The America League

[pcgd]

Motown // America Two

Finally for tonight, Detroit Soccer Club or known simply as Motown. Motown was founded during the Automotive boom following WWII as the Ford Company team. All the major car companies had their own teams and the matches were some of the biggest draws in the State of Michigan. The Auto Cup match (Annual championship of the automotive companies teams which had a full league in the late 40s til the mid 50s) in 1949 between the General Motors team and the Ford team filled Ann Arbor's Michigan Stadium. In 1956 Ford became a publicly traded company and the company team broke off and became Detroit SC also known as Motown. They currently play in Belle Isle Park on Belle Isle. Its one of the only stadiums in the world that is on a river island and you can also see 2 countries from its upper decks. (Canada and the United States)

The team's logo was changed from the Ford oval to more or less its current look at its founding in 1956. The crest takes its elements from the Detroit city flag. The original designer didn't understand the symbolism of the Detroit flag (each quarter represented a country that ruled Detroit) and reduced the number of elements to fit the space. The corrections were never made and there are still 2 lions in the upper right corner where there should be 3, 1 Fluer-de-lys where there should be 5, and 9 stars and stripes where there should be 13. Of course the team is known as "Two Lions" because of it.

The uniforms are pretty classic and somewhat unique in the world of soccer. They feature striping that's more commonly seen on the American gridiron with a navy jersey for the primary, and a gold jersey for the change.

The final designs stayed true to the preliminary sketches for Motown.

[raysfan24]

Love the Cincinnati city flag incorporation into Over the Rhine. Well done.

[Guest darkpiranha]

Hey, great stuff as always. On the LISC jerseys, it looks like some text didn't get changed on the primary kit, as it says Deportiva Tijuana. You might have already noticed this, but just in case, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Keep em coming.

[hugevolsfan]

Hey, great stuff as always. On the LISC jerseys, it looks like some text didn't get changed on the primary kit, as it says Deportiva Tijuana. You might have already noticed this, but just in case, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Keep em coming.

Yo! Joe sorry I just had to!

I love all of these concepts top notch indeed.

[DL Watt]

Whats amazing is that you can sit here and dish out quality after quality! Your work is absolutley amazing, thank you for giving all of us something to look forward to when we come to this board!

Anixiously waiting to see what you have in store for the Rose City!!

[illwauk]

Over The Rhine is one of the coolest names for a soccer club ever, and the identity is one of the better ones in the series.

[ElTeduardo]

Newark is awesome! I gotta get me some season tickets

[pcgd]

Hey, great stuff as always. On the LISC jerseys, it looks like some text didn't get changed on the primary kit, as it says Deportiva Tijuana. You might have already noticed this, but just in case, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Keep em coming.

Fixed it, thanks!

[pcgd]

Racing Indy // Premier League

**Disclaimer: This is not what I view the new NASL team in Indianapolis should be or look like, in fact I had designed this before it was announced they had a team**

In the early 1950s America is experiencing a resurgence after WWII at the same time dealing with a polio epidemic. In Indianapolis, Eli Lilly is developing a vaccine to prevent the disease despite the fact it has not been FDA approved. A great gamble was made by Lilly Co to produce enormous amounts of the vaccine that could be destroyed if they aren't approved. At this time Eli Lilly is growing and so is Indianapolis. A soccer team was started by a number of the factory workers to pass the time on breaks and weekends. The team grew and became champions of the city and later the state. Civic leaders were looking for their 2nd professional team (Joining minor league Indianapolis Indians) and seeing the success of the Lilly company team, decided a Soccer Club could do quite well in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis joined America Two in 1953 and had one their first Premier League championship in 1964. They went on to win 7 more over the course of the next 40 years and never being relegated from Premier League after being promoted in 1957. They play their matches on the Northside at Broad Ripple Park.

The team's name is influenced by the strong racing culture in and around Indianapolis. The crest features a checkerboard pattern at the top with a R.I. initial logo. Black & White are their primary colors with pops of red.

The team's primary uniforms feature a tonal checkerboard pattern and hints of red (inspired by a "red line") while the change kits are "Green Light" with checkerboard cuffs on the jerseys and socks.

Indianapolis was a team that I had a few variations before deciding on the final look. Black and white were always the color scheme but the addition of red was late as was the Green Light change kits.

[pcgd]

Pittsburgh // America One

For Pittsburgh I found this amazing detail from the Allegheny County Office Building and used it as the basis for the Pittsburgh Soccer Club logo. The team is fairly old, it was founded in 1910 and plays in Point Park. They have settled into the America One league as the city is mostly focused on its other sports teams and they don't draw as well as some other teams. They usually finish near the top of the table and make the occasional move to Premier League but usually it lasts a season or two at most.

In addition to the architectural detail, the flag also has heavy influences on the team crest. The team's uniforms are of course black and gold however they bring some of the blue and white checkers into the primary and a whole lot in the change kit. The primary full center stripe comes from the city flag.

The main change from the sketch was finding that reference for the logo, but the uniforms stayed pretty true to my original intent.

