USFL (Alt History)

[WideRight]

Wow!  I have to say I am surprised.  I fully expected folks to balk at changing the Breakers' colors.  I was all set to use this as my version of the 49ers 1-day helmet and write about it as a major fumble for a New Orleans front office that is already losing favor among fans.   Guess I will have to rethink that since folks seem to think it is a good look.  I might opt not to do contrasting sleeves, but here is the early mockup I did of the full look. 

 

[leopard88]

I'll be the dissenter on the Breakers.  The teal would look great if you were starting from scratch.  However, I am of the opinion that the Breakers look is/was almost iconic.  Therefore, I think it would be a mistake to change the color scheme (though apparently not a New Coke/49ers One Day Helmet type since I'm apparently in the minority).

 

All that said, I may also be biased on this.  I was a junior in high school in 1983, so I have actual memories of seeing the USFL on the field.  The Breakers became one of my favorite teams primarily as a result of their uniforms (and secondarily because they were like the feisty underdogs in an undersized college stadium with a former bartender for a kicker*)

 

* -- A former bartender with NFL experience, but why ruin the narrative?

[raz]

I guessed it! Didn't know you wanted us to hate it, though - I like it too.

 

Next time, make a new abomination of a logo and we'll comply! 

[heavybass]

"makes a note to use the pitchfork and torch"

[Bomba Tomba]

I'm in the "like" crowd, sorry. Even if you take it out of the "90s must be teal" idea it's a good concept and the colors do fit the brand.

[raz]

@WideRight, you're too good at this to make a rotten uni! 

[ManillaToad]

Gonna vote for dislike on the Breakers redesign. The color swap is a lateral change, but the numbers, team name on the front, and nike swoosh are all downgrades imo

[WideRight]

15 hours ago, ManillaToad said:

Gonna vote for dislike on the Breakers redesign. The color swap is a lateral change, but the numbers, team name on the front, and nike swoosh are all downgrades imo

I see where you are coming from, but if the mid-90's are irritating because of those changes, the 2000's and beyond may not be much relief for you.  With Phil Knight being a team owner, I am not sure how and when Nike would ever not be the league's uni producer. 

[gosioux76]

I really love the uniforms for the Breakers, especially the waves on the pants. That's a super inventive touch. I question a bit whether the wordmark and secondary logo below the jersey neckline was a thing in '94, but that's not a detail that bothers me much.

 

On the color, it's gorgeous, but I tend to agree with the sentiment that it was an unnecessary change. It's a perfect choice for a new franchise, but only a sideways evolution for a team that was already blue. 

 

Also, I only just began paying attention to this thread today, and I'm loving it. Really incredible work. One earlier detail that others mentioned and I can't get out of my head, is on the Panthers helmet. I couldn't agree more with the people who suggested the Panthers helmet logo needs to be primarily burgundy. It loses some of its weight without it. 

[BengalErnst]

Agreed. You have to see this as a period piece. He’s creating jerseys/teams/logos based on a period of time that isn’t now. 
 

Great work per usual.

[WideRight]

18 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

I really love the uniforms for the Breakers, especially the waves on the pants. That's a super inventive touch. I question a bit whether the wordmark and secondary logo below the jersey neckline was a thing in '94, but that's not a detail that bothers me much.

 

I looked into this before I switched the league over to Nike, both the small wordmark on the chest and the use of small logos on the collar had begun to be seen in the 1990's, so it is era-appropriate.    The NFL logo on the collars began in 1990 and the first wordmark I could find on an NFL jersey was in 1997 with the Broncos redesign, so I am about 4 years early with that, but since the USFL was an innovator, and Nike was responsible for the new Broncos look, I think it makes sense that we would start seeing names on USFL remakes as early as 1994.  

[neo_prankster]

1 hour ago, WideRight said:

 

I looked into this before I switched the league over to Nike, both the small wordmark on the chest and the use of small logos on the collar had begun to be seen in the 1990's, so it is era-appropriate.    The NFL logo on the collars began in 1990 and the first wordmark I could find on an NFL jersey was in 1997 with the Broncos redesign, so I am about 4 years early with that, but since the USFL was an innovator, and Nike was responsible for the new Broncos look, I think it makes sense that we would start seeing names on USFL remakes as early as 1994.  

 

I saw on your webpage that the Carolina Panthers are gonna be the 29th team in the NFL. Have you decided who will be the 30th?

 

I'm anxious to see what you come up with for the Atlanta Fire and reborn LA Express.

[neo_prankster]

And before I forget, when manufacturer logos started popping up on NFL jerseys in the 1990's, the manufacturer logo was repeated on both jersey sleeves/cap sleeves and once more on the pants.

[WideRight]

10 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

 

I saw on your webpage that the Carolina Panthers are gonna be the 29th team in the NFL. Have you decided who will be the 30th?

 

I'm anxious to see what you come up with for the Atlanta Fire and reborn LA Express.

I have not announced it, but the second NFL expansion team in 1995 is the Tennessee Titans, in place of Jacksonville.    Announcements on the 23rd and 24th USFL expansion cities are coming soon.

[neo_prankster]

Just now, WideRight said:

I have not announced it, but the second NFL expansion team in 1995 is the Tennessee Titans, in place of Jacksonville.    Announcements on the 23rd and 24th USFL expansion cities are coming soon.

 

And I guess that frees up the Jaguars' branding to be used in the USFL, right?

 

Because the Titans don't descend from the Oilers, I think that would open things up to using the Nashville city flag colors for their look.

[WideRight]

And, because I am only days away from revealing it on the Alt History website, here are the new Nike designed uniforms for the 1994 Philadelphia Stars.  Not a huge sweeping change, but some elements that are new. 

 

[WideRight]

And since you asked, the 1995 NFL expansion teams will be the Carolina Panthers (who look just like in reality) and the Tennessee Titans.   The Titans, free from the heritage of the Oilers, go with Navy, red, and silver as their colors.   If you look closely at the jerseys, you may recognize them from one of the failed 1995 NFL expansion bids.    The helmet turns the logo to imitate the NFLE Scottish Claymores. And, yes, I realize that eliminates the T, but it kind of looks OK to me. 

 

 

 

And, added bonus, because of the look of these Titans, the Patriots never abandon Patriot Pat and their red-dominant look. 

 

[Bomba Tomba]

Not a bad design, but color-wise, you could've done something more unique than another RWB team (even with the Pats not changing)

[BengalErnst]

Sleeve from the Baltimore bombers ? 

[gosioux76]

15 hours ago, WideRight said:

And, because I am only days away from revealing it on the Alt History website, here are the new Nike designed uniforms for the 1994 Philadelphia Stars.  Not a huge sweeping change, but some elements that are new. 

 

I really like the updated Stars word mark, but I’ve always hated that helmet treatment. The word “stars” on it has always seemed unnecessary. That it’s sideways is even worse.
 

You’ve already straightened the alignment of the star in the word mark. I’d do the same in the helmet logo and drop the word “stars.” I’d also make the three stars bigger to cover more area and give the impression they’re fading toward the back of the helmet.