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Revisiting the California Soccer League! (SERIES FINALE)


TheGiantsFan

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On 12/5/2020 at 3:29 PM, TheHealthiestScratch said:

This is a fun league for a California native, and I appreciate the thought put towards the project. I didn't realize how many cities actually had a team until I saw Los Banos, a small pass through for my trip from AZ to the Bay while I was in college (Also, what a name for a city). I am actually surprised that bigger cities didn't truly get multiple teams like you'd see in England, but I do like the spread of clubs because it gives a diverse representation of the state.

 

While we haven't seen San Jose (where I am from), I do believe the treatment of the Bay Area teams has been excellent, from a native's perspective. Using Mt. Diablo as a name is great, and I love their crest/colors. Silicon Valley has appropriate colors and I really enjoy their kits. Maybe I missed it, but do they have a nickname? I would love to see what a soccer club would do for a nickname when it came to tech inspiration.

 

My favorite has to be Roses AFC. Their logo is gorgeous, and their twist on pinstripes is inspired. I would buy that kit if I could, and for full price. In second, I'd put that Salinas team for now. I really like the identity, and appreciate the kit sponsor inspiration for the clash. That would be another top I'd have in my collection from this league. You need to calm down with the all class kits. At this rate I would be broke fast, and we aren't even half way through! Keep up the spectacular work, and I'll keep a tally of fictional money spent on jerseys as this progresses.

 

I really do try to evenly distribute teams throughout this diverse state, and it's actually quite a challenge working with only 49 teams (I don't plan on adding more than 49 teams because of that number's role in California history). I had to leave out a few areas because of that 49-team limit (Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, and much of the northern Central Valley come into mind). However, it is super fun learning more about these cities as I created their teams, and I feel like many places outside of SF/LA deserve more of a spotlight in general.

 

The Bay Area teams have been fun to create unique identities for, but I haven't really ventured onto nicknames just yet. Maybe Silicon Valley could be referred to as "The Chips" because of microchips? I'm not quite sure yet 😂

 

I'm glad you like the series so far, and I look forward to making some more kits to spend some more fictional money on! 😂

 

On 12/6/2020 at 12:43 AM, mamiller99 said:

Holy crap it’s so cool to see you back on these boards! I loved your work back when they were all on paper and I love your new stuff even more. That SVSC branding is so sleek and modern, I love it

 

Thank you, and I'm glad to have you back!

 

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Mojave Division

Barstow 66

Barstow, California

Founded: 1985

Championships: 0

 

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ECUFan25's original suggestion (via PM) for Barstow was the Barstow 40, but I tweaked it to Barstow 66, as Route 66 is probably more famous than the Interstate 40 (both of which go to Barstow) that replaced it, as well as the busy Interstate 15 going through town. The crest is fairly self-explanatory, with the US highway shield with hints of gray stripes representing the railroads which define the city.

 

The home kit is a simple white jersey with brown trim, with the gray stripes on the sleeve inspired by the new Everton clash kits. The clash kit is an abstract rendition of the speed that goes through the city, on both highway lanes and railroads. The kits are supplied by Puma and the sponsor is Del Taco, whose first branch was in nearby Yermo.

 

Barstow remains practically unchanged, aside from some tweaks to the crest to reflect the blockier fonts of older Route 66 shields

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Gold Country Division

Modesto Athletic

Modesto, California

Founded: 1988

Championships: 0

 

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I had wanted at least one team in this league to have a brown/orange color scheme, and I figured that Modesto would be the perfect fit. The crest is stylized like a tulip a steer's head, an homage to the cattle industry that's everywhere in this middle part of the Central Valley. The crest is slightly inspired by Club Atlas in Mexico's Liga MX.

 

The home kit is a fairly straightforward half brown/half orange jersey, stylized like the crest. The clash kit I originally wanted to do something more modest (because Modesto), but I thought that an homage to American Graffiti, which immortalized the city in pop culture, would be much cooler; the pattern calls to a roadway design to pay homage to the cruising depicted in the movie, set in Modesto (though actually filmed in Petaluma, in the Bay Area). The kits are supplied by Adidas and the sponsor is Save Mart Supermarkets.

 

Modesto introduced a new logo in 2018 to commemorate the team's 30th anniversary. The team continues to honor the area's cattle industry with a new logo inspired by a cattle brand.

