AAFL

[RevNet]

I've decided to do my own fantasy league for my home state of Alabama, but instead of an American football league, I decided to do an Australian football league.

This league, called the Alabama Australian Football League (aka Alabama AFL or AAFL), is an 8-team, 2-division league that touches every corner of the state.

League Logo:

League Map:

League Breakdown:

NORTH

Anniston Battalion

Birmingham Steel Lynx

Huntsville Missiles

Shoals Swampers

SOUTH

Dothan Hornets

Mobile Buccaneers

Montgomery Governors

Tuscaloosa Druids

In the next post, I will introduce the Shoals Swampers.

[Gregmond]

Step 1 - Get rid of the stripes on the ball:

If you're creating an Australian football league, don't use an American ball.

[RevNet]

Shoals Swampers **UPDATE**

Location: Florence, AL

Colors: Green, Chartreuse (neon green), Midnight Blue

Clash Color: Black

Sponsor: First Southern Bank (FSB)

Updated 8.25.11: Decreased size of sponsor logo on backs, and thickened lines on clash kit. Changed colors of shorts around.

As I was doing this concept, I found out that both greens are used on the seal of the city of Florence, which can be looked at here: http://www.florenceal.org/.

For the primary logo, I wanted to do something different, as opposed to just having an 'S' on top of another 'S'. The music notes are based on the area's rich musical history. Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan, among others, have recorded songs in the Shoals area. The Swampers name is based on the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, otherwise known as "The Swampers", mentioned in the famous Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama".

The secondary logo is the line version of the primary logo in a midnight blue circle, wrapped around by the letter "Q" to represent the "Quad Cities" of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia.

The wordmark is done in a font called Tonky.

C&C, please.

[RevNet]

Step 1 - Get rid of the stripes on the ball:

If you're creating an Australian football league, don't use an American ball.

Whoops! :-( Thanks for the heads-up.

[Gregmond]

I don't know much about Alabama that isn't related to Lynard Sknard or Forrest Gump, but I like the idea, and I'm happy to offer feedback from the home of Aussie Rules.

[Gregmond]

Okay ... where to begin?!

I'm not sure that you need the music reference. Your team is called the Swampers for reasons noted above, and your colours tie into the city seal, so I don't think you need another element. Sure ... if your team was called the Blues, Jazz or Soul, but not for the Swampers. Don't make things too confusing.

The light green uniform is very green. Have you thought about pairing it with dark shorts - perhaps pick up the navy from the stripes? You could even go with white shorts since this is the traditional "away" shorts colour for Aussie Rules. I would say the same for the home strip ... perhaps too much green ... change the shorts.

The "SS" logo on the primary and secondary is too busy. You have to understand that an Aussie Rules oval is massive, which is why traditional guernseys have been so simple. Similarly, the "SS" striping on the alternate is too fine and would need to be thicker to be effective.

Finally to the back of the jumpers - the numbers are too small, too round and too high and the logo is too big.

You can tell me to go away if you like, but I would love to assist you with your concept.

[Gregmond]

... sorry, why is your secondary logo sitting inside a "Q"?

[RevNet]

... sorry, why is your secondary logo sitting inside a "Q"?

I'm glad you asked. The "Q" stands for "Quad", a reference to the quad cities of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia, all of which form the Shoals area that the team represents. Originally, I was going to have a "C" (to make it QC, as in, "Quad Cities") in the shape of a moon, which would have alluded to the midnight blue color. At the last second, though, I scrapped that idea, mainly because it looked like crap.

Thanks for all your input, Gregmond.

[RevNet]

Next team up...

Huntsville Missiles **UPDATE #2**

Location: Huntsville, AL

Colors: Navy Blue, Red, Silver

Clash Color: White

Sponsor: Deltacom

Updated 08.25.11: Overhauled the entire concept. Simpler logos. Changed Away kit from red to silver. Added sponsor logos to fronts.

Updated 08.26.11: New concept for home front. Moved all sponsor logos on fronts up. Moved secondary logo on away kit down.

One thing you need to know about Huntsville is that it is where NASA got its start, thanks to this man, Dr. Wernher von Braun:

He is also the reason that Space Camp exists, and Von Braun Center is named after him.

Anyway, I named the team "Missiles", because I felt it was less obvious than "Rockets", plus Marshall Space Flight Center (where NASA was formed) is in Redstone Arsenal, an Army base which tested missiles for the Army during the "Space Race" years, and still does to this day. This is why the logos are the way they are.

The wordmark is done in a font called Magenta.

[Discrim]

Heh, and here I thought I'd have been the first one rolling out a state league. Seeing as I may as well chip away at BAFX once again, I'll bite.

Huntsville is rather simple, but in a good way. The main problem here is that you chose to use black numbers on blue & white backs. At least use a white outline if you're going to insist on black #s, otherwise just go with a solid color back. The Shoals, interesting color choice, and agreeing with gregmond, the back sponsor is way too big.

[RevNet]

BTW, all sponsors are headquartered in their respective cities. That was one of my rules.

