USFL (Alt History)

[Will94]

is there going to be a team like this  for Nashville?

 

 

[WideRight]

On 5/9/2021 at 10:38 AM, Will94 said:

is there going to be a team like this  for Nashville?

 

 

I guess it all depends on if the Oilers end up moving to Nashville or not.  I don't see Nashville as a high priority expansion destination with Memphis already having a team.  I will also say that I am not as fond of most Arena League identities when compared to NFL-Europe, CFL-USA, or even XFL, AAF, XFL2.0 identities.  There are a few gems in arenaball (Iowa, Arizona, a few others) but a lot of the Arenaball logos are not a style I much care for. Not iconic enough, often cartoony or "edgy" so I am not sure how much inspiration I would take from the AFL when opting to either expand or relocate a team.  

[Will94]

8 hours ago, WideRight said:

I guess it all depends on if the Oilers end up moving to Nashville or not.  I don't see Nashville as a high priority expansion destination with Memphis already having a team.  I will also say that I am not as fond of most Arena League identities when compared to NFL-Europe, CFL-USA, or even XFL, AAF, XFL2.0 identities.  There are a few gems in arenaball (Iowa, Arizona, a few others) but a lot of the Arenaball logos are not a style I much care for. Not iconic enough, often cartoony or "edgy" so I am not sure how much inspiration I would take from the AFL when opting to either expand or relocate a team.  

what if they stayed in houston ?

[NCCoachArete]

19 hours ago, WideRight said:

I guess it all depends on if the Oilers end up moving to Nashville or not.  I don't see Nashville as a high priority expansion destination with Memphis already having a team.  I will also say that I am not as fond of most Arena League identities when compared to NFL-Europe, CFL-USA, or even XFL, AAF, XFL2.0 identities.  There are a few gems in arenaball (Iowa, Arizona, a few others) but a lot of the Arenaball logos are not a style I much care for. Not iconic enough, often cartoony or "edgy" so I am not sure how much inspiration I would take from the AFL when opting to either expand or relocate a team.  

Don't forget, the AIIFL had some great logos as well.  The NJ Generals, Denver Gold, Philadelphia Stars and TB Bandits logo were updated for the league that never forrnally started.  I really liked the Dallas Wranglers logo.

[WideRight]

2 hours ago, NCCoachArete said:

Don't forget, the AIIFL had some great logos as well.  The NJ Generals, Denver Gold, Philadelphia Stars and TB Bandits logo were updated for the league that never forrnally started.  I really liked the Dallas Wranglers logo.

Yes, those A11FL updates were in some cases very solid looks.  I could see some of those working their way into a 21'st Century USFL, if the creator allows.  Some of the discarded logos done by other designers are also solid, and I can tell you that one of them is on its way (but not until later in the league's history). 

 

 

[qckgnc]

Isnt the current Generals helmet logo from The Spring League team (who lifted it from the A11FL as far as I know)?

[Skycast]

Just a quick chime in to say I'm enjoying following along in the sim and the write-ups. Happy to see the Bandits getting back to the winning side of things. Are you using Wolverine's Pro Football sim game? The standings shots look similar to that.

[qckgnc]

4 hours ago, Skycast said:

Just a quick chime in to say I'm enjoying following along in the sim and the write-ups. Happy to see the Bandits getting back to the winning side of things. Are you using Wolverine's Pro Football sim game? The standings shots look similar to that.

 

I'm just glad the Generals finally caught a break but I'm not optimistic about the playoffs. I think Tampa will somehow pull it off, although I'd rather it be Memphis in the south. 

 

Poor Portland.

[WideRight]

So the 1989 USFL Season is wrapping up (I won't say who won the title because we are not yet there on the simulation website) and as we enter the offseason between 1989 and 1990 three more teams are getting updates from Russell Athletic.  Two of the three are somewhat minor tweaks, and the third is a bit more.  Here is the first of the three, the Orlando Renegades. 

The basic changes are: 

1. Removing the plain text "Orlando" from the logo. 

2. Changing up the colors on the tomohawk to emphasize blue, silver and black.

3. Adding black piping as a consistent element separating silver from blue or from white.  You will see thin black piping on the helmet, jersey, and pant stripes as well as in the new 2-outline numbers. 

4. Adding a blue pant set to go with the white one. 

 

Next up, the Denver Gold. 

[WideRight]

And here is Denver.  

 

 

The main changes include:

 

1. Removal of helmet stripe and increase of logo size.

2. New sleeve striping with 1 stripe in two team colors. 

3. Dark jersey numbers now are double outlined. 

4. Addition of black pant set to go with gold pants.  Pants are interchangeable, and gold is used more often. 

5. New sock designs. 

6. Secondary logo used to market Denver, seen with main logo and as a sticker on the back of the helmet. 

 

[WideRight]

And just because I am itching to get these out. Here are the new Memphis Showboats designs, featuring the introduction of "Silver Sky" a blue-silver metallic color that replaces the light silver used from 1984-1988.  Designed to help distinguish Memphis from Tampa better. 