 

The iconic halved brown/orange home kit remains, and the team's series of American Graffiti homage clash kits continues with a yellow kit inspired by the yellow hot rod from the movie. Save Mart Supermarkets is still the shirt sponsor, now with their new logo.

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On 12/7/2020 at 8:20 AM, darkpiranha said:

Great stuff.  Love seeing the evolution.  

 

Thank you very much! Glad to have you back as well~

 

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Freeway Division

Orange County United

Anaheim, California

Founded: 1990

Championships: 3

 

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Within the original 20 years or so of the CSL, there were two Orange County teams: Surfing Huntington and Anaheim SC. In the late 80s, however, both teams struggled both financially and on the field, so in 1990, they merged to form Orange County United. The new OC team inherited Anaheim's two championships, and the new team won its own championships not too long after the merger. The crest is very simple, with a soccer ball surrounded by "Orange County United". The colors are orange (duh!) and sand, to represent the county's beaches.

 

The home kit is a circle design with 34 white "oranges" surrounding the sponsor; the "oranges" represent the 34 (as per Wikipedia) incorporated communities within Orange County. The clash kit represents the freeway culture of not just Orange County, but of Southern California; the lines are an abstracted map of the Orange County freeways (the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) is excluded because it is not a freeway). The kits are supplied by Adidas and the sponsor is In-N-Out Burger (while their first location was in Baldwin Park in LA County, they are headquarted in Irvine).

 

Orange County United (now officially known as just "OC United") is another team that has rebranded since the 2015 season, and now features a sunnier crest with a rather-abstract "OCU" monogram.

 

The kits have also seen an overhaul, with the orange home kit now consisting of a "ripple" that represents the 34 incorporated communities in Orange County. The green clash kit references the orange groves that once graced the county, and the pattern is a hybrid design that pays homage to the two teams that merged to form OC United: the surfboard stripe from Surfing Huntington and the Bavarian pattern of Anaheim SC (Anaheim was founded by fifty Bavarian families).

 

I realized that In-N-Out Burger (the old shirt sponsor) doesn't do any formal advertising campaigns, so I decided to switch the sponsorship to Taco Bell, which actually began in nearby Downey (a stone's throw outside of the OC county line) but is now headquartered in Irvine.

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This thread's been quite slow this week, but here's the next team to keep it going!

 

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Gold Country Division

Elk Grove SC

Elk Grove, California

Founded: 1994

Championships: 1

 

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One of the fastest-growing cities in California, Elk Grove (just south of Sacramento) is influenced by the teal-palooza of the 1990s. The crest, which puts elk antlers over a badge with an "EG" monogram, is inspired by the crests for Minneapolis SC by raysox and Elk River FC by Mockba.

 

Very honestly, I really had no idea what to do for Elk Grove's kits, as Elk Grove in reality is just your average, boring suburb. The home kit is a simple gold/teal hooped design. The clash kit is more outrageous, with the center stripe of the jersey transforms into stylized elk antlers. The kits are supplied by New Balance, and the sponsor is Sleep Train, a mattress company based not in Elk Grove, but is from within the Sacramento area.

 

Based on feedback from Elk Grove native woody86, I made some changes to that city's team to reflect the club soccer scene in Elk Grove! I renamed the team from "Elk Grove SC" to "Elk Grove Premier" to emphasize the team's status as the top of the Elk Grove soccer pyramid. I also changed the teal/gold color scheme to a blue/orange once that is used by one of the Elk Grove club teams. The crest remains unchanged aside from the new colors.

 

The 2015 "antler" clash kit now carries over to the home kit as well because the teal/gold stripes of the 2015 home kit is now obsolete. Both kits see design variations of the same set of antlers. I also changed the sponsor from Sleep Train to a more exciting company such as Blue Diamond (who is also the jersey sponsor of the Sacramento Kings).

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On 12/9/2020 at 7:59 PM, ItsSlothy said:

As an OC Resident, I am a big fan of OC United’s update. Good work!
 

Also, I checked to see what Mammoth Mountain’s beanie for 2020/21 is, and it’s primarily red, so @FlyingLamprey’s clash idea isn’t out of the question!

 

Glad an OC resident is impressed by their team! :)

 

(I'm starting to draft sketches for Mammoth, and I'm definitely keeping those beanies in mind!)

 

On 12/10/2020 at 11:28 AM, rorinator said:

Looking forward to seeing my home team in the Coachella Valley! Awesome concepts so far!

 

Thank you very much! I'm not sure when I'll tackle your home team just yet, but stay tuned!