[Gregmond]

On Huntsville, I think the HM logo on the front of the blue guernsey is to small ... I mean too fine ... can you make those letters a little more chunky?

I also think the sponsors logo on the front, in the stomach region is too low. Traditional football jumpers do not have a logo in this region ... what if a player wants to tuck his jumper into his shorts (which most do).

Finally, I think you blue circle logo on the grey jumper is a little too high, can you move it down a smidge?

[RevNet]

Next team up...

Anniston Battalion **UPDATE**

Location: Anniston, AL

Colors: Army Green, Black, Gold

Clash Color: Heathered Gray

Sponsor: North American Bus Industries (NABI)

Updated 08.29.11: Added white box/border to both front and back sponsor logos on home kit.

If you were to drive to Anniston, you would see at least a few of these on the road with you:

Why?

Because Anniston is where these things go to get worked on. The area is home to the Anniston Army Depot (where the convoys go) and Fort McClellan, a former Army installation which is still used by the Alabama National Guard. It is also where a scene from Bruno was shot:

http://www.trailerad...m/clip/bruno/dg

I named the team "Battalion" because I felt it fit the team. Concerning kits, this team is the most conservative out of the league, so I really didn't do too much to the kits. The away kit, in particular, reflects the official Army colors of gold and black.

The wordmark is done in the standard Stencil font.

[Red&Blue Crew]

LOVE all ur conecpts so far. Roll Tide!

[RevNet]

Next team up (and the last team for the North Division)...

Birmingham Steel Lynx **UPDATE #2**

Location: Birmingham, AL

Colors: Steel Gray, Yellow

Clash Color: Orange

Sponsor: Buffalo Rock

Updated 08.29.11: Changed wordmark font from Facet Black to Lower Face. Changed "spots" on away kit from yellow to steel gray.

Updated 08.30.11: Changed clash kit shorts from orange to steel gray.

One of Birmingham's nicknames is "The Magic City", because for many years, it had another nickname: "The Pittsburgh of the South". Early in its founding in the late 19th century (1871), Birmingham had all the ingredients needed to make iron and steel: coal, iron ore, and limestone. This led to much of the area's prosperity. Much of the iron and steel production was done at Sloss Furnaces, which is now a National Historic Landmark and is rumored to be haunted:

Originally, I was going to name this team "Steel Cats", because Birmingham had an arena football team named the Steeldogs, but I knew of another feline, the Lynx, that fit better, especially after what I did with the clash kit socks. I also found something hidden in the primary logo after doing it. I won't tell you what it is, because it's easy to find. Speaking of kits, we go from most conservative (Battalion) to something that just stands out.

The wordmark is done in a font called Facet Black Lower Face.

[RedSox44]

The Birmingham wordmark is rather difficult to read.

[Gregmond]

Okay ... so I really like the colors used by these teams.

I actually really like most of the Battalion cencept with two minor exceptions:

- the yellow shorts on the home uniform are not a good look - I would swap in either army green or black.

- the black yolk on the back of the hom uniform makes the sponsors logo really difficult to read - how about squaring that off right below the numbers?

The grey alternate uniform is REALLY basic, but I assume is meaningful from a military perspective, and if so, is a nice clash strip.

I really like the home uniform for the Lynx ... you've nailed it. I don't like the spots on the white uniform, and don't think the white uniform is bold enough for a men's contact sports uniform. Why not focus a bit more on the grey for the away gear? The orange alternate seems a little random too ... why suddenly introduce a new colour? Finally, as RedSox44 said, the font used for the wordmark is very difficult to read.

Looking forward to seeing more concepts.

[TornadoGTS]

As soon I saw Birmingham in the team list in the first post, I knew Buffalo Rock was gonna be the sponsor lol. I do agree with RedSox44 about that wordmark being hard to read though.

[RevNet]

The grey alternate uniform is REALLY basic, but I assume is meaningful from a military perspective, and if so, is a nice clash strip.

With Anniston's clash kit, I tried to imitate the Army PT (physical training) shirt as best I could:

The orange alternate seems a little random too ... why suddenly introduce a new colour?

I chose orange, because in the steel production process, the sparks that are produced in the furnace are orange, and the molten steel emits an orange glow, even as it cools down. This should explain it better:

I had my doubts about orange, too. It's an Auburn color, for one thing. But I had to put it on some team, because there's not that many colors to choose from.

[Gregmond]

The grey alternate uniform is REALLY basic, but I assume is meaningful from a military perspective, and if so, is a nice clash strip.

With Anniston's clash kit, I tried to imitate the Army PT (physical training) shirt as best I could:

The orange alternate seems a little random too ... why suddenly introduce a new colour?

I chose orange, because in the steel production process, the sparks that are produced in the furnace are orange, and the molten steel emits an orange glow, even as it cools down.

I had my doubts about orange, too. It's an Auburn color, for one thing. But I had to put it on some team, because there's not that many colors to choose from.

Thanks for the explanation, and I like the changes, especially the new font for the team name. My only other suggestion would be to use the grey shorts with the orange clash jumper ... an all-orange footy uniform is NOT a thing of beauty.