USFL 2023 - Uniforms and Logos

[Sodboy13]

13 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

All the more reason why the Gunslingers aren’t a part of this reboot. Given that the OG Gunslingers would’ve folded after the USFL’s final season, that makes sense.  

My favorite Gunslingers stories are, in no particular order: 1) Using house paint instead of special turf paint on the Alamo Stadium field to save money, which led to players getting skin infections; 2) team employees making up for missed paychecks by stealing and selling the folding chairs used to increase seating; and 3) this incompetent criminal skinflint of an owner turning out to be the pivotal person in getting the league aligned with Donald Trump's grand vision of fall football.

 

[Skycast]

12 minutes ago, Sodboy13 said:

My favorite Gunslingers stories are, in no particular order: 1) Using house paint instead of special turf paint on the Alamo Stadium field to save money, which led to players getting skin infections; 2) team employees making up for missed paychecks by stealing and selling the folding chairs used to increase seating; and 3) this incompetent criminal skinflint of an owner turning out to be the pivotal person in getting the league aligned with Donald Trump's grand vision of fall football.

 

 

I’ve read, forget the book name…$1 League or something…anyway, players would essentially Cannonball Run style it to a bank an hour or so from San Antonio because that’s where they paychecks could be cashed. They all raced there because they knew from previous experience that only a certain number of checks would clear before the money was gone.

[Sodboy13]

The $1 League is the name of the book, written by USFL exec Jim Byrne as the ashes were still cooling in 1986. It is the most thorough and unsparing look at all the years of poor decisions and self-delusion that led up to the famous verdict.

 

[GDAWG]

So what was the reason the Original Maulers weren't black and yellow like the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers?

 

 

[Sodboy13]

22 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

So what was the reason the Original Maulers weren't black and yellow like the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers?

 

 

 

I think the last one you listed there answers your question.

 

[SFGiants58]

39 minutes ago, Sodboy13 said:

The $1 League is the name of the book, written by USFL exec Jim Byrne as the ashes were still cooling in 1986. It is the most thorough and unsparing look at all the years of poor decisions and self-delusion that led up to the famous verdict.

 

 

How would The $1 League compare to Football for a Buck, in terms of bibliographic value to USFL research?

[SSmith48]

8 hours ago, JQK said:

Begs the question: How did the WFT cøck up their unis so badly?

On one hand, the Commanders are part of a multi-million/billion-dollar league that thrives off of merchandising and is contracted with a company that looks for any excuse to throw something new out on the market. On the other is a new league that needs uniforms for teams to play with, and only needs a few signature details to help make each team distinct. The Commanders certainly could learn a lesson or two from the USFL.

 

Along that topic, here's my (preliminary) ranking:

1: Generals

2: Stars

3: Bandits

4: Breakers

5: Stallions

6: Panthers

7: Gamblers

8: Maulers

 

I appreciate the creativity and distinctness they tried to give each of the teams. The league as a whole has some fantastic, not overdesigned, helmets. There's just a lot of red and black, and there's only so much they can do with that.  The Blitz, Bulls, Gold, Invaders, Express, Federals, and Gunslingers brands could have helped with that, hopefully we see some of them pop up down the road. One thing I am interested in is how it will interact and compete with the XFL (when it relaunches next year). I'm fairly convinced there's only one spot open for a mainstream alternative football league. Not sure if the single hub city concept will pull them through. Of course, I could be surprised, so I'll sit back and see what happens.

[MJWalker45]

8 hours ago, Sodboy13 said:

 

I think the last one you listed there answers your question.

 

 

9 hours ago, GDAWG said:

So what was the reason the Original Maulers weren't black and yellow like the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers?

 

 

You also had the Denver Gold, who were wearing Steelers colors.

 

[daniel75]

Bandits are the clear winners. They’re consistent, balanced , great color scheme and logos.

[MJWalker45]

23 minutes ago, daniel75 said:

Bandits are the clear winners. They’re consistent, balanced , great color scheme and logos.

I'd say the Panthers, then the Generals, and then the Bandits. If the Bandits didn't have the side panels I'd put them above the Generals. 

