USFL (Alt History)

[raz]

Don't succumb to pressure and change the Maulers colors! 

 

#keepthepurpleandorange

[raz]

On 3/5/2023 at 10:16 AM, Brian in Boston said:

Seahawks describes avian creatures that makes their home by the sea. Nighthawks describes avian creatures that are nocturnal in their activity. Skyhawks? They’re hawks, so it goes without saying that they’re active in the sky. The modifier isn’t necessary.

Skyhawks are military aircraft, which is alluded to in the three aircraft with contrails in the original logo. I dig it.

[Brian in Boston]

6 hours ago, ralphz said:

Skyhawks are military aircraft, which is alluded to in the three aircraft with contrails in the original logo.

Here in the United States, I’d always been under the impression that Skyhawks were primarily carrier-based aircraft flown by Navy and Marine Corps aviators. That’s why the name’s use by a St. Louis-based team threw me a bit. I’d always equated it with locales situated closer to the Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf Coasts.  Still, as I pointed out, I do like the alliteration of St. Louis Skyhawks.

[WideRight]

1. I honestly did not get that deep into the meaning of SkyHawks.  To me the alliteration was the key. 

2. I have no intention of ever switching Pittsburgh from purple & orange.  20+ years in, they would not bow to 'Burgh pressure on that. 

3. I cannot believe the triangle logo is currently ahead in the polls.  I suspect foul play, maybe the Dominion machines really are rigged.

 

(Sorry, I try to avoid politics as much as I can, but it is such a cultural reference right now.  Please don't let this thread go down that road.)

 

[gosioux76]

On 3/5/2023 at 11:16 AM, Brian in Boston said:

Hmmm. A lot to unpack here.  
 

Personally, I was never a fan of the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks’ identity. The name struck me as redundant. Seahawks describes avian creatures that makes their home by the sea. Nighthawks describes avian creatures that are nocturnal in their activity. Skyhawks? They’re hawks, so it goes without saying that they’re active in the sky. The modifier isn’t necessary.  I will concede that the St. Louis Skyhawks moniker is pleasingly alliterative. As for the logo, while I understood the symbolic importance of the mark’s shape given the region the WLAF team called home, it always struck me as looking awkward on the helmet. There was no “flow” to it. That said, the palette you’re using for the St. Louis Skyhawks logo, along with the addition of the Gateway Arch to the mark, do make it much more attractive in my opinion.

 

I really miss the sword in your adaptation of the Battlehawks’ identity, both in the logo and on the helmet. I’m not sold on the shield/football within the primary mark; I think I'd rather just see a football there.  As for the wings, while I think they have the potential to stand alone as a helmet logo, I don’t think they’d mesh particularly well with either the Option 1 or Option 3 logo serving as a secondary mark.

 

Ultimately, I’d prefer to see the Option 3 logo serving as both the team’s primary and helmet logo, with the Option 1 mark as a secondary logo (on the jersey sleeves, just under the collar, or on the hips of the pants). I would note that, in my opinion, the contrail for the upper jet in the Option 3 logo would look better passing in front of the furthest leg of the Gateway Arch. It would then give the impression that all three jets passed between the Arch’s legs.

 

Your work continues to impress!

 

For the most part, I agree with what Brian's saying here.

 

I much prefer the XFL wings-style helmet, but Brian's right in noting that the package feels incomplete without the sword. 

 

If the hawk head logo is preferred, as the most recent poll results suggest, then I'd recommend trying to incorporate the wings onto the shoulders as a design element, maybe reminiscent of the Chargers lightning bolts. Not sure I've ever seen that done before, and it might not work, but I'd love to see what it would look like. 

[Brian in Boston]

On 3/7/2023 at 9:08 AM, gosioux76 said:

I'd recommend trying to incorporate the wings onto the shoulders as a design element, maybe reminiscent of the Chargers lightning bolts. Not sure I've ever seen that done before, and it might not work, but I'd love to see what it would look like. 

One option would be for Battlehawk-style wings to be applied to the front of the Skyhawks jersey’s shoulder yoke.  I’m envisioning the same sort of wing positioning as the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers utilized on their uniforms.

[WideRight]

Some leaks of Reebok's redesign for the Chicago Machine have emerged.  Is there a new color being added to the Machine look?  And do we have the first hints at what the team meant by "strengthening our visual connection to the city"?

 

 

 

[heavybass]

Looks like the Machine are adapting elements of Chicago's flag.

[neo_prankster]

2 hours ago, WideRight said:

Some leaks of Reebok's redesign for the Chicago Machine have emerged.  Is there a new color being added to the Machine look?  And do we have the first hints at what the team meant by "strengthening our visual connection to the city"?

 

 

 

Looks like the Machine are also adapting the Houston Roughnecks new logo except as an M.

 

I forgot if Houston still had the Oilers of the NFL in thus universe.

[BengalErnst]

Look at you pull out the new style teases 

[raz]

On 3/6/2023 at 11:37 AM, WideRight said:

So we know that Atlanta and St. Louis will be new teams in 2006, and the third team that will get a new Reebok uni in 2006 is the Chicago Machine.  No poll on this one as we are prepping for polling on both 2008 expansion clubs, but Chicago will get a makeover for 2006 and then in 2007 I am looking at New Jersey, LA (again!!??!!) and Orlando.  2008 will be two expansion clubs and the Maulers. 

