PLL Throwback - Whipsnakes

[colinturner95]

Our first entry in the PLL Expansion: the former Chesapeake Bayhawks: 

 

 

 

The logo stays mostly intact from the MLL days, this time though with more of a slate blue (hence why I didn't emphasize it with the Archers) and a warm grey, as opposed to the navy and lime green the team wore last. I also added some more legit wings to the logo, somewhat over top of what I interpreted as lacrosse strings. 

 

 

Bayhawks LC - Primary Uniforms - For the Bayhawks return to pro lacrosse, I didn't envision anything super crazy, even though the Bayhawks did have some pretty wild uniforms to end their MLL run. 

• Helmets - The primary helmet for the team is the steel blue with wings on the mohawk stripe and the hawk head peaking out from around the back of the helmet. 
• Jerseys - Like I said, nothing super wild, the wings from the logo move to the sleeves, with the hawk logo on the chest. 
• Shorts - On one short leg, the wings are to be found, with the number above them. 

 

Bayhawks LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies:

• Clash Uniform - Didn't deviate too far from the main uniforms, a grey uniform, with a collegiate style treatment with wordmark/number on the chest. The helmet turns white with the blue wings on the sides. Otherwise not too different. 
• Practice Pinnies - These were the original ideas I had for the clash jersey, but it didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but I felt it would work out well on the practice jerseys. A huge wing on the the front with a Rangers style BAYHAWKS wordmark on the top of the wings. 

C&C welcome!

On 6/29/2022 at 10:12 PM, mamiller99 said:

This has been an awesome project, much like every other one you’ve done on these boards. Love the template too (Raysox is the template GOAT).

 

Quite impressed with both the Waterdogs and Whipsnakes, although an inclusion of the blue from the water pattern with the Waterdogs as a quaternary color would be welcome imo.

 

Looking forward to what looks like the

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Ohio Machine

 

 

Much appreciated! This project wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of our template maestro @raysox.  A little blue might have worked with the Waterdogs but with three shades of purple already, I didn't want to overwhelm the color palette. 

 

[colinturner95]

 

A team that never quite got off the ground, but as their league started to collapse around them, they just never really got it together. From a branding aspect however, one of the best in the MLL. The fireball from the Atlanta Blaze logo now begins behind the B in Blaze, set on a simple circle. 

 

 

Blaze LC - Primary Uniform - A much simpler take on one of their first uniforms.  All MLL uniforms had a lot going on but I felt the Blaze had a lot more going on than the rest. 

• Helmet - Black helmet with flames shooting across the sides. Orange to yellow fade on the mohawks. 
• Jersey - The flames from the helmet move to the sleeves. Nothing crazy on the chests, college style treatment. Color uniform goes orange to yellow. 
• Shorts - Nothing wild. Actually nothing on them at all but color. 

 

Blaze LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies:

• Clash Uniform - The "White-Hot" version of the Blaze uniform. The helmet turns white, same design. The flames on the sleeves slide down just a little. Wordmark goes away, in favor of a large fireball with the number in the tail. 
• Practice Pinnies - similar to the White Hot jersey but different, vertical Blaze wordmark with the fire on the opposite side. 

C&C welcome!

[colinturner95]

 

A team that really never had a chance, since their expansion season was the dreaded 2020... But a hammerhead shark playing lacrosse, I at least thought was awesome enough to give a second chance. 

 

 

Hammerheads LC - Primary Uniforms.  Also if anyone cares still, I finally switched over to Champion as the jersey sponsor, much like the real PLL did starting this season. Back to the Hammerheads, I switched them from what I perceived to be a yellow-primary team to a blue-primary team. 

• Helmet - Color-shifting helmet, that fades from light blue to team blue, much in the way the water gets darker the further you swim down. Hammerhead logo peaking over the sides. 
• Jersey - Nothing super fancy, with a bowed stripe on the sleeves, sort of evoking the curve of a shark fin. Number font matches the wordmark font. 
• Shorts - Fin-stripe on one leg, with the number just above it. 

