Biscayne Blue (Aqua), Florida Orange

EPL Affiliate: Sheffield United (new contract)

 

If you thought the Miami Dophins captured the feel of south Florida, just wait until you check out "La Caribeña" (The Caribbean team in Spanish).  This squad was built on the concept of Miami as a pastel, Art Deco, capital of the Caribbean.  From its South Beach color scheme to it's logo of palm trees and a summer sun, the "Flamingos" or "Flamencos" as they are called draw fans from Miami's diverse cosmopolitan population, as well as a broad popularity across the Caribbean region, often by signing up and coming players from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama.  

 

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The home kit of the Flamencos is a beachgoer's perfect look.  A pink jersey with white highlights and a unique skewed-checker pattern is worn over white shorts and aqua socks.  The away kit is the team's version of the hot Miami nightlife, with black from head to toe, highlighted with aqua and pink "neon". 

 

 

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CHARLOTTE TOWN-PIEDMONT SC

Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium

Sponsor: Jet Blue Airlines

Colors: White, Gold, Navy Blue

EPL Affliate: Brighton & Hove Albion

 

When Charlotte was awarded an expansion franchise in 2008 as part of the league's southern expansion (also included Miami and Baltimore), the ownership group clearly did not grasp the idea that they were to emulate the English Premier League.  They released an identity that is nearly 100% homage to Real Madrid rather than an EPL side.  Naming the team after the original town of the area, they also wanted to pay tribute to both the Piedmont region and the local college of the same name (whose fields they used as their camp).  And so, within a league based on the EPL we find Charlotte Town-Piedmont with a very familiar, if not very English look. 

 

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CTP's uniforms also share a lot with the Spanish club Real Madrid.  The home kit is white over white, with piping in gold and the trademark chevron in blue.  The away kit is Carolina Blue with navy piping and a white chevron, over navy shorts and Carolina Blue socks. 

 

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BTW, if you are a fan of the Goldbergs, yes, it is a common chant in the stadium for the chant leader to yell  "CTP" and the whole booster section to repeat with a hearty "CTP",  not the Jenkins Town Posse, but pretty close. 

 

 

 

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HEART OF DIXIE FC

Stadium: Georgia State Stadium (formerly Turner Field)

Sponsor: Coca-Cola

Colors: Peach & Green

EPL Affiliate: None

 

The identity of Hearts, as fans have dubbed them, has been one in place since the 1980's, but which has come under some scrutiny this year, as the word "Dixie" is coming under fire.  Whether the team will redub itself has been discussed, but for the 2020 season, they remain the same Heart of Dixie FC as they have been since the league was founded.  The identity of Hearts is one of regional pride, with the team always having Georgia-based sponsors and kits that pay tribute to the products of the region.  The main identity is with Georgia as the Peach State, and the logo bears the emblematic fruit, along with a heart and a soccer ball, all entwined by a ribbon holding the team's name. The team colors also celebrate the peach, while the away kits often focus on the colors or product imagery of the team's sponsor, currently Coca-Cola. 

 

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The home kit is peach over green, with a sublimated tonal stripe to give depth to the jersey.  The away kit is a tribute to Coca Cola, with red and black as the dominant colors, which also works for all the UGa fans out at the stadium as well. 

 

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Tomorrow: Tampa get's their "Garrr" on, DC goes full wooden teeth, and it's down to the "herber" in B'More. 

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I imagine Hearts could probably switch to "Hearts of Georgia" or something. I like the idea with the logo, but I think the line weights could be thicker and all the same color (now they're inconsistently gray & black). The jersey could also be a bit of a pinker shade of orange to get to peach; it feels a bit too citrusy.

 

For Motor City, it feels like a tad of a missed opportunity to not use the motion line design on a kit. I like the shield shape though!

 

I love the idea for Gastown! I would just extend the clock tower downward so it meets the edge of the circle, and try centering it again. You might also try ditching the roundel around it, and just have clock tower in a circle... Might look pretty nice!

