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Boston/New England Patriots - "Pat Patriot"


TruColor

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I have been trying to figure out which versions of "Pat Patriot" have been used over the years. It's really confusing, because even some of the best sources (The Helmet Project, Helmut Hut, and of course sportslogos.net) don't really have all of the answers either.

According to the latest AFL 50th Anniversary graphics, this is the "original" version of Pat:

NewEnglandPatriots_CL2_2009.png

I don't know what seasons this was actually used; finding clear color pics from the early days of the AFL is kind of difficult.

Sometime later, they switched to this version:

NewEnglandPatriots_PRM_1971-1981.png

And then again, a couple of modifications were made - the "grass" under his feet and from under the ball were removed. I have been able to determine that this change happened sometime between 1977 and 1987 (way to narrow it down, huh?):

NewEnglandPatriots_CL3_2009.png

On occasions, you'll see the football displayed as Red, instead of Brown. My guess is that it was easier and/or cheaper to print the logo only using Red and Blue...in these cases, it seems as if the "Flesh Tone" was actually a tint of the Red, instead of a separate spot color.

Any insight/theories would be appreciated.

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NewEnglandPatriots_PRM_1971-1981.png

And then again, a couple of modifications were made - the "grass" under his feet and from under the ball were removed. I have been able to determine that this change happened sometime between 1977 and 1987 (way to narrow it down, huh?):

If I recall correctly, by '82 the grass was gone from the logo.

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It is amazing that a high-level professional team used what looks like a bad photocopy as their official helmet logo.

And yet how many dopes on here can't wait to insist that they "go back to it"!!!

Nobody in their right mind would accept something like that as an official logo in 2009.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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It is amazing that a high-level professional team used what looks like a bad photocopy as their official helmet logo.

And yet how many dopes on here can't wait to insist that they "go back to it"!!!

Nobody in their right mind would accept something like that as an official logo in 2009.

Thank you! Thankyouverymuch!

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It is amazing that a high-level professional team used what looks like a bad photocopy as their official helmet logo.

And yet how many dopes on here can't wait to insist that they "go back to it"!!!

Nobody in their right mind would accept something like that as an official logo in 2009.

Count me in as a dope who'd prefer that over Flying Elvis.

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It is amazing that a high-level professional team used what looks like a bad photocopy as their official helmet logo.

The Boston Patriots of the 1960s were hardly a "high-level" professional team.

The original Pat Patriot logo was drawn by a newspaper cartoonist, a practice that was not uncommon in the '40s, '50s and '60s. Look at other logos from other teams of that era and there are plenty of examples of logos that are not a slick, Madison avenue design.

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If a qualified artist would re-draw Pat, maybe simplify him as the Miami Dolphin was a couple years ago, I'd much rather see that than Elvis on the side of their helmets.

And that is a reasonable opinion.

I get that Elvis isn't a great logo, and doesn't have the same "character" as Pat. I really get it (though I do like Elvis more than most.) I feel that in today's world of merchandising, multimedia, etc., there is simply no rational thought process that can come up with the notion that any of those old Pat logos work better than Elvis.

A Dolphinesque update of Pat would probably work well, though. Not sure if it would work on their current helmet with their current set (which I'd hate to see changed any time soon, since I think it's among the best, save for a few minor elements), but I'd like to see it tried.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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If a qualified artist would re-draw Pat, maybe simplify him as the Miami Dolphin was a couple years ago, I'd much rather see that than Elvis on the side of their helmets.

And that is a reasonable opinion.

I get that Elvis isn't a great logo, and doesn't have the same "character" as Pat. I really get it (though I do like Elvis more than most.) I feel that in today's world of merchandising, multimedia, etc., there is simply no rational thought process that can come up with the notion that any of those old Pat logos work better than Elvis.

A Dolphinesque update of Pat would probably work well, though. Not sure if it would work on their current helmet with their current set (which I'd hate to see changed any time soon, since I think it's among the best, save for a few minor elements), but I'd like to see it tried.

I'm all about Flying Elvis, and never really understood what people have against him. In fact, he never even looked like Elvis to me, just like a stern soldier or officer in the continental army, like he's intended to.

I'd be damn surprised if the Patriots ever switched back to Pat. For one, he wouldn't look good in this modern era unless redone Dolphins-style, as you guys have said, but even then, why bother? He's basically associated with the team totally sucking for years: no AFL championships, six playoff appearances between the team's founding and the time the logo was changed in '93 (a more than 30-year period), and a Super Bowl blowout. The current one, on the other hand, has seen the team through 10 playoff appearances within a 16-year period, an almost-perfect season, four Super Bowl appearances, and three SB wins. Hmmm...

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I think Pat Patriot is a fun, unique and instantly recognizable logo. However, I agree that the current logo is better for this era of sports branding and with the success of the teams associated with it I doubt they will make a change, at least while Kraft owns the team.

I feel the same way with Bucco Bruce and the orange bucs, the orange crush Broncos, blue/yellow Rams and old Falcons. I love looking at old photos and videos of those unis, but it was time to make a change.

I still miss the old Seahawks colors and look, but the think the logo update was fantastic.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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While the Flying Elvis is better than Pat Patriot, it's still not a very good logo at all. For some reason, it looks kind of small and inconsequential when it's next to other logos. Maybe it's the dimensions? Among all the shields, circles, ovals, footballs, and Big Letters, it's just this wispy little triangular head thingy. It looked bad with the original colors, it looks worse with the washed out colors, and looks worst of all when it's attached to the wordmark.

I suppose the tricorner hat logo I talk up would be subject to a lot of the same dimensional problems. Ah well.

As for the other teams you mentioned, the creamsicle Bucs had to go, the Rams should've been updated without washing out their color palette, the Seahawks update was a slam dunk till they mismatched their pants, and the Falcons were just generic. I don't care one way or the other about the Broncos, really.

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... The current one, on the other hand, has seen the team through 10 playoff appearances within a 16-year period, an almost-perfect season, four Super Bowl appearances, and three SB wins. Hmmm...

Make that five Super Bowl appearances and 3 wins - don't forget the Super Bowl XXXI loss to the Packers. Although I guess technically that was "Flying Elvis #1" in royal blue and the current logo is "Flying Elvis #2" in navy blue. :D

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