 

Hammerheads LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - Yellow returns to the forefront, on the jersey and the shorts, which keep the same design as the primary uniforms. Helmet goes to a darker shade of grey, much like that of the skin of a shark. The logo on the chest swims away from the wordmark. 
• Practice Pinnies - Nothing wild, just a straight version of the jersey stripes with the Shark logo on the front. 

C&C welcome!

 

[colinturner95]

A last minute substitution, as it quickly became clear to me that the Hammerheads and the Florida Launch were too close aesthetically to bring into the league together. 

 

 

The Waterdogs have a new rival, as the Hounds depart Charlotte and join the PLL. The logo had no reason to change, substituting Charlotte for Lacrosse Club on the top of the logo. 

 

 

Hounds LC - Primary Uniforms - The Hounds ended their MLL existence wearing some relatively classic looking uniforms, with a triple stripe on the shoulders, in a quasi football looking uniform. I thought that didn't need to change. 

• Helmets - a return to the classic gold helmet for the Hounds with the blue helmet also sticking around. 
• Jerseys - the stripes move down from the shoulders to the sleeves. Navy blue is limited to the logos. The uniforms have a paw print pattern that fades from side to side, almost like your puppy walking through the house with muddy paws. 
• Shorts - Nothing crazy, the stripes around the bottom of the shorts, with the paw prints coming up from the bottom. 

 

Hounds LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - i don't remember why I thought that a repeating stripe would work but I changed the stripes on the sleeves to a asymmetrical pattern going RB-Gold-NB. The full logo goes away for the Hounds wordmark. 
• Practice Pinnies - Charlotte doesn't leave the Hounds completely. The practice jerseys have four patterned "pinstripes" of paw prints (say that 5 times fast) in a repeating color pattern. Not unlike a basketball team in Charlotte's throwback jerseys. 

C&C welcome!

[colinturner95]

The Whipsnakes: 

 

 

 

It wouldn't feel right not having one of the MLL OG's, especially the team that claimed the first championship in MLL history. As for the PLL version of the Lizards, black is retired from the logo in favor of a dark green and the lime green gets ever brighter. 

 

 

Lizards LC - Primary Uniforms - While "Whipsnakes" narrows down the field a little bit, "Lizards" keeps things pretty wide open from an identity perspective. To keep things different from the 'Whips, who utilized a snakeskin pattern, I went with a slightly abstracted chameleon pattern. 

• Helmet - dark green helmet with the L-Lizard on the sides with the chameleon pattern on the mohawks
• Jersey - you're seeing shades of green, with the primary uniforms being the two new shades of green. The chameleon pattern is found on the shoulders. L-Lizard on the chest. 
• Shorts - The tail of the lizard comes up the side with the pattern and that's about all we got going on there. 

 

Lizards LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - Honoring the team's past life in the MLL, black returns to the uniform from helmet to shorts, with dark green leaving the show. The helmet doesn't change all that much. The jersey switches things up, with the Lizards having been named for the Italian Wall Lizard, which was imported from its namesake country to Long Island, where the Lizards got their start in 2001. The lizard has two distinct stripes on its back, so on the front of the jersey, two stripes with the pattern can be found and two neon stripes on the sleeves. 
• Practice Pinnies - Using the roadmap set by the black jersey, both the pinnies have the two stripes in full color but the whole top has the full pattern, just subtly. 

C&C welcome!

[colinturner95]

Nearly a month later and my second PLL trip in the bag, we back: 

 

 

Machine LC - The primary logo is very Ohio heavy, which doesn't help for a team without permanent homes. The secondary logo however, fits very well within the PLL establishment, just adding in the team name and lacrosse club under the sweeping forms of the logo. 

 

 

Machine LC - Primary Uniforms: While they weren't an original, they stuck it out longer than most and worked their ways into the hearts of MLL fans. So to that end, a classic approach with some flair felt like a good way to approach the Machine. 

• Helmet - classic silver helmet, though this go around has a more brushed metal appearance than just a silver metallic helmet. 
• Jerseys - blue and white make up the primary colors for the team, with a simple double stripe with a cross over in the stripes, something angular and machine like IMO. The head of the machine man works its way onto the chest, with a subtle gear pattern on the lower half of the jersey. 
• Shorts - nothing wild, the same stripe on the sleeves is on the sides of the shorts. 