 

(For now, you can look at the hand-drawn version of Coachella Valley here)

 

On 12/10/2020 at 1:44 PM, MDTrey4 said:

I'm gonna be honest. That OC United logo is legitimately one of the best concepts I've seen on the boards ever.

 

I'm glad you really like it! :D

 

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Freeway Division

Maritime Long Beach

Long Beach, California

Founded: 1982

Championships: 0

 

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The city of Long Beach, just south of LA on Interstate 710, is known for its major shipping port, as well as being the permanent dock for the Queen Mary ocean liner. The shape of the crest's shield is inspired by the shape you would see if you were directly in front of a large container ship. Inside the shield is an anchor (which ended up fitting snugly into the bottom of the shield) and two nautical flags that spell out "LB", for Long Beach. The "Maritime" part of the team name was suggested by rykochristie, albeit for the inland port city of Stockton rather than for Long Beach.

 

The home kit is a simple blue-and-white kit with the "LB" nautical flags on both of the shoulders. The clash kit is a predominantly-white kit with the other colors coming from the nautical flags; a shipping container motif is seen in the middle of the jersey. The kits are supplied by Puma and the sponsor is Epson, a Japanese company whose American division is based in Long Beach.

 

Long Beach remains practically the same since 2015, but the crest has been tweaked slightly to incorporate the brand-new Gerald Desmond Bridge that crosses over the Port of Los Angeles into Long Beach. The home kit remains the same, but with stripes added to resemble the texture of shipping containers. The new clash kit is a blue/gray kit that features the cable pattern of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, similar to how the Golden State Warriors incorporate the cables of the Bay Bridge up north. Elon Musk has taken over the sponsorship rights with The Boring Company, headquartered in nearby Hawthorne, now on the kits.

 

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Also, I will be relocating another team, this time in the northern Redwood Division! SC Klamath Falls in Oregon will now be relocating within the division to Mendocino CountyIf you know a thing or two about what's between Humboldt County and Santa Rosa, I would really appreciate any suggestions for a team up there!

 

(I've personally never been to Mendocino County)

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This last batch looks great!  I love Barstow's unique color scheme and OC's unique sun pattern on their jersey, but I think Long Beach is the best look of the bunch (which is good cause that would probably be my team in this universe!).  Not the bridge I would've expected for a team based around the harbor (Vincent Thomas technically isn't in Long Beach but I associate it with the area more), but it's still a clean look overall!  As for putting a team in Mendocino... well, not much there to work off of, I'm afraid.  It's a big place for growing and selling weed, but I think that some people might not be thrilled with the idea to say the least.  They do have Glass Beach, though!  It's an old dumping site for glassware and pottery that eventually got eroded and cleaned into this stretch of coast that's just covered with millions of small rounded pieces of glass.  Maybe you could go for a look similar to what Oakland Roots does?  Keeping the jerseys mostly limited to two colors with a very colorful logo could be a great look.  Great job as always!

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Drink water and try to have fun!

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On 12/11/2020 at 11:04 PM, FlyingLamprey said:

This last batch looks great!  I love Barstow's unique color scheme and OC's unique sun pattern on their jersey, but I think Long Beach is the best look of the bunch (which is good cause that would probably be my team in this universe!).  Not the bridge I would've expected for a team based around the harbor (Vincent Thomas technically isn't in Long Beach but I associate it with the area more), but it's still a clean look overall! 

 

As for putting a team in Mendocino... well, not much there to work off of, I'm afraid.  It's a big place for growing and selling weed, but I think that some people might not be thrilled with the idea to say the least.  They do have Glass Beach, though!  It's an old dumping site for glassware and pottery that eventually got eroded and cleaned into this stretch of coast that's just covered with millions of small rounded pieces of glass.  Maybe you could go for a look similar to what Oakland Roots does?  Keeping the jerseys mostly limited to two colors with a very colorful logo could be a great look.  Great job as always!

 

I'm glad you like your team! I'm sure the Vincent Thomas is by far the more iconic bridge at the port, but that might end up looking too similar to one of my SF teams 😂. I guess it's also a similar situation to the real-life Warriors choosing to highlight the Bay Bridge instead of the Golden Gate Bridge

 

Thank you for your feedback on Mendocino! I incorporated the Glass Beach motif (and a more subtle and tasteful nod to the weed industry) in the clash kit, which you'll see in this very post!

 

(I also noticed you're a fellow Monterey County user!)