7 hours ago, SSmith48 said:

One thing I am interested in is how it will interact and compete with the XFL (when it relaunches next year). 

I think if the league decides to stay in a central location next year, you will see if those fans come back to the league like they do this year. The XFL will start the week after the Super Bowl again, so they will have a headstart on eyes and that may affect the USFL negatively. The XFL not having a team in Birmingham will help both leagues in terms of the fans that show up to the stadium, but I think you'll also see these leagues have a sort of compromise regarding time frames for games, when they can make arrangements for that. The quality of players will be the biggest issue for both leagues, since I don't think we'll see teams go into bidding wars like the AFL/NFL conflicts of the 1960's. 

[DCarp1231]

11 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

I'd say the Panthers, then the Generals, and then the Bandits. If the Bandits didn't have the side panels I'd put them above the Generals. 

I think if the league decides to stay in a central location next year, you will see if those fans come back to the league like they do this year. The XFL will start the week after the Super Bowl again, so they will have a headstart on eyes and that may affect the USFL negatively. The XFL not having a team in Birmingham will help both leagues in terms of the fans that show up to the stadium, but I think you'll also see these leagues have a sort of compromise regarding time frames for games, when they can make arrangements for that. The quality of players will be the biggest issue for both leagues, since I don't think we'll see teams go into bidding wars like the AFL/NFL conflicts of the 1960's. 

“USXFL Spring 2025”

[Sodboy13]

9 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

 

How would The $1 League compare to Football for a Buck, in terms of bibliographic value to USFL research?

Football for a Buck has a lot more stories from the field and the players. The $1 League is almost 100% focused on ownership and the league office, and fills in a lot of the picture that I haven't read  or heard in other places. It makes you understand how the league really was going on a wing and a prayer for its entire existence, even pre-Trump, and while he was definitely the main accelerant on the dumpster fire, he was far from the only big problem in the room. You will come away knowing what a lying sleaze Eddie Einhorn was, for one.

[Brian in Boston]

17 hours ago, JQK said:

Except they're the Generals, not the Admirals...

 

However, what about the name "Generals" lends itself to using the color red as the primary hue in an American sports team's palette?

 

If the team name is meant to evoke thoughts of American military generals, the better choice would have been a darker shade of blue or green. The preponderance of full dress uniforms for general officers in the branches of the United States military are blue, with shades of green dominating the service dress uniforms of general officers in the Army and Marine Corps.

 

Frankly, red struck me as an odd choice as the primary color for a team dubbed the Generals in the USFL's first incarnation and remains so today.  The only thing about the USFL Generals identity - in either version of the league - that communicates the idea of a high-ranking U.S. military officer is the logo.

 

Then again, I haven't seen any blue-and-silver lions or bumped into any purple-and-orange steelworkers in my life, either. 

[Sport]

The Panthers and Breakers are my clear winners and I applaud them for just bringing back what worked from the original iterations with slight updates. I'm going to tune in just to watch those two uniforms run around. The Bandits logos are my favorite in the bunch and the helmets are fine, but I hate the side panels. I'm glad they didn't bring back the Ohio State ripoffs. 

 

 

The Stars and Maulers are the clear losers here. The Generals and Gamblers are good updates of perfectly cromulent logos. The Stallions are just too Denver Broncos for me. 

 

It's funny that in the time between USFL in the 80's and now we've gone through the entire life cycle of football uniform design to the point that teams can bring back their original uniforms as is and they look good. If the same group of teams had launched 10 years ago they would've made the 2014 Jaguars and Bucs look dignified. 

 

23 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

 

However, what about the name "Generals" lends itself to using the color red as the primary hue in an American sports team's palette? Frankly, it was an odd choice in the original USFL and remains so in this incarnation. If the team name is meant to evoke thoughts of American military generals, the better choice would have been a darker shade of blue or green. The preponderance of full dress uniforms for general officers in the branches of the United States military are blue, with shades of green dominating the service dress uniforms of general officers in the Army and Marine Corps.

