The America League

[Gfonk04]

Dude,

I don't know what I can say about this series that everyone else hasn't already. Awesome execution, incredible depth of thought, one of the best series I've ever seen here.

Most of these concepts and designs are total hits. Just like a real league, there are some misses, especially when you put big logos or elements in contrast to the main jersey (Miami and not-Hollywood LA come to mind), where I think subtlety would work better. But overall, this series is so awesome it defies belief.

Someone smart at video game modding should mod the most recent FIFA game to incorporate this league. Then we could all take control of our local team and lead them to US Premier League glory! An England-style soccer league in the US is obviously a stretch, but this concept series really makes it seem plausible.

I think going on to the next two leagues would basically send most of us into excitement overload. I'm hoping my hometown shows up in one of them. (Annapolis Admirals FC!!!)

Absolutely awesome work. Please, never stop.

[GotPixels]

One of the more difficult things about doing these leagues from scratch, at least for me, is color redundancy. You have done a masterful job of avoiding it.

One thing I would love to see would be retro looks. I can wait a couple of years!

[Guest darkpiranha]

Now that we're caught up to modern times, maybe you can just do a yearly (or so) update showing who won the league, the US Open Cup, the various challenge cups, etc., and then just show who got relegated and promoted. That would be a good time to introduce the 4th and 5th divisions, as we'll now have teams moving into and out of them.

I love what Icethetics did with their hockey league in putting out an incredible Yearbook. I'd love to see you do something like that (eventually), and maybe give us a little more history on each team, and their lifetime records, as well as the results of the various Cups. You seem like an overall graphic designer, so I'm sure putting out a magazine-style product is within your wheelhouse.

Make it happen. April 2015, I expect to see this. (see? No rush!)

One of the more difficult things about doing these leagues from scratch, at least for me, is color redundancy. You have done a masterful job of avoiding it.

Not just that, but doing so for SIXTY-EIGHT teams!

[cohenj21]

Thanks for the kind words. I defiantly did not want to start posting and then stop, I've seen that happen too many times on here. I don't have a ton of spare time but I just slowly did this over the last 2 years. Sketched them all first doing a few here and there, then doing the design itself. Usually did 1 a day when I could. I did the player mocks last and those I was able to do 5-6 or so a night.

I was actually thinking of posting them all without leagues and having votes determine the 3 leagues. I do like the idea of a Open Cup voting when all is complete. I've also thought about doing the next 2 divisions down. We'll see!

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we would be thrilled to see the next two divisions down, using smaller cities and big ones with unsuccessful teams. The Open Cup idea is also really interesting.

[LAWeaver]

When I saw Pittsburgh, I saw that you put that they've been back in forth between leagues. Is it like a European league where the top 2 or 3 move up a league while the bottom two or three move down? I have no Idea which league that is. All I know its European. Love the Motown by the way!

[Whittier S]

It's known as promotion and relegation, and is very common for soccer outside the US.

[GeauxColonels]

New Orleans United // America Two

New Orleans United was founded in 1996 after New Orleans failed MLB expansion bid that went to Florida and Colorado. The desire for a team beyond the Saints was strong in the city so New Orleans United was founded. The owners of the team are owners of an English Cricket club which has caused some friction with the fanbase. The owners named the team United because their boyhood team was Manchester United.

The rest of the identity is all about New Orleans from the team's sponsor (Popeye's Chicken) to the colors (Purple, Green and Gold) to the logo and the clubs nickname "Zombies." The badge features a creole style skull on a divided shield and NOU lockup. The team's primary kit features green and purple stripes over gold shorts and striped socks. The team's change kit features an tonal skull on gold with purple shorts and gold socks. The necktaping of both features "Zombie Nation" the team's supporter group.

No big changes from the sketch, but like I said I think they turned out better than I imagined.

WOW. Just WOW. From someone that is from the New Orleans area, I just absolutely LOVE this. Everything from the crest to the uniforms scream New Orleans. Kudos to you for using the correct "Creole" terminology instead of "Cajun" which most people incorrectly use. The ONLY 2 things i'm unsure about are the darker shade of gold (Mardi Gras gold is typically a little bit more yellow) and the word "ORLEANS" at the bottom of the crest. Any particular reason you put that there? Were there any other things you thought about putting down there instead?

[FGM13]

I have nothing to say about this. Everything has already been said. This is one of the BEST series I've seen on these boards, like the EBA from when I was just a lurker. It's that good.

[Philsphan]

Yeah, this is my favorite series ever. I have been looking forward to seeing your posts every day. All of your teams are masterfully done.

[pluggerplugger1]

Best. Series. Ever. Cannot wait for the Minneapolis set to come out. Eagerly awaiting new posts. Breathtaking work, my man

[raysox]

I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but there were 12 pages of this that I had never seen, and I as blown away by almost all of them. Probably one of the best and most thought out series I've seen around these parts. New Orleans, Atlanta, and Indy were probably my favorites. Definitely spurred some ideas for yakball.

I'm hooked.

[pcgd]

I'm back! Weekends just aren't good for me to post these, but oh well, here's the latest. I'll have 6 more days with 1 team in each league to go.

Rose City // Premier League

No Pity for the Rose City! The oldest team west of the Mississippi is Portland's team: Rose City SC. Unoriginality known as the Roses (what can you say, it just stuck) the fans in Portland are some of the most hardcore in the league. They have 4 titles pretty well spread out throughout their history and have been on the cusp of their 5th numerous times the last 5 years. The fan base is ready to explode when they finally get their star.

The team's crest is fairly traditional containing their well known "Portland Sash" which has been a feature of their uniforms and crest since the 1920s. Around the crest are thorny rose stems weaving in and around the logo.