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Yeah, I'm not a fan of CTP. Is the college you're referring to Central Piedmont Community College? Cause I can't think of any other colleges with "Piedmont" in the area, and I don't think CPCC has a camp large enough to host a full-team soccer team, but I may be wrong about that. Besides that, the identity just feels lazy, quite honestly. The crown is nicely rendered, but I noticed the fluer-de-lis shape in the crown, which doesn't make sense for the very Scottish/Germanic area of Charlotte. Besides that, the "CTP" monogram poorly fills out the circle, not sure why the P is so much larger than the CT. As for the kits, they're fine, the piping isn't great but the chevron looks nice at least, but the sponsor doesn't really make sense. JetBlue isn't really a thing in Charlotte, if you're going for airlines, try American. It just feels weird that when sandwiched by the incredible, local identities of Miami and Atlanta Charlotte feels lazy and uninspired by comparison. Additionally, I thought you weren't using the city's name in the club's name? Because the town wasn't called "Charlotte Town", it was "Charlottetowne". 

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11 hours ago, WideRight said:

HEART OF DIXIE FC


Can't say as I'd consider Atlanta - or, Georgia as a whole - to be the "Heart of Dixie". That's been a nickname associated with Alabama for 70-some-odd years. It dates back to an Alabama Chamber of Commerce campaign of the late 1940s and early 1950s that sought to find a more unique sobriquet than the "Cotton State" moniker that had commonly been used up until that time. Once the Chamber of Commerce had settled upon "Heart of Dixie", it pushed to have the nickname / slogan added to automobile license plates. The roll-out of said tags began in 1955 and "Heart of Dixie" has appeared somewhere on every standard passenger license plate in Alabama ever since.

The reason the Alabama Chamber of Commerce chose "Heart of Dixie" seems pretty clear, as the state is situated closest to the geographic center of "Dixie"... historically, the states that had been part of the Confederacy. 

That said, the logo's beautifully rendered and the uniforms are quite striking (though I think the Peach of the home kit could err a tad more towards Pink, as opposed to Orange).  

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After 3 days away from home, back at the CPU and ready to post the 3 remaining Southern region teams: Baltimore, DC and Tampa.

 

Inner Harbor Athletic

Stadium: Hughes Stadium (expanded to 19,500 in 2014)

Sponsor: HCA Healthcare

Colors: Navy & Sky Blue

EPL Affiliate: None, Formerly Swansea

 

Inner Harbor is Baltimore's entry into the NAPL, having been an expansion team in 1996.  Originally playing at Camden Yards (an awkward fit for a soccer pitch), the team moved to the small Hughes Stadium in 2000, leading to an expansion of the stadium shared with Morgan State U. in 2014.

 

The Team's crest features 2 nautical elements (a sailing ship similar to the USS Constellation docked permanently in Baltimore, and an anchor).  These images form part of a shield-based logo which also includes 2 quadrants depicting elements of the Maryland state flag, but with the team colors instead of the state colors of red, gold and black.  

 

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The team's primary kit also features a quadrant style, the only one in the NAPL, in navy and sky blue.  The away features a white jersey with navy shorts and a broad single hoop in navy on the jersey. 

 

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GEORGETOWN FC

Stadium: Audi Field (DC)

Sponsor: Penn Fed Credit Union

Colors: Cherry & Green

EPL Affiliate: Burnley

 

The "Cherries" have been a fixture in the NAPL since the league began.  Playing initially on the campus of Georgetown University, the team has also played at RFK and now at Audi Field in the District.  Named for the Georgetown neighborhood, the team adopted an image based largely on the identity of George Washington, including a primary logo comprised of the famous cherry tree linked to a story of Washington's inherent honesty.  The crest also features stars and stripes which evoke the DC flag, though the colors are significantly altered to match the team colors of cherry red and kelly green. 

 

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The home kit for the Cherries is, as you would expect, cherry red.  A two tone cherry jersey is paired with black shorts and cherry socks.  The clash kit in 2020 has cherry shorts, but swaps out the socks and jersey for basic whites with only a few cherry-colored elements. In past years the team has featured green or patriotic red, white, and blue away kits. 