 

Machine LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - Much like the Lizards, the Machine lean back into black for their alternate jersey, which is black from head to toe. The stripes keep the same style, but go for a blue stripe with a rubberized/metallic style stripe for a tonal effect. 
• Practice Pinnies - Things stayed simple, a more classic double stripe with Machine in between them, and gears from top to bottom. 

C&C welcome!

 

 

[colinturner95]

 

Outlaws LC: How the West was won? Time and attrition. The MLL moved out west 3 times. two of those teams made it 2 seasons and folded. But the Outlaws survived, and claimed 3 titles before the PLL came on the scene and became the scene. The logo, no real changes. 

 

 

Outlaws LC - Primary Uniforms - Two things came to the forefront for these: Wild West and Barbed Wire. 

• Helmets - in a departure from the MLL days, an orange helmet becomes the primary look, with the logo on the sides and the barbed wire on the mohawks of the helmet. 
• Jerseys - lots of barbed wire. used heavily on the shoulders and on the bottom of the jerseys. Logo on chest, western style number font. 
• Shorts - barbed wire on the leg of the shorts, number on top of that. 

 

Outlaws LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - the grey returns, in head to toe fashion. The helmet design stays the same, just inverted colors. The jerseys are the same but different. The barbed wire is now on the whole front of the jersey, with the logo on the chest. The shorts keep the same color treatment as the shoulder wire. 
• Practice Pinnies - keeping in the same style as the clash jersey, the barbed wire is prominently featured on the chest, with the new Outlaws script on the chest. 

C&C would be much appreciated with just one more team left in the expansion section with one more section to be featured!

[colinturner95]

The final member of our second act of this series: the Riptide LC

 

 

Riptide LC: While a visual representation of a rip current which is what the team is named for is not impossible, making it into a good and well done logo proves more difficult. So the shark mouth logo sticks around, just with LA going away in favor of LC. 

 

 

Riptide LC - Primary Uniforms: The Riptide only existed for 2 seasons, and their uniforms were MLL standard, templated ... is garbage too strong a word? The teal and orange color scheme, while very Dolphins, serves as a unique look, even in the expanded PLL we have seen play out here. 

• Helmets - stuck with the white buckets, with teal and orange accents and the shark logo on the sides
• Jerseys - the most striking thing about the uniforms is the gradient treatment. It's meant to be a very subtle representation of a rip current, with the darker areas being the current itself. The stripes come from a stylized look of a sharks' fin. 
• Shorts - the stripes from the jerseys make their way to the sides of the shorts. 

 

Riptide LC - Clash Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Clash Uniform - Opting for a different avenue than another orange uniform, I went for a black uniform, not head-to-toe, going for a teal helmet there. The gradient goes away for a much more literal and linear representation of a rip current. 
• Practice Pinnies - The gradient shifts from to a solid top-to-bottom fade, utilizing the linear representation from the black jersey and using the wordmark on the chest. 

Well that wraps up the expansion 8 teams, but we have one more thing to get through for the current 8 PLL teams: 

 

 

Stay tuned for what's next!!

[colinturner95]

 

Seeing the PLL go for a throwback inspired weekend was a welcomed surprise and also was refreshing to see a league listen to its fans. At the same time, it did feel somewhat rushed onto the field, but did seem a success and something that would continue into the future. With that, I'd like to see the league and Champion take things even further for the future. 

• League Branding - The league logo goes in the time machine and emerges with a retro vibe. I drew on the old NFL logo as well as the old NCAA logo to create the vintage feel. 
• Champion - Champion also goes back in time, with the jersey patch bearing the same logo as Champion tags did in the 40's and 50's. The makers mark uses script from a 1953 catalog  in conjunction with the iconic C logo. 

