USFL 2023 - Uniforms and Logos

[MJWalker45]

On 11/23/2021 at 9:43 AM, LogoFan said:

 

Funny how tastes vary.  IMHO, I absolute hate, loathe and despise the Maulers logo.  It and it's secondary look like clip-art.  I guess I'm one of the few that actually like the original Maulers logo, which, dated as it was, kind of fit back in the day.

On the other hand, I think one of the better logos is the Stars.  I didn't hate the old logo but felt it was too dated, too busy and it just didn't stand out well on the helmet.  The new design simplifies it and makes it a little clearer...plus I kind of like the yellow-orange-red transition.  The bell logo design is okay, but making the main logo coloring "fade" looks really, really forced to me.

One thing I noticed this morning is, on top of how lazy the Gambler's secondary "H" is, the "H" font is similar but clearly doesn't match the primary "G".

All-in-all, the modernized logos underwhelm.  It's like they all have potential and were at some state from the initial concept to final execution when their refinement stopped.
 

Besides, a better Maulers logo is being used in the CFA.

[LogoFan]

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

Besides, a better Maulers logo is being used in the CFA.

 

Now that looks like a logo and not clip-art.

 

[BBTV]

There shouldn't be race-specific logos unless there's no way to avoid it (and I'm not sure how many of those cases actually exist.)  I'm not sure the exact ratio, but it's very likely that >50% of the team will be black, and they're wearing a white guy with a jacked-up chin on their lid.

[ManillaToad]

3 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Besides, a better Maulers logo is being used in the CFA.

 

Too minor league

[MJWalker45]

5 hours ago, LogoFan said:

 

Now that looks like a logo and not clip-art.

 

That's because @GFB did it. 

[⋔ 4 ℞ ℞ $]

12 hours ago, LogoFan said:

Has anyone else noticed the inconsistency with the Mauler's logos?  The primary led me to believe they dropped silver from the color scheme because it's purple, orange and white.  But the secondary is purple, orange and silver with no white.

 

What gives? And was this an uncaught error?

I noticed this right away, too! Plus, I dislike the inconsistency with the coloring of the hammer heads. On the primary, it is just purple & orange (the little splotch of orange could easily be filled with silver instead) on an orange backdrop, whereas the secondary is done properly with the heads being silver on an orange background.

[WideRight]

A few thoughts on the early complaints about the New USFL looks.  Some I agree with, some I don't.

 

1. Logos are too 80's:   I don't understand the disconnect here.  The only reason to "bring back" the USFL instead of just creating a new league is to cash in on nostalgia for the older league, to get all the Gen-Xers like me who loved the USFL to be on board by reminding us of the 1980's.  it would make no sense to call the league the USFL and bring back original team names if you did not at least tip the cap to the look of the 1980's league.  Otherwise just scrap the USFL all together and call it the Fox Football League. 

 

2. Too much red:  This is understandable, but largely a byproduct of the old USFL and the decision to avoid the western teams (for cost reasons one assumes).  The most iconic teams in the league back in the 80's were teams that wore red.  The Generals (Flutie, Walker), the Stars (2 time champs), the Bandits (Burt Reynolds), and to a lesser degree the Staliions and the Gamblers.  I don't consider Michigan's plum to be red so much as purple.  Had the league added some west coast teams, like Oakland, LA, or Denver, it would have dispersed the colors a bit better, but they wanted to stick to the East, so that only left them so many choices.  You are not going to skip Philly (Red) to put in Washington (Green) or avoid Tampa (Red) to include Orlando (Blue) because you want the teams with the most immediate recognition factors.  

 

3. Maulers logo:  While I think the new version is a reasonable upgrade from the old "stick figure" Mauler, I am not sure why they seem to have eliminated grey/metal from the design.  Having a white circle and using orange on the hammer's head seem odd choices to me.  The figure is a bit awkward, but so was the original.  Honestly, I am not sure why they picked Pittsburgh over either Washington or Chicago, but they did.   I think this logo can be fine and the older one would have been far too retro even for the USFL.

 

4. Stallions logo:  I think we will eventually see a full-figure stallion on the helmet, so I am withholding judgement until then, though I do wonder if a predominantly white horse with only a red outline will work on a gold helmet.  

 

5. Stars Logo:  I have to say the use of orange is growing on me.  I still think the design of the logo itself is not great, and actually prefer the more linear/broken up version from the 1980's, but it is correct that the original logo was very hard to see on the gold helmets.  