 

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FC GASPARILLA

Stadium: Raymond James Stadium

Sponsor: Royal Caribbean

Colors: Red & Black

EPL Affiliate: Southampton

 

When Tampa was announced as one of the cities to receive a team in the EPL's 2nd wave of expansion, many expected the team to revive the Rowdies moniker from the old NASL, but the ownership decided to celebrate one of the region's most legendary figures, the pirate Gasparilla.  The legendary Spanish pirate, along with the festival which bears his name, are iconic in western Florida, and the team identity celebrates both. 

 

With a shield capped by a tricorner hat and adorned with both a skull and crossbones as well as the crossed red stripes of the Floriday state flag, there is no mistaking FC Gasparilla for any other club. 

 

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The pirate theme carries over to the kit, as the home kit features red & white hoops over black shorts, evoking the image of a traditional sailor's shirt.  The away kit's jersey is a shimmering gold, with a hoop-based color fade, dubbed the "dubloon kit".  Both kits are NIKE produced, and both will make you say "Garrr!!"

 

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Note: The skull & crossbones element of the logo is not original, it comes from a design available on scalebranding.com:  https://scalebranding.com/

 

Up next: our last 6 teams, from the Northeastern region, representing Toronto, Montreal, New York, New Jersey, Boston and Philly. 

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Love the logo.

The only change I would make would be to have the hat look like it was sitting ON the skull's head rather than behind it.

That would give it a more sinister look, and provide a little more black space to make the FC bigger.

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Let's get started with our 6 eastern region teams.  We will begin with our 2 Canadian clubs and then just a bit south with Boston.

 

METROPOLE CF

Stadium: Saputo Stadium/Stade Saputo

Sponsor: Banco Santander

Colors: Black & Royal

EPL Affiliate: None, formerly West Brom Albion

 

Montreal is one of the league's newer teams, joining the NAPL when they expanded from 20 to 24 squads.  Initially aligned with West Brom Albion, Metropoole has been without an EPL affliliate since their English club was relegated to the Championship.  

 

Metropole went with a modern "minimalist" shield, combining the blue & white stripes of West Brom with black.  

 

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Metropole's home kit resembles something you might see from Inter Milan more than West brom as their choice of pairing blue stripes with black separates them from the blue & white kits of their original English affliate.  For their away kit Metropole usually goes with white or light grey, but in 2020 they opted for a Canada Day special, an all-red look, which is surprising as it infringed upon the look of their primary rival, CD United of Toronto. 

 

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CD United (Cabbagetown & Distillery United FC)

Stadium: BMO Stadium

Sponsor: Air Canada

Colors: Red & Black

EPL Affiliate: Manchester United

 

A founding member of the NAPL, and one of its most storied, thanks to a strong affiliation with Manchester United, CDU has one of the more unique origins.  When the league was formed, Man United chose Toronto as its desired partner, but there was no clear ownership group to support MU's efforts, so they essentially turned to the city's robust intra-city league, announcing that the league champions of the following year would be the chosen Toronto franchise and would receive major funding from Man U in order to move from a neighborhood club to an NAPL club.  Most expected the much larger and traditionally stronger clubs like the Serbians SC or York FC to battle for the crown and the rocket-promotion to major soccer.  But, when two smaller club sides, Cabbagetown Rovers and Distillery Athletic decided to merge for the all-important season, playing as C&D United (later CD United), they shocked the local sports scene, and winning the right for CD United to represent Toronto in the new NAPL.  

 

CD United's crest highlights the franchise's nature as the first (and for nearly 10 years, only) Canadian club in the NAPL, with a multi-tone red maple leaf at the center of a black shield.  The club's initials are placed above the leaf, while the two clubs which joined to form United are highlighted in a banner at the logo's base. 

 

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CDU's home kit, as you might imagine, is often similar to that of Man United, with a red jersey paired with black shorts. The 2020 version has a plaid highlight sublimated into the jersey, and a matching stripe highlight pattern on the socks.  The away kit is white with golden highlights, black shoulder stripes and sock cuffs, and a fade pattern of gold on white shorts. 

 

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