HatCityEnforcer Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 A while back, I asked folks for some input for a nickname for a fantasy football team based out of Lehigh Valley, PA (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton)...After thinking it over, I went with the name "Ironmen", mostly b/c it's a way to give a nod to the industrial heritage of the area and also honors one of the Valley's most renouned natives, Chuck Bednarik, who was the last man in the NFL to play both ways on a regular basis.Well, after all of that, I FINALLY have something tangible to go with here...Without further ado, here are the Lehigh Valley Ironmen....**EDIT** (12:19 AM EST 3/22/06) -- Improved concept added after assessing C&C earlier...CHANGES MADE:--New wordmarks with new font (Varsity Serif)--Reworking of primary & secondary logo--Inaugural Season patch tweaked to fall in line with changes--More usage of silver in concept--Totally overhauled primary uniforms with new font used--New Throwback alternate uniforms based off of model for primary (it's a take on the U of Penn Quakers uniforms from the 40s, seeing the primary logo silhouette is Chuck Bednarik, just redone in Ironmen colors)Anyways...just looking for a little feedback on this...C&C appreciated, but please try to add a little something when you critique...Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitaminD Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 LIKE:- team name: although I tend to think steel in that part of PA (but that name's taken!), it would work fine all the same.- colors: a little more silver - even going to something resembling Tampa Bay's pewter - would reinforce the idea of metalworking.- logo: Concrete Charlie would be proud.- inaugural patch: very nicely done.DON'T LIKE:- jersey design: for a team being represented by the ultimate throwback (the last full-time 2-way player in the NFL), with a name like "Ironmen", these uniforms are too modern and gaudy. It just doesn't fit, and I can't picture ironmen wearing uniforms like these.- number font: the font works great for the wordmark, but I don't know if such a modern font befits a team with a throwback motif.- helmets: they look like knockoffs of Indiana University's failed attempt to go with black helmets (Antwaan Randle El era). There's a better way to decorate the helmet than a monogram inside an oval. IMO silver/pewter helmets would also work better, and leave you the ability to use more black elsewhere in the concept.- pants: they're fine, but what about metallic pants? Or gray pants? There's a lot of gray in NE PA, and it would play off the name well.All in all, it's a good start, and there is serious potential for a great concept here. Nice stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 - pants: they're fine, but what about metallic pants? Or gray pants? There's a lot of gray in NE PA, and it would play off the name well. I agree with that suggestion. But over all, I like your colour selection and it's really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopard88 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 LIKE:- colors: a little more silver - even going to something resembling Tampa Bay's pewter - would reinforce the idea of metalworking.- logo: Concrete Charlie would be proud.- inaugural patch: very nicely done.DON'T LIKE:- jersey design: for a team being represented by the ultimate throwback (the last full-time 2-way player in the NFL), with a name like "Ironmen", these uniforms are too modern and gaudy. It just doesn't fit, and I can't picture ironmen wearing uniforms like these.- number font: the font works great for the wordmark, but I don't know if such a modern font befits a team with a throwback motif. - pants: they're fine, but what about metallic pants? Or gray pants? There's a lot of gray in NE PA, and it would play off the name well.All in all, it's a good start, and there is serious potential for a great concept here. Nice stuff.Overall, I really like this, but I would echo some of Vitamin D's comments (both positive and negative -- see the ones I didn't delete). I think something a little less modern would work better with the image you are shooting for. If you use a more traditional number font, that would soften the modern feel of the rest of the uniform.To go further with the "add more grey" theme, I really liked the Pittsburgh Maulers uniforms, which used grey pants with purple and orange. I think it would look just as good with black and orange, particularly if you stick with the relatively dark shade you used in the logo.All in all, this looks good. I'll be sure to try to catch a game if it coincides with a trip back to Easton to visit my alma mater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatCityEnforcer Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Yah, I'm beginning to think the Broncos/Jets blended jerseys were a BIG mistake in retrospect.I actually had a version with gray pants and an Auburn-inspired striping pattern on the sleeves...thankfully I saved it so I might try working off of that (thinking either an Auburn or LSU style of jersey would work really well with this for some reason)...The helmet's becoming the real problem here...if anything, I'm leaning towards a Bama-esque look (maybe go with a darker gray like VitaminD & leopard suggested (thanks guys btw) with a black/white/orange stripe and just have the # on the helmet...that'd also work with black too (I had that in the original version).)Also, I'm beginning to think the font for the wordmark isn't working all that well...might go with a Varsity Serif or something along those lines (think of what the Browns have as their wordmark)....and yes, those numbers will be going bye bye as well ....my original had Cowboys Throwback style ones and I think with the "throwback" motif I'm looking at, it might be a bit wiser to move away from the direction I was going here...Ah well, I'll probably have the "take 2" of the unis and logos/wordmarks (meaning that the IU ripoff 2nd is gone...) sometime tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatCityEnforcer Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 And a *BUMP!* for this one, seeing it's been updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitaminD Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Upgrade all the way around!Love the redone wordmark (although I was OK with the old one), and I thought the uniforms were as good as it could get.Then I scrolled down to the throwbacks.There's your winner, right there. Just rip the facemask off the alt helmet, and play some Ironmen football!My only suggestion would be to get rid of the wordmark under the helmet logo. That's a personal bias - I've never liked the helmets with logos and team names together. If you really wanted lettering, you could try a thick "LV" in orange behind the silhouette of Bednarik.Hella-nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eRay Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 i agree with everything vitaminD said above, but especially urge you to remove the wordmark from the helmet. the whole throwback type theme would benefit from the simple silhouette on the helmet i think. leave it without the LV i think. its interesting to see a team with both an inaugural season patch and a throwback uni . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopard88 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Upgrade all the way around!Love the redone wordmark (although I was OK with the old one), and I thought the uniforms were as good as it could get.Then I scrolled down to the throwbacks.There's your winner, right there. Just rip the facemask off the alt helmet, and play some Ironmen football!My only suggestion would be to get rid of the wordmark under the helmet logo. That's a personal bias - I've never liked the helmets with logos and team names together. If you really wanted lettering, you could try a thick "LV" in orange behind the silhouette of Bednarik.Hella-nice work! Ditto.My only additional comment is about the throwback. I know you based on it Bednarik's Penn uniform, however, with the Ironmen colors, it looks an awful lot like a Princeton uniform. I'm not sure Bednarik, or any other Penn alum, would be too keen on that. Nice, nice work!! EDIT -- I hope they won't be playing at Stabler Arena on the Lehigh campus. I am technically banned from the Lehigh campus as a result of imbibing a little too heavily one morning in 1987. I'd hate to get arrested for trespassing just because I wanted to catch an Ironmen game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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