USFL (Alt History)

[BengalErnst]

Now that looks like something that would come out fresh of the 90s. I’m a fan of the look compared to the other iterations 

[WideRight]

Thanks all, the feedback helped.  

So, I am now ready to release the first of the 4 expansion uniform sets.  This is the LA Express.  They wanted to retain many elements from their prior iteration, just with a modified logo and a new color scheme.  So,  it is not a revolutionary design, and, I can assure you, it is one which will not stop with this iteration.  I have plans for the Express over time.  But, this is a starting point for the new Express and their Navy-Speed Blue- Silver look.  

 

[gosioux76]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:51 PM, WideRight said:

OK,  one more very different Stars concept.  This time I keep the lettering from the original but swap out the "laser" stars for a "motion" star.  it retains a lot of the look of the original, but a very new star as well .  

 

 

I really like this take on a Stars wordmark. But I can't help but think that, by this time in its history, the club wouldn't have tried to find a way to rid itself of the full word on the helmet. I think this star is different enough from the Cowboys to stand on its own without being considered derivative. If anything, you could play with scale, making the star much larger on the helmet, or allowing that long tail on the bottom left to extend as if the star is shooting up from the bottom of the helmet. 

 

One other idea for making it non-Cowboys-esque: Consider not putting the logo on the side of the helmet at all. I'd imagine the USFL, perhaps like the XFL would've come to be, as a league willing to break from traditional norms. Maybe instead of a side logo, the stars are used as a striping pattern down the middle of the helmet -- even starting with a big star and tapering them off toward the back. 

 

And probably my worst idea:  emulate the University of Michigan, only with rows of stars cascading (shooting?) in rows from the forehead on back. 

[neo_prankster]

1 hour ago, WideRight said:

Thanks all, the feedback helped.  

So, I am now ready to release the first of the 4 expansion uniform sets.  This is the LA Express.  They wanted to retain many elements from their prior iteration, just with a modified logo and a new color scheme.  So,  it is not a revolutionary design, and, I can assure you, it is one which will not stop with this iteration.  I have plans for the Express over time.  But, this is a starting point for the new Express and their Navy-Speed Blue- Silver look.  

 

 

Awesome look for the Express. However, I would like to see how the swoosh would look on the sleeves above the stripes.

[Bomba Tomba]

2 hours ago, WideRight said:

Thanks all, the feedback helped.  

So, I am now ready to release the first of the 4 expansion uniform sets.  This is the LA Express.  They wanted to retain many elements from their prior iteration, just with a modified logo and a new color scheme.  So,  it is not a revolutionary design, and, I can assure you, it is one which will not stop with this iteration.  I have plans for the Express over time.  But, this is a starting point for the new Express and their Navy-Speed Blue- Silver look.  

 

This would be a good look for Dallas if ever they decide to simplify their bloated color scheme

[WideRight]

And the next 1995 Expansion team is revealed.  The Ohio Glory.  It is not the most exciting uniform, a bit simplified from the actual WLAF version, because I never thought the WLAF striping worked well.   A pretty classic Red, White, and Blue look (for now, things may change later on, in fact they likely will.)   The blue is darker than the actual WLAF version as well, but the identity is largely intact.  here is an image so you can compare:

 

 

Atlanta and Seattle still on deck.  

 

[raz]

The writeup about the socks doesn't match the visual. But this is a nice adaptation. I agree, I never did like the original Glory sleeves. 

[neo_prankster]

I would do a Navy-red-Navy stripe pattern for the Glory's white pants.

[WideRight]

Third expansion club up.  Here is the design for the Seattle Dragons.  Heavily influenced by the WLAF and NFLE Dragons, though with some elements not borrowed from the originals.   I personally love this color combo, using just a hint of black to offset the red, yellow, and green.  It also feels very "Seattle" to me.  Not in the highlighter green version of the Seahawks, but more aligned with the last few years of the Supersonics.    Remember that this is the first design, and just like the Jags and Panthers in the NFL, the 90's and 2000's and 2010's will lead to an evolution (though hopefully not some of the major downgrades we have seen in Jacksonville.)

 

 

 

 

[qckgnc]

Seattle and Ohio are both very solid looking sets that could last through today without major changes. I'm almost certain Seattle will eventually have a black and/or red alternate but a sunset gold alternate would be the winner IMO.  Very interested in seeing what direction you take the Express in later seasons. 

