2013 NFL uniform/logo changes

[BrandMooreArt]

This is like if someone insisted for pages that the old Atlanta Hawks logo was really Pac-Man because that's what he saw as a kid.

It's a sun. Seems fairly obvious.

Yes. But even more specifically, this is like if someone insisted for pages that the old Atlanta Hawks logo was really Pac-Man because that's what he saw as a kid, and then called someone who disagreed retarded..

or if someone said this was an abstract illustration (its a helmet wearing dolphin in front of an orange shape that is not a literal visual representation of anything) and had no black and white answer and to SAY it was one or the other was MOD EDIT, no, DAMN MOD EDIT, even though that someones initial post claiming a side of the argument was a stern hold on one of those sides, if only to counter the other and get people to see that there is indeed a grey area.

i blame Blue Sky for all this

[pluggerplugger1]

While this is a valid argument, I don't see why 3 pages worth of thread was wasted on it, haha

[Gothamite]

Slow news day.

[jgiff17]

For what it's worth, I had this shirt when I was younger and loved it:

That is the greatest shirt I've ever seen.

Cut off at the gut to show the six pack and rolled up sleeves to introduce everyone to the gun show!...very manly and awesome until you get to the dolphin...all chances of catching the ladies is gone.

[Gothamite]

Don't forget that the Dolphins have used a version of this logo with the dolphin jumping through the ring:

[Joshawaggie]

Mayhaps the Dolphin is so athletic and manly, that the hoop he jumps through IS THE SUN.

[Midway]

I would like to think that the negative space in the Sun is just there because if you filled it in with orange, it'd create a blob of colors that would make the logo hard to make out from certain distances (people watching from home, fans at the game). The white space helps balance out the logo aesthetically without detracting from the main image it is trying to convey.

[guest23]

Mayhaps the Dolphin is so athletic and manly, that the hoop he jumps through IS THE SUN.

SPACE DOLPHIN RULES THE COSMOS

[BrandMooreArt]

Mayhaps the Dolphin is so athletic and manly, that the hoop he jumps through IS THE SUN.

new sig quote

[AgentColon]

I prefer to think of it as the sun and not a hoop of fire.

If it is a hoop of fire it means this is a caged and tamed dolphin performing tricks for human amusement.

If it is a sun it means it's a wild dolphin who....nevermind. Either way it's a horrible nickname.

[CS85]

I prefer to think of it as the sun and not a hoop of fire.

If it is a hoop of fire it means this is a caged and tamed dolphin performing tricks for human amusement.

[Skape7]

I prefer to think of it as the sun and not a hoop of fire.

If it is a hoop of fire it means this is a caged and tamed dolphin performing tricks for human amusement.

If it is a sun it means it's a wild dolphin who....nevermind. Either way it's a horrible nickname.

I haven't seen many dolphins roaming freely in the sea with a football helmet strapped to their blowhole, so it is most definitely a caged dolphin who has been suffering years of torment and abuse...

[AgentColon]

Valid point. I think you may have just swayed me.

[smith03]

we can't see the top of the helmet maybe there is a hole in it for the blow hole when I was a kid I thought it was ring but I do think it is supposed to be the sun have enjoyed the discussion

[BlueSky]

I'm with everyone who has posted that they saw this as a fiery ring early on but evolved into seeing it as a sunburst. @ BBTV, just to be clear I wasn't suggesting that photo was the specific inspiration, just that it proves dolphins did jump through fiery rings and that such an act would look similar to the early version of the logo.

FWIW, I looked for a pic of a dolphin jumping across the sun and found nothing really close to the look of the logo. That's pretty meaningless but thought I'd mention it.

As for who designed it, his name was Bill Bodenhamer, he died in 2000, and notably, he also designed an iconic logo for another Miami institution.

From his obit in a Miami paper:

===

When William "Bill" Bodenhamer Sr. began his career as a graphic designer nearly half a century ago, he likely had no idea that a two-day assignment that earned him only $250* ( ) would leave such a lasting mark.

As the creator of the original Miami Dolphins logo, Mr. Bodenhamer, who died Sunday at age 72, is assured a place in South Florida history.