 

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Several teams have rebranded since the 2015 season, and now it's time for one of the newly relocated teams!

 

Redwood Division

Russian River SC

Ukiah, California

Founded: 2010*

Championships: 0

 

*Founded as SC Klamath Falls and relocated in 2017

 

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Founded in 2010 as one of the newer CSL teams, SC Klamath Falls unfortunately faced financial troubles and little fan interest in southern Oregon (a market that ended up being dominated by Rogue Valley). In 2017, the owners of the team decided to move the team to Ukiah in Mendocino County to remain in the Redwood Division (also for me to fill in a team gap in the large coastal territory between Eureka and Santa Rosa).

 

The team was now renamed to Russian River SC to reflect Ukiah's location on the Russian River, which itself is named after the brief Russian presence in this part of the state in the 19th century. The logo is a reverse "RR" monogram with two wavy lines to represent the river. There are also two Russian flags hidden in the logo, which has caused a bit of controversy in the recent political climate. The shape of the crest is relatively similar to the one used in the team's previous life in Klamath Falls.

 

The home kit is a relatively simple Russian flag-inspired design with the river wavy pattern. The clash kit is a bit more on the wild side, with the emerald coloration referring to the region's cannabis industry and a mosaic pattern inspired by Glass Beach in Fort Bragg (shoutout to Flying Lamprey for these ideas!). The kits are supplied by Under Armour, and the sponsor is the Mendocino County tourism board.

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Staying in the Redwood Division, here's the next team!

 

Redwood Division

State of Jefferson SC

Yreka, California

Founded: 1987

Championships: 0

 

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First off, some context: Back in the 1940s, several counties in northern California (and southern Oregon) attempted to secede from their respective states (because of their political isolation from Sacramento and Salem) to form the State of Jefferson; this new state became forgotten because of the 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor and the proceeding American involvement in World War II. History aside, this region of northern California still has a few lingering sentiments of the State of Jefferson, and that is embodied in their soccer team. The crest is basically a very simplified version of Jefferson's state seal (with it's "double X" representing formerly-mentioned political isolation) within a diamond-shaped crest. The colors of forest green and gold are taken from the Jefferson state flag.

 

The home kit is a vertically-striped design that incorporates a gradient of the green as it goes towards the middle of the jersey. The clash kit is a simpler green kit that incorporates the "double X". The kits are supplied by Adidas and the sponsor is the Crystal Geyser bottled water company, based in nearby Weed and has it source in Mt. Shasta.

(This team was very nearly going to be called Shasta SC, or something like that, but the State of Jefferson was so much better to incorporate into a team)

 

State of Jefferson's crest and home kit remains the same as 2015, but the clash kit has changed due to the 2015 green clash kit not really clashing with the home kit. The new clash kit retains the "double X" in a light blue kit design that reflects Mt. Shasta's snow and snowmelt.

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Central Division

Racing Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California

Founded: 1986

Championships: 0

 

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I decided to give Bakersfield the "Racing" name (suggested by SSmith48) because Kern County (which Bakersfield is the county seat of) has quite a lot of auto racing venues. I decided to downplay the county's oil heritage to the team's sponsorship. The crest is basically a racing checker flag on an Italian-style oval crest. The colors of yellow and red I decided to add to the black-and-white because I think of those colors when I think of auto racing for some reason.

 

The home kit incorporates a checkered flag pattern on the front and back of the jersey, with red and yellow trim and shorts. The clash kit is a predominantly-red jersey, with a vertical sash containing a two-tone yellow checkered pattern. The kits are supplied by Adidas and the sponsor is Aera Energy, an oil and natural gas company based in Bakersfield.

 

Bakersfield remains exactly the same, but the diagonal sash on the clash kit has been enlarged and moved to the left side of the design.

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On 12/15/2020 at 1:06 PM, Silence of the Rams said:

Really quick, a couple of quirk tweaks/Suggestions. 

 

Harvick's number is 4 not 19

 

Shouldn't jimmy John's, Busch, or mobil 1 be the sponsor by association

 

Just like in my series 5 years ago, the way I selected the numbers, player names, and shirt sponsors are different processes that aren't related to each other at all:

 

  • The number on the jersey is simply chronological order: In Bakersfield's case, it was the 19th team to be drawn 8 years ago and it was the 19th team I digitized this year
  • The player name is any notable person from that city or region: Kevin Harvick just happened to be from the Bakersfield area
  • The shirt sponsor is a local company that is headquartered or does a lot of business in that area: Aera is just a Bakersfield-based energy company

 

Hope this clears some things up!