The uniforms both feature the "Portland Sash" made by hometown adidas. Red tops are the the primary kit with white shorts and all white for the change kit. Another hometown company, Rouge Ales, is the kit sponsor.

The main change from the sketch to finished is the addition of the thorns around the crest. The kits have more or less stayed the same throughout.

[pcgd]

Salt Lake City // America One

SLCSC was founded in 1988 and play their matches at Liberty Park in downtown Salt Lake City. The has a longstanding rule of no home games on Sundays because of their large Mormon following which discourages seeking entertainment on the Sabbath. With over half the state being Mormon team owners felt this was a good strategy. This leads to a larger number of Saturday Night games which has been a benefit to the team on the field and on the ledger sheets.

The Bees, as they are called, have a rivalry with Las Vegas and they always play no matter what level each team is in. When they occasionally meet in the US Open Cup the games are typically played at football stadiums to accommodate the larger crowds. SLC's crest is a beehive with a soccer ball placed in the middle.

The team is also known as the "Hoops" because of their distinctive uniforms. Although they aren't the only team with hoops, they are the only team with this many hoops. Hometown Alphagraphics is the primary sponsor. Green and Navy hoops over white shorts and hooped socks are the primary kits while the same design is used for the change kit, just with white and green hoops over green shorts.

The sketch for SLC is below. The biggest change was establishing the small hoops instead of the larger traditional hoops.

[pcgd]

San Antonio // America One

Like much of Texas in the early 20th century, wealth overflowing because of the Texas Oil Boom. The population of San Antonio increased by 65,000 people in the 10 years prior and the need of entertainment in the city was expanding. In 1920 San Antonio SC was founded. Success has been mixed but they have one a Premier Championship in 1944 but they are just as proud of their 10 Texas Cup victories. They've been in America One for the last 10 years and play their matches at Sam Houston Stadium.

The team's crest is more or less what you'd expect. A large beveled lone star on a crest in the shape of the Alamo. Their kits have a traditional collar design with a tonal halftone pattern. Both kits have the same design but the primary is gold over maroon and then hooped socks and then the change has white replacing the gold.

The sketch I did is pretty much what the design ended up as. The halftone was developed during the refinement process.

[pcgd]

Orange County // America Two

In Huntington Beach, CA they play soccer in addition to surfing. The team has been based in Orange County since 1996 and were a result of the buildup of Orange County in the 90s. The team was placed in Huntington Beach to be closer to the ocean to attract more fans and players. The results have been mixed, they have a large following but have not been able to get top talent.

They are the only team to be outfitted by Quicksilver as they are both located in Huntington Beach. The team's crest is very loosely based on the County of Orange's crest and flag but much more stylized.

The uniforms feature a distinctive striping pattern that appears on their jerseys and socks. The primary kit has the stripes on the body while the change moves them to the sleeves. Because of their fan base they have signed national sponsor Miller Lite for the next 4 seasons.

The final ended up pretty much how I envisioned it at the beginning.

[LAWeaver]

When I first saw the name Rose City, my initial thought was "Pasadena, play in the Rose Bowl, yadda yadda yadda." Well I was obviously wrong. Its not my favorite, but I like it. Like San Antonio and Salt Lake (Love the beehive by the way. An all blue one would look like Marge Simpson's hair!) For Orange county, have you thought about using this?: Would probably look better than the blue.

[pcgd]

Providence Towne // America Two

For a brief period I was going to do this whole thing where America Two actually and 25 teams with the 25th having to maintain a winning record for 2 seasons to remain. It was convoluted at best so I dropped it. I only bring this up because Providence was going to be that team. I figured there would be a old team that honestly just sucked. Providence had that nice combination of being a very old city, yet still being a "minor league" town today. Providence Towne was born.

If I had to compare them to a baseball team this would be the Cubs, if the Cubs got relegated to AA. A diehard fan base desperately hoping to see the team win before they die. Fans still come out in huge numbers to world famous Blackstone, one of the oldest stadiums in the country. The stadium is packed into the neighborhood and fans fill the stands and the atmosphere is more party than support. Rooftop apartments around the stadium watch the games as well.

The team's logo features a anchor on a shield and in a circle. Pretty much lifted from the Providence city crest. "What Cheer?" is the motto of Providence and it was adapted by the team in the 1964 because of their long title drought. What happened that year? They were relegated out of the Premier League and they've never been back. What Cheer indeed.

The team's primary kits are pretty traditional, all light blue (which the University of Rhode Island later adopted as a nod to the team) They have always had bright change kits with a neon orange being the latest.

The main change from the initial sketch is dropping the navy blue and making the change kits a different color than the primary kits.

[nas1787]

Your Rose City models appear to be using two colours of red. Same with your Orange County change kit.

Also, is Orange County meant to be orange or red? It looks red, but it would make sense to be orange, no?

Some great stuff here, though.

[Brian in Boston]

I LOVE Rose City SC!

Salt Lake City is solid. Orange County is not my "cup of tea".

As for Providence Towne, the light blue is simply TOO light. While I like the simplicity of the logo's design, there just isn't enough contrast between the blue and the white. That's particularly true when the logo is on the primary kit. I'm also not a huge fan of the player name and numbers being rendered in letters/numerals that are the same color as the jersey on the change kit.

[lancealot]

The uniforms both feature the "Portland Sash" made by hometown adidas. Red tops are the the primary kit with white shorts and all white for the change kit. Another hometown company, Rouge Ales, is the kit sponsor.

Adidas was started in Germany it's nike that got started in Portland but other than that the concept is awesome