 

I've always thought there was a weirdly high number of teams in the USFL who wore red. The Showboats, Bandits, Stars, Stallions, Generals, and Blitz all wore red jerseys. The Blitz, Showboats, and Bandits all wore red jerseys with silver pants and helmets. The Gamblers and Outlaws were both predominantly black uniforms, but they used enough red to be mentioned. Was the color red (especially paired with a metallic) just all the rage in football back then? 

[Jimmy!]

Just like 40 years ago, half the league is red.

 

Any explanation given why the Panthers have two different shades of pants?

[LogoFan]

18 hours ago, IceCap said:

Every single one of these uniforms is better than what the Washington Commanders projectile vomited at us. 

 

What did you expect from a Dan Snyder operation? 

NIKE

"They'll love it!  Trust us...we're the experts!"  More like captains of the Titanic when they get into full "innovation mode".

 

[IceCap]

5 minutes ago, LogoFan said:

NIKE

"They'll love it!  Trust us...we're the experts!"  More like captains of the Titanic when they get into full "innovation mode".

 

I'd say every AAF uniform was was better than what the Washington Commanders unveiled. The XFL 2.0 had some stinkers, but aside from monochrome red? Their DC Defenders uniform lapped the Commanders' look. We've already discussed how the USFL 2.0 has outdone them aesthetically. 

And then there's the Edmonton Elks in the CFL. A team that had the exact same problem the Washington Commanders had and fixed it 100x better in half the time and probably with 1/8 the budget. 

 

Maybe sometimes being restrained by smaller budgets and less resources is a good thing? Get too much money, time, and people who think they're smart in a room and you get...well...you get the Washington Commanders' identity. 

 

 

[Sodboy13]

52 minutes ago, Sport said:

I've always thought there was a weirdly high number of teams in the USFL who wore red. The Showboats, Bandits, Stars, Stallions, Generals, and Blitz all wore red jerseys. The Blitz, Showboats, and Bandits all wore red jerseys with silver pants and helmets. The Gamblers and Outlaws were both predominantly black uniforms, but they used enough red to be mentioned. Was the color red (especially paired with a metallic) just all the rage in football back then? 

For 1984, the Arizona Wranglers also had a red jersey paired with metallic (copper) helmets and pants, but they ended up wearing white at home and on the road for the entire season. So that's 7 out of 18 wearing the same primary color.

 

[leopard88]

I don't get the concern over multiple teams using the same color.  There are only so many colors to choose from.

 

By my hasty count, the NFL has 16 teams with a shade of blue in their color scheme if we count aqua and teal as shades of blue.  There are also 13 teams with at least a black jersey, including alternates (assuming the Niners still use their black Color Rush jersey).  However, I don't recall any discussions about there being too many blue or black teams in the NFL.*

 

I know there is a greater chance for diversity among 8 teams than among 32.  That said, I don't see it being that big a deal.

 

* -- This is separate from the BFBS discussion, which has substantial merit.

[Sport]

20 minutes ago, leopard88 said:

I don't get the concern over multiple teams using the same color.  There are only so many colors to choose from.

 

By my hasty count, the NFL has 16 teams with a shade of blue in their color scheme if we count aqua and teal as shades of blue.  There are also 13 teams with at least a black jersey, including alternates (assuming the Niners still use their black Color Rush jersey).  However, I don't recall any discussions about there being too many blue or black teams in the NFL.*

 

I know there is a greater chance for diversity among 8 teams than among 32.  That said, I don't see it being that big a deal.

 

* -- This is separate from the BFBS discussion, which has substantial merit.

 

Just seems like something you'd try to avoid if you're starting a brand new league so your new team brands can stand out from one another. I know sports branding is a different animal now than it was then, but with standard definition television why would you want to invite any chance for confusion? There's only so many colors to choose from, but there's also way more possibilities than the original USFL used. Did the league need 3 different teams in red jerseys with silver pants and helmets? One of the Memphis Showboats, Chicago Blitz, or Tampa Bay Bandits could've and should've done something different. (My vote is the Bandits because they were nearly identical to Ohio State's uniforms except for 3 or 4 little differences.)