 

 

The biggest failure of this even was the lack of using these logos. I didn't even know they created throwback logos until Lax All Stars ranked them. So that had to change. All the logos you can see here: https://www.lacrosseplayground.com/pll-retro-logo-power-rankings/. I left the majority of them untouched, save for a few: 

• Archers - went for a royal blue instead of their navy, also tweaked the font choice. 
• Atlas - removed some of the drop shadows, and added Lacrosse Club to the branding (like every other team had except them) 
• Cannons - no change
• Chaos - changed the words to red to add some more color to the logo 
• Chrome - changed the script from a blackletter font to a more unique script font
• Redwoods - went with a lighter shade of green and a brighter yellow 
• Waterdogs - went with a completely new dog illustration and added Lacrosse Club
• Whipsnakes - no major changes, LC font changed ever so slightly

C&C welcome! Teams coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

[Mvdbutler]

you are the king of lacrosse concepts man

[colinturner95]

Just as we began this series, we'll begin the ending the same way: with the officials!

 

 

Officials - The referees get to join in on the fun of the throwback festivities with uniforms that most of us that played any sport would probably recognize. Back to the familiar white and black stripes on the shirts. Black hats for the officials, and a white hat for the head official, who's tops also have yellow bands on the ends of the sleeves, much like a head hockey official. 

 

 

Fan Gear - for the fans that don't want a team branded option, a small sampling of league-generic apparel, ranging from short sleeve options, to a long sleeve top, not necessarily the first thing you'd reach for in the heat of the summer, but I don't speak for everyone there. A polo shirt, one thing that I think the PLL should add to it's selection for those of us that work on game days and can't wear their jerseys to work. And finally, a couple hat options: 3 color trucker hat or a classic baseball hat, both with the vintage badge on the chest. 

 

And now to the first team, the Archers: 

 

 

Archers LC - Uniform & Practice Pinnies: 

• Uniform - The Archers have really embraced the orange and so I kept that going. I also treated them much like the Oilers and Islanders of the 90's just in the opposite direction, going from navy to royal blue. Went with a white helmet this go around, with the throwback logo wordmark +arrow on the sides of the helmet. For the jersey, the stripes change to a double stripe around the neck and sleeves. The shorts carry on the double stripe as well. 
• Practice Pinnies - Unlike the regular pinnies, nothing too wild going on with these, just the logo on the chest of a white and blue pinnie. 

 

Archers LC - Fan Gear: Same offerings for the teams as the PLL-generic stuff, just with a couple changes. Every team will get a shirsey in the same color as the jersey, a short sleeve tee with the throwback logo front and center. A long sleeve option with a college style wordmark. The coaches polo calls back to the time when Barry Switzer was roaming the sidelines in Norman on Saturdays. Hats work the same as the PLL ones, just in team colors and logos.

 

C&C welcome!

20 hours ago, Mvdbutler said:

you are the king of lacrosse concepts man

 

Many thanks! 

[colinturner95]

 

Atlas LC - Atlas took some heat on their throwback uniforms for the lack of solid contrast when it came to the stripes and the numbers, something that had to be fixed. The team's purple shade comes into play here to add the contrast the IRL uniform desperately needed. The bulk of the uniform stays the same, save for the shorts which (headscratchingly) were navy previously and now become white. The stripes now feature the previously mentioned purple, as do the numbers. 

 

 

Since the apparel is on the same template for all teams, there's not really a point in explaining it 8 total times. Instead, I figured I would just tell you my personal favorite of the bunch for each team and see what you think. In the case for the Atlas, the coaches polo is my favorite of this bunch, with the stripes across the front and the team logo, especially against that white background. 

 

And if we're gonna do this for all 8 teams, for the Archers then, the blue shirt just is vibrant and something I would rock, even though I don't have much love for the Archers. 

 

C&C welcome!

 

[colinturner95]

 

Cannons LC - Uniforms: The Cannons are the only team in the PLL with any real claim to a history, but it's not like the MLL has uniforms to throwback to that fit this mold. Navy-white-navy, with the retro cannon on the side of the helmet. The real change from the real life uniforms is using a northwestern strip on the sleeves instead of the Florida style stripe. The shorts now have the northwestern stripe in something of a classic basketball style design. The practice pinnies use the NW stripes up the sides, with the shield logo on the fronts. 