[blacksox42]

I like all of the expansion concepts!  Nice work!   

[WideRight]

1 hour ago, qckgnc said:

Seattle and Ohio are both very solid looking sets that could last through today without major changes. I'm almost certain Seattle will eventually have a black and/or red alternate but a sunset gold alternate would be the winner IMO.  Very interested in seeing what direction you take the Express in later seasons. 

Thanks.  I am trying to avoid some of the horror show designs that came about in some lower tier leagues, so that is somewhat limiting.  No Arenaball zubaz, no logo on the front like in CFL-USA and NFLE, more classic designs, but with increasing variability and eventually a reduction in the use of old school sleeve stripes as the jersey cut evolves.  Expect to start seeing new helmet templates in the future as well, starting with the Revolution.  

 

And as for LA, I will say this, the Monogram Logo will not remain the primary forever.  I have a plan for their new primary.  

[neo_prankster]

46 minutes ago, WideRight said:

And as for LA, I will say this, the Monogram Logo will not remain the primary forever.  I have a plan for their new primary.  

Can we expect maybe a plane logo as a nod to the LAX airport?

[qckgnc]

6 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

Can we expect maybe a plane logo as a nod to the LAX airport?

That or something that evokes the Expressway, I'm not sure which one the team was named after but something like a supercar or diesel truck would be unique for a sports logo.

[raz]

On the Seattle design card, it's "yoke" not "yolk"... autocorrect strikes again! 

 

Otherwise, looks great! 

[neo_prankster]

The dragon logo looks really tiny on the sleeves. Is there a way that the red and gold stripes can be moved to the cuffs or be used as shoulder loops?

[gosioux76]

15 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

The dragon logo looks really tiny on the sleeves. Is there a way that the red and gold stripes can be moved to the cuffs or be used as shoulder loops?

 

I think it's just an issue with the template he's using for the graphics. Unless the idea is that Nike would have introduced a new jersey cut in 1995, the actual jerseys it made in that era still had much longer sleeves than we see today. So there likely would have been plenty of room for both the logo and the stripes, even if the stripes were placed higher on the cuff as they are in the mockup.

 

As an example, here's an image from the Broncos in 1997, the first year of their Nike-designed rebrand. Plenty of room on the sleeves in that era. 

 

[WideRight]

Yes and no.  I think that QB's continued to have longer sleeves when most players had already started cutting them down or using cuffs on the sleeves to shorten them.  If you look at this image from the unveiling you see that the QB cut on the left has longer sleeves, but the two other position players have much shorter sleeves.  As someone who remembers buying 3/4 sleeve replica jerseys and who misses full sleeves and sleeve stripes, I did not want to cut them too short, but even by the mid 90's traditional sleeve stripes were becoming an issue, which is one of the reasons that Nike did what they did with the Broncos, and so many teams followed suit. 

 

[WideRight]

And now the final reveal of the 1995 USFL Expansion clubs.  Here are your Atlanta Fire.  

 

 

I was tempted to add side panels on the jerseys, but opted not to go there (yet?).  The look borrows a lot from the Birmingham Fire of the WLAF, but rather than put flames on the sleeves I opted to use a secondary logo instead.  The helmets are very much the WLAF model, though the colors are slightly different with a more orangey-red instead of a standard red. Using different color sleeves just felt like a typical 90's thing to do and differentiated the team from some of the others.  

 

And besides, it was about time the USFL added a team with an orange jersey.  Seems odd they never had one. 

[LogoFan]

42 minutes ago, WideRight said:

And now the final reveal of the 1995 USFL Expansion clubs.  Here are your Atlanta Fire.  

 

 

I was tempted to add side panels on the jerseys, but opted not to go there (yet?).  The look borrows a lot from the Birmingham Fire of the WLAF, but rather than put flames on the sleeves I opted to use a secondary logo instead.  The helmets are very much the WLAF model, though the colors are slightly different with a more orangey-red instead of a standard red. Using different color sleeves just felt like a typical 90's thing to do and differentiated the team from some of the others.  

 

And besides, it was about time the USFL added a team with an orange jersey.  Seems odd they never had one. 

 

I think I drooled a little.