 

So, a timeline of new looks:

 

2006:  ATL, STL, CHI
2007: NJ, LA, ORL

2008: PIT, Expansion 1, Expansion 2

2009: TBD

I gotta think Texas could use an update. Lot of ways you could go. 

[WideRight]

About to reveal the St. Louis Skyhawks logos and uniforms on the Alt History page, but I like to bring them here first.   Notes after the image. 

 

 

Notes:

1. The Angry Bird won the poll, so it is the primary, and, as suggested here, the Triangle becomes a secondary.  This does not mean the idea of using the Battlehawks' helmet wings is dead. It is just not part of the 2006 look. 

 

2. Some of you will likely recognize the main influence for the jerseys and pant stripes.  Both are borrowed from the 2009 season of the UFL, when all 4 teams wore the same design but in different color combos.   The yoke, the streaks across the front, the sleeve treatments, and the "wavy" pant stripe are all from the UFL.  The one addition is I added a triangle "jet" on the pants as a reference to the jets in the logo. 

 

3. Not sure how long this look will last.  It only lasted 1 year in the UFL before team-specific designs took over.  I suspect that the fans in St. Louis will be hoping that there are some changes relatively quickly.  

 

 

[heavybass]

I had a feeling my vote was the one that decided that Skyhawk logo.

[ManillaToad]

That's a pretty interesting way to do a shoulder yoke. The away jersey isn't half bad

[WideRight]

3 hours ago, ManillaToad said:

That's a pretty interesting way to do a shoulder yoke. The away jersey isn't half bad

Here is an example from the 2009 UFL for comparison.  

[WideRight]

About to be released on the Alt History site, but your special sneak peek is here.

 

The new primary and secondary logos of the Chicago Machine.

 

The primary is all about incorporating one of the city's most well-known symbols, its flag, into the Machine identity.  The white flag with sky blue stripes and red six-pointed stars are now at the center of the "Gear C" logo of the Machine.  More use of sky blue, along with the maroon and grey dominant colors, is a big piece of the new look. 

XFL 3.0 fans will recognize the source of the new secondary.  Chicago began with a "Gear M" logo as its first primary (from the WLAF Montreal Machine) and now incorporates the style of the Houston Roughnecks' oil derrick logo to create a new ironworks & gear M.  Again we see more use of sky blue and another red star to maintain the link between the club and the city.  

 

More to come as the uniforms are also released. 

 

[WideRight]

Hey all,

 

here is the full design sheet for the new look of the Chicago Machine.  I copied this on my phone (traveling) from the Alt history page.  If the quality is bad, you can see a better version on that page.  I will link to Imgur for the original soon.  
 

And, yes, it should reference the Houston Roughnecks, not Renegades. 

[eegl75]

new logos are a step in the right direction but the numbers are a miss for me especially on the dark jersey. 

[neo_prankster]

On 3/13/2023 at 3:07 PM, WideRight said:

About to reveal the St. Louis Skyhawks logos and uniforms on the Alt History page, but I like to bring them here first.   Notes after the image. 

 

 

Notes:

1. The Angry Bird won the poll, so it is the primary, and, as suggested here, the Triangle becomes a secondary.  This does not mean the idea of using the Battlehawks' helmet wings is dead. It is just not part of the 2006 look. 

 

2. Some of you will likely recognize the main influence for the jerseys and pant stripes.  Both are borrowed from the 2009 season of the UFL, when all 4 teams wore the same design but in different color combos.   The yoke, the streaks across the front, the sleeve treatments, and the "wavy" pant stripe are all from the UFL.  The one addition is I added a triangle "jet" on the pants as a reference to the jets in the logo. 

 

3. Not sure how long this look will last.  It only lasted 1 year in the UFL before team-specific designs took over.  I suspect that the fans in St. Louis will be hoping that there are some changes relatively quickly.  

 

 

 

On 3/17/2023 at 7:50 AM, WideRight said:

About to be released on the Alt History site, but your special sneak peek is here.

 

The new primary and secondary logos of the Chicago Machine.

 

The primary is all about incorporating one of the city's most well-known symbols, its flag, into the Machine identity.  The white flag with sky blue stripes and red six-pointed stars are now at the center of the "Gear C" logo of the Machine.  More use of sky blue, along with the maroon and grey dominant colors, is a big piece of the new look. 

XFL 3.0 fans will recognize the source of the new secondary.  Chicago began with a "Gear M" logo as its first primary (from the WLAF Montreal Machine) and now incorporates the style of the Houston Roughnecks' oil derrick logo to create a new ironworks & gear M.  Again we see more use of sky blue and another red star to maintain the link between the club and the city.  

 

More to come as the uniforms are also released. 

 

 

On 3/25/2023 at 8:22 AM, WideRight said:

Hey all,

 

here is the full design sheet for the new look of the Chicago Machine.  I copied this on my phone (traveling) from the Alt history page.  If the quality is bad, you can see a better version on that page.  I will link to Imgur for the original soon.  
 

And, yes, it should reference the Houston Roughnecks, not Renegades. 

 

Very nice updates for the Machine, but I'd prefer the numbers were a plan white with a sky blue outline.

For the Skyhawks, the color scheme feels more like Space Hawks.

[raz]

I have to concur, the numbers are the weakest part of the Machine unis.