 

 

Cannons LC - Fan Gear: I gotta say, that trucker hat is calling me, though the long sleeve shirt is speaking to me as well. 

 

Let me know what y'all think!

[PERRIN]

I thought the base concepts were great, these fauxbacks are absolutely stellar! I love the Cannons, perfectly fits the revolutionary war style look you're going for and definitely fits the city of Boston - even the location format has been abandoned. Great job across the board, looking forward to the final few teams of this series!

[colinturner95]

 

Chaos LC - Uniforms: How would one illustrate the concept of Chaos while keeping things thrown back? Stripes!! Lots of them. Going for something short of a barberpole uniforms, the Chaos trade in the black uniform for a red one (something I feel the team could use, plus I just picked this jersey up, and Chaos in red looks GOOOOOOD). This also gives us a chance to look at the throwback championship tag. Red helmet with the throwback roundel on the side. Shorts don't get wild, we left that to the jersey. Practice tops go horizontal with the stripes. 

 

 

Chaos LC - Apparel - I want it all. But if I have to play by the rules, that polo shirt is coming home with me

 

C&C welcome!

[raysox]

On 9/1/2022 at 3:05 PM, colinturner95 said:

 

Love this, gives me heavy Cuse vibes

[CLEFAN94]

These throwbacks are fantastic!! 

[colinturner95]

 

Chrome LC - Uniforms: Chrome has a lot of colors going on most of the time, and that's okay. While my previous concept really expressed the pink and blue, the throwback concepts are much more mundane in that sense. Chrome buckets, because it's in the name, it just made sense to keep it, this time with the throwback shield. The biggest change is that the uniform is now grey opposed to white, not much of a change there. New wordmark above the numbers. Shorts now have the stripes from the uniforms. 

 

 

Chrome LC - Fan Gear - Designers Choice? : The uniforms might not have taken the pink and blue to heart, but that trucker hat certainly did!

 

On 9/20/2022 at 6:41 PM, CLEFAN94 said:

These throwbacks are fantastic!! 

 

Thank you!

 

On 9/19/2022 at 9:16 PM, raysox said:

Love this, gives me heavy Cuse vibes

 

Might just be what the Archers need to get over the playoff hump. Though Chaos might have something to say about that 

[colinturner95]

 

Redwoods LC - Uniforms - The Redwoods had honestly one of the best jerseys to come out of the Throwback Weekend. The biggest issue with the real life uniforms? The inexplicable grey shorts. Granted, it didn't completely ruin the overall, well done uniform. The helmet trades out bear logos, opting for the throwback oval bear, with triple stripes on the mohawks of the helmet. Now, based just on colors and stripes, the Packers comparisons are going to come. The stripe pattern changes a slight bit, arced wordmark across the chest above the numbers. Shorts change to white, with a basketball style stripe pattern. Practice tops have the jersey stripes down the front with the bear logo on the front. 

 

 

Redwoods LC - Fan Gear - I'm a huge fan of this color scheme, and so is my dad, since it happens to be his high school's colors as well. Maybe that's why he's become such a huge Woods fan. As my guest picker, he chose between the player shirt or the long sleeve tee. Not bad choices and I can't argue with that. 

 

C&C welcome!

[colinturner95]

 

Waterdogs LC - Uniforms - Currently my least favorite team in the league, based solely on the fact they beat the Chaos for the championship. From a uniform standpoint however, I think that they had one of the better throwback uniforms. I personally wanted to see more purple on the uniforms, since purple seems to be a lost color in major sports these days. Rather than the purple-black-black set up, this uniform goes purple-purple-white, but unlike my previous Waterdogs concepts, black stays around on the scheme this go around. W-logo on the sides of the helmets. Double stripe sticks around, this time black and white on the purple base. Shorts get the double stripe around the bottom. 

 

 

Waterdogs LC - Fan Gear - My personal belief is that the Waterdogs don't need black in their color scheme, with the two shades of purple they currently have. However for the throwbacks, the black shirts, both long and short sleeves look the best in my opinion. 

 

C&C welcome!