 

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Bay Area Division

Atlético San José

San Jose, California

Founded: 1970

Championships: 4

 

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San Jose is one of the founding teams of the CSL, having been a thing since 1970. With this, I wanted to make this team look successful (which they have been) and like it's been there forever. The crest is fairly simple, with the colors and stalks of wheat taken from the city's flag and seal with a scroll saying "ASJ" in the middle. While the official team name is still the original Spanish name since 1970, recent branding has preferred the "ASJ" abbreviation, so to better represent more of San Jose's very diverse population.

 

The home kit is a relatively simple white jersey, with a blue/white/gold slash running through the front. The clash kit is a gold jersey with navy blue pinstripes. The kits are supplied by Umbro and the sponsor is Adobe Inc (who is the single company that allows my graphic design career to exist).

 

I cleaned up the ASJ crest to make it look like literally everything on Dribbble, but San Jose retains its simple look into the 2019 season. The yellow clash kit pixelates the sash from the logo and home kit to reflect the area's electronics and computer industry.

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I think the wrapping around the wheat sheaves gets lost in the digitizations. Have you considered putting them in front of the ribbon? I think that would give the idea more that the wheat is part of the logo and not just sitting behind it.

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On 12/15/2020 at 8:36 PM, MDTrey4 said:

I think the wrapping around the wheat sheaves gets lost in the digitizations. Have you considered putting them in front of the ribbon? I think that would give the idea more that the wheat is part of the logo and not just sitting behind it.

 

You're actually right! I did find that the wheat stalks didn't fully blend in with the rest of the crest, so I tweaked it a bit:

 

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There's still some awkwardness with how the wheat interacts with the top of the banner, but it's already much better than what it was before; thanks for the feedback!

 

On 12/16/2020 at 6:34 AM, PascalHugo said:

Good work my friend! I really like this evolution. Keep going!

 

Thank you very much, and I'm glad you like it! :)

 

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Mojave Division

Deportivo El Centro

El Centro, California

Founded: 1995

Championships: 1

 

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Because of its proximity to the Mexican border, I decided for El Centro to combine two elements I saw a lot of in Mexican soccer logos: roundels and shields. Now, unlike the leaked new Manchester City crest, the shield is not entirely within the roundel, instead with the top extending out of the roundel, similar to Guadalajara's crest. While the team is based in El Centro, the design represents all of Imperial County, with the seven stripes representing the seven main towns of the county; El Centro is represented with the soccer ball in the centro of the shield. The colors are taken from the El Centro Imperials; I had originally intended a black/sand color scheme for the team, but that ended up looking way too dull.

 

The home kit is a simple black/yellow hooped kit. The clash kit is a white jersey with thin stripes, with the center stripe being black to represent El Centro. The kits are supplied by Adidas, and the sponsor is Bimbo.

 

Hailing from the southernmost edge of the state, El Centro's team has gained a championship since the 2015 season! Other than the extra star atop the crest, not much has changed for this team heavily inspired by the Mexican teams across the border.

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South Coast Division
Lancaster - Palmdale Squadron
Lancaster, California
Founded: 1983
Championships: 1

 

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First of all, I am aware of a High Desert team, nowhere near an ocean, being in the South Coast Division, but you just gotta sacrifice logic for division alignments sometimes. Now to the actual team. The team identity is based around the heavy military presence in the Antelope Valley, mostly in the form of Edwards Air Force Base. Originally, I had wanted to do a fighter jet motif a la Newcastle Jets, but decided that a simpler wing logo was better. The color scheme is simply black and white, as a nod to the stealth bombers developed at Edwards AFB. There is an "LP" monogram to represent the twin cities of the Antelope Valley: Lancaster and Palmdale; these two cities in northern Los Angeles County are exurbs of the LA metro area.

 

The home kit is a simple black-on-white jersey with three gray streaks to serve as Adidas branding represent fighter jets in formation. The clash kit is a black gradient jersey. The kits are supplied by Adidas, and the sponsor is Boeing, who is heavily involved in military aviation in the area.

 

The team with the longest name in the league is back with fairly minimal changes! The only change since 2015 is the orientation of the three contrails on the home kit, which angle upward now instead of diagonally towards the crest. There are also minor tweaks in the LP monogram on the crest, but otherwise, that's it!

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