 

 

Major design changes for Memphis include:

1. Replacement of silver with "silver sky" metallic blue-silver. 

2. Removal of stripe from the helmet and increase in logo size on helmet.

3. Numbers are now double-outlined

4. Sleeve stripes are replaced by offset color sleeves with a third color sleeve cuff. 

5. Logo added to sleeve.

6.Addition of white to thinner red pant stripe. 

 

 

[neo_prankster]

So it looks like the Renegades are pretty much going to drag their feet with the branding?

 

Also, the silver sky on the Boats came out really great!

 

The Gold came out looking nice too.

[WideRight]

12 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

So it looks like the Renegades are pretty much going to drag their feet with the branding?

 

Also, the silver sky on the Boats came out really great!

 

The Gold came out looking nice too.

 

I don't think Orlando is done yet.  Wait until Nike comes to town, a lot of teams are going to start looking a lot different. 

[Skycast]

That secondary Denver logo is spot on dude.

[qckgnc]

I like that update for Orlando the most out of the three, almost completely abandoning the red color that their rivals are known for. I do think that a yellow-orange or red-orange secondary color would be nice in the future, tying them closer to the UF alums in the area without going full Gators. All three are upgrades IMO but Memphis is my least favorite. I'm getting more of a Blitz vibe than Bandits now though. 

 

I want to add that I really enjoy the Hou v NOLA rivalry, I always notice when those two play each other even in the regular season. I think Birmingham and Memphis has some legs but they need some playoff matchups to make it more heated IMO. Jersey and Philly is another one but I think that's more of my bias for the Generals in real life. Orlando v Tampa, Denver v LA, and Baltimore v Washington are other matchups I tend to notice the most. I really want Chicago ans Michigan to be a thing but the Machine need to focus on themselves first. Would love a series record of some of your personal favorite rivalries in the league. 

[Silver_Star]

On 4/22/2021 at 7:45 AM, WideRight said:

So I have been testing out several different options, flipping the silver and red, eliminating silver and going red-white, and multiple alternative colors to replace silver.  Here is what I have produced so far. 

 

 

I think I am leaning towards the swap of silver for a metallic, silver-blue.  I did some checking around and I do not believe it is a color that has been used in a football uniform yet.  The key is that it is metallic, basically a silver with stronger blue tones.  I found this concept where they swapped out colors for their opposites and the silver-blue of this concept Saints helmet is what I am thinking of. 

 

 

Thoughts?  I also darkened the red on that "silver sky" concept and I think that helps. 

I like the white one due to the northwestern stripes, but the silver-cyan one is lovely!

[Silver_Star]

On 4/22/2021 at 5:35 PM, B-Rich said:

 

 Although not ocean waves, the breakers of Lake Pontchartrain say hello...

 

Truth!

[qckgnc]

Let's go Gens! 

 

Also a suggestion for the Championship game name, The Grand Finale. It's similar to Superbowl without being "x" bowl.

[WideRight]

Hey all,

 

Looking ahead at the three teams who will get new looks for the 1991 USFL season.  We have the New Orleans Breakers, the Oakland Invaders, and the Arizona Wranglers.   These are three looks I really like already, so I am not thinking of major changes to logos, but perhaps some design tweaks.

 

What would you do to improve the look of these three teams?

 

I am using slightly tweaked versions of the 1994 Wranglers, and 95 Breakers and Invaders as the baseline.  

 

 

 

[LogoFan]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:37 PM, WideRight said:

And the biggest change that Russell Athletic makes is the Washington Federals.  They shift from white to silver helmets (something that happened after only 1 season in reality) and they get a new logo.  The Eagle logo is a mashup between one of the hundred eagle head logos out there and the logo of the Baltimore Stallions of the CFL in the USA.  I increased the size of the 3 stars to represent the stars on the DC flag without changing team colors.  The logo morphs from green to black as it moves from the head into the flag-body.  The uniform itself is not a big departure from the original Federals look, except that I simplified the stripes (as was typical in the early 90's).  THe silver pants are used often, the green ones only for the occasional road game.   (BTW, it is very hard to create a Federals logo with the eagle that does not look like an attempt to do the Philadelphia Eagles.  Why the Feds chose green & black with an eagle logo in the first place is bizarre considering the DC-Philly rivalry).  

 

 

I love you series and what you're doing with the teams, but I'm not going for the helmet and logo.

I loved the original Feds logo, even if it was dated...not crazy about this one.  Did you try to merge the original birdhead logo with the Stallion's waiving stripes, with a black bird head transitioning to green?

 

While I think the silver helmet looks good on paper, it seemed like the green didn't pop as much on when the Feds made that move...like it was watered down by bleed-through from the silver. 

Uniforms are perfection.