The leaping, helmeted dolphin he drew in 1965 has come to represent not only the Dolphins but also the region he loved. "Our logo is probably one of the most identifiable logos in all of sports, in part because it identified the team with this region," said Harvey Green, the Dolphins' vice president of media relations. "This one was probably ahead of its time."

The Dolphins logo, which has undergone only minor modifications in the past 30 years, was Mr. Bodenhamer's most widely recognized work, but not necessarily his most satisfying.

"You just did what you could with what you had back then," Bodenhamer said in 1997, when the logo was revamped. "I wasn't too crazy about [the design]. I wanted to do something like the Rams had, something real good. But we just didn't have much time."

Mr. Bodenhamer is also known for his 1973 design of the University of Miami's logo, one of his favorites.

===

* I was curious so I found an online inflation calculator. His fee represents about $1800 in 2012 dollars.

There's nothing definitive there about ring vs. sun but the reference to the logo coming to "represent the region" along with everything else (Florida as the Sunshine State etc.) suggests IMO it was indeed intended to be a sunburst.

It's interesting to see that the original incarnation was much more horizontal in alignment, like this:

It was that way on the letterhead too...

[Skape7]

If only Mr. Bodenhamer had created something like UM's logo for the Dolphins... The U logo is iconic and stands the test of time... Even Mr. Bodenhamer himself seemed to think that the Dolphins logo was less than stellar.

[AgentColon]

To me that looks like the sun. Even on that old one. If that was a ring of fire, that dolphin is jumping at a poor angle and is going to get burned bad.

[BlueSky]

Don't forget that the Dolphins have used a version of this logo with the dolphin jumping through the ring:

I forgot about that pic. It's an interesting contradiction to say the least if the logo is supposed to be the sun. Some might say this photo is game, set and match for the fiery ring crowd and it would be hard to argue, wouldn't it?

OTOH, I'm sure Mr. Bodenhamer could've drawn it just like that had he wanted to. But...is the "two-day assignment" a clue? Imagine starting that from scratch with a 48-hour deadline. Maybe he rushed the job and lamented not putting the tail behind the ring for the rest of his life.

And BTW I see no problem at all with the M on the helmet instead of the logo itself. It's kind of funny but it makes sense in a backwards way.

If only Mr. Bodenhamer had created something like UM's logo for the Dolphins... The U logo is iconic and stands the test of time... Even Mr. Bodenhamer himself seemed to think that the Dolphins logo was less than stellar.

Maybe...but I don't like abstract logos like the U's.

@McCarthy re the ring of fire...as I noted in a previous post, in the mid-60s when this logo was created, IIRC the dolphin leap through a ring of fire was a fairly common trick at aquariums and so on. In other words, it would be a representation of dolphins that the public would be familiar with.

@BrandMooreArt - if the Great Dolphin Logo Flap of '13 is the worst thing I'm associated with on these boards I'll count it as an achievement.

I found Mr. Bodenhamer's reference to "something like the Rams had, something real good" to be curious. According to the mothership this was what the Rams had in 1965:

[illini1]

Don't forget that the Dolphins have used a version of this logo with the dolphin jumping through the ring:

I forgot about that pic. It's an interesting contradiction to say the least if the logo is supposed to be the sun. Some might say this photo is game, set and match for the fiery ring crowd and it would be hard to argue, wouldn't it?

I'm guessing the explanation is something simple, like the company they ordered the glass table from screwed up and put the sun in front of the tail. I think that's the most likely explanation since this version of the logo has never been seen anywehere else.

[BlueSky]

Don't forget that the Dolphins have used a version of this logo with the dolphin jumping through the ring:

I forgot about that pic. It's an interesting contradiction to say the least if the logo is supposed to be the sun. Some might say this photo is game, set and match for the fiery ring crowd and it would be hard to argue, wouldn't it?

I'm guessing the explanation is something simple, like the company they ordered the glass table from screwed up and put the sun in front of the tail. I think that's the most likely explanation since this version of the logo has never been seen anywehere else.

Having seen similar happenings in the corporate world, what generally follows is the Dolphins send the glass back and say, "Get it right." I can't imagine them accepting a blatant misrepresentation of their logo. It is a strange deal though being an apparent one-off.