 

6. Panthers Logo:  I agree with those who say it is too linear/blocky and does not capture the dynamism or "flow" of the original.  I think a more animalistic and less structured version would be an improvement. 

 

7.  Uniforms:  We have not seen them yet, obviously, but just the difference in jersey cuts between 1985 and 2021 is going to have to force some changes.  The original USFL was very dependent on sleeve striping, complex series of stripes (Birmingham, Philly, Michigan) or wide stripes (New Orleans) that likely will not work well today, so they are going to have to be inventive to retain some feel from the originals while adjusting to the lack of sleeves in current uniform designs. 

 

I would hope that if the USFL is actually successful with their "All Birmingham" format, which seems like a tough sell to me (How desperate for pro football is Alabama that they would fill stadiums for 4 games a week?) I would hope to see the league add some western teams as a 3rd division to come back to 12 franchises.    I would love to see the Express, Invaders, Wranglers and Gold added.  

[MJWalker45]

On 11/22/2021 at 10:16 PM, Cujo said:

 

However, the AAF was dead on arrival. Never scored a big tv contract. Smaller markets (compared to XFL). Zero buzz after Week 1. Never stood a chance.

When your biggest innovation is player GPS for an app, you're not going to last.

[MCM0313]

On 11/22/2021 at 4:59 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

They absolutely nailed the logos.  There's not one of them that is less than excellent.

I’m pleasantly surprised that they just modernized the logos, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. The old logos were fun in an ‘80s way. 

[LogoFan]

On 11/25/2021 at 1:34 AM, ⋔ 4 ℞ ℞ $ said:

I noticed this right away, too! Plus, I dislike the inconsistency with the coloring of the hammer heads. On the primary, it is just purple & orange (the little splotch of orange could easily be filled with silver instead) on an orange backdrop, whereas the secondary is done properly with the heads being silver on an orange background.

 

I was playing with the color combos and I think this fixes the issue, IMHO.  It provides consistency with the secondary logo as well as the original.  The white inside the logo is just too stark and doesn't match anything else.  The color change ties everything together better.

[LogoFan]

Delete

[Telemundo219]

11 hours ago, LogoFan said:

 

I was playing with the color combos and I think this fixes the issue, IMHO.  It provides consistency with the secondary logo as well as the original.  The white inside the logo is just too stark and doesn't match anything else.  The color change ties everything together better.

 

They should've taken the old logo and given it the same shadow effects of the new ones. The old figure looks a lot sturdier and stronger

[BengalErnst]

11 hours ago, LogoFan said:

 

I was playing with the color combos and I think this fixes the issue, IMHO.  It provides consistency with the secondary logo as well as the original.  The white inside the logo is just too stark and doesn't match anything else.  The color change ties everything together better.

Small changes and makes a world of difference. Much better. I personally think they could’ve just used the Lineman logo from the spring league for them.

[⋔ 4 ℞ ℞ $]

13 hours ago, LogoFan said:

 

I was playing with the color combos and I think this fixes the issue, IMHO.  It provides consistency with the secondary logo as well as the original.  The white inside the logo is just too stark and doesn't match anything else.  The color change ties everything together better.

You should seriously send this in to the team / league somehow, including all four logo images diagrammed precisely how you have done so here shown on display! Hopefully, this would really HAMMER home both points of better looking consistency plus a clearly more proper depiction of the modern nod to tradition, at that!

[IceCap]

I'm really digging the Bandits stuff. Consider me a fan.

[WideRight]

On 11/27/2021 at 7:31 PM, LogoFan said:

 

I was playing with the color combos and I think this fixes the issue, IMHO.  It provides consistency with the secondary logo as well as the original.  The white inside the logo is just too stark and doesn't match anything else.  The color change ties everything together better.

I like this update.  Approved!!!

[EJ_Barlik]

OK - for Chris's (and everyone else's) benefit.  Found some .PNG versions for this here website (in the spirit of full disclosure, found them at Fox Sports):

[PlayGloria]

That Stallion logo immediately reminded me of St. Louis's attempt at an expansion NFL team before the Rams relocated there. I always thought the current broncos logo was a slight rip off of it as well. That being said, the STL Stallions logo could have been a rip off of something else as well. There's only so many things you can do with a horse image I guess. 

 

[tigers]

Logos are pretty good but it's a pity the USFL will not be represented on the West Coast.

 

[IceCap]

10 hours ago, tigers said:

Logos are pretty good but it's a pity the USFL will not be represented on the West Coast.

 

I'd rather they start small and try to grow first.