[pcgd]

Puerto Rico // America One

The island territory of Puerto Rico has a team in the America One league that was founded in 1976. They originally were an all star team from the Puerto Rican league that would play in the US Open Cup annually. A few teams complained about their admittance because their relation to the United States is in question, and a agreement was formed that the Puerto Rico Soccer Club would begin playing in the America Two league in 1976 but could not participate in the US Open Cup as an all star team. Since that time FIFA has classified Puerto Rico separate from the United States and they can not participate in the Open Cup. (remember...fantasy on all this!)

The team's badge is completely inspired by their flag on a long shield. The team's uniforms also take inspiration from the flag with bold red and white stripes with navy shorts for the primary, and an all navy kit for the change. The stripe are still present however they are pinstripes on the change kit. On the neck is the island's motto: "Juan es su Nombre."

Really the only change from my initial sketch was the removal of the established date from the crest. It just wasn't working.

[pcgd]

Music City SC // America Two

Nashville got its soccer team the year I was born, 1982. The team was coined "Music City SC" after the cities nickname. Its bounced around from America Two all the way down to the 5th division in those 30 or so years. Nash Vegas has had a tough go of things with soccer. They play in one of the smallest stadiums in the country as well, the cozy Shelby Bottoms which seats just 6,000 fans.

The team's badge features a few callouts. You'll notice the 3 stars from the Tennessee flag if you are familiar with that, but the overall shape is that of a guitar pic.

Designer's Note: I honestly was somehow unaware of the Nashville Predators alt logo when I designed this. So the rip is unintentional, I may revisit at a later time because of this. When I started typing write up I remembered that they had a triangular shoulder logo and behold...I pretty much ripped them off...

The uniforms have pretty much always been a basic template. This seasons has a subtle curved chest stripe which contains the team crest and manufacture mark. The primary is all black and the change kit is silver over black.

I originally was going to do a racing stripe down the wearer's left side but didn't want to do the same thing as Dakota so I thought a high chest stripe might be something different but still classic and wearable. The only thing that's different is the badge was reversed to fit the stars better from the flag.

[pcgd]

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.

[mcrosby]

That Pitt crest is gorgeous.

[nas1787]

That NOLA crest is gorgeous too.

[henburg]

I'm sorry that I haven't commented sooner, but I've been following this thread for a while and the concepts are fantastic. New Orleans and Pittsburgh are your best work IMO, just gorgeous. Keep it up, this is one of my favorite series in a long time.

[Guest darkpiranha]

What is it about this particular series that makes it so compelling? I ask this in all seriousness in order to figure out how it can be replicated. I (and many other fans of this series) aren't even soccer fans, and yet we are riveted to this series. There have been tons of good series where entire leagues are created. Several going on right now that I'm enjoying very much, but not to the level of the America League. Additionally, there are lots of series that have attempted to create detailed histories for each of the teams, and to be honest, until this one, I always skimmed right over them.

The only thing I can think of is that this one started off by saying it had all 68 teams finished and ready to be rolled out. Also, Patrick laid out his goals for himself when creating this league, as well as the limitations he was putting on himself. By establishing from the start that he not only claimed he was going to do this, but had already done so, it put me at ease that I wouldn't be asking myself two months from now, "Hmm... whatever happened to that guy who said he was going to do a whole league of American soccer teams? He did ten, then dropped off the map...".

I know most of us don't have the time to create a whole league from scratch before posting the first thing about it, but to be honest, if you're going to propose doing an entire league, this is the way to do it. Get them all done first, and then roll it out.

The introductory map was also a great touch, as it allowed everyone to locate their region and being anticipating what "their' team was going to be.

As far as the detailed history goes, I think what many of the less-interesting do is when they start listing out individual players that were on those teams, and the specific results of specific games. I think our attention span is limited to the broad scope of history.

Other current series that seem to follow many of these unwritten 'rules' are GotPixel's rugby series that just finished, Jabberwockey Hockey, and Eurobasket. Enjoying all three of those and look forward to the new releases every day.

Granted, not everyone can be both a great designer AND a good writer. But if you're creating a league from scratch, take note at how much these 'histories' shape and inform and sometimes even excuse a team's logo and uniform design. So keep them coming, everyone. For the first time, I'm checking into this forum not just weekly, but several times a day, excited to see the great series everyone is coming up with.

[Nyk33]

What is it about this particular series that makes it so compelling? I ask this in all seriousness in order to figure out how it can be replicated. I (and many other fans of this series) aren't even soccer fans, and yet we are riveted to this series. There have been tons of good series where entire leagues are created. Several going on right now that I'm enjoying very much, but not to the level of the America League. Additionally, there are lots of series that have attempted to create detailed histories for each of the teams, and to be honest, until this one, I always skimmed right over them.

The only thing I can think of is that this one started off by saying it had all 68 teams finished and ready to be rolled out. Also, Patrick laid out his goals for himself when creating this league, as well as the limitations he was putting on himself. By establishing from the start that he not only claimed he was going to do this, but had already done so, it put me at ease that I wouldn't be asking myself two months from now, "Hmm... whatever happened to that guy who said he was going to do a whole league of American soccer teams? He did ten, then dropped off the map...".

I know most of us don't have the time to create a whole league from scratch before posting the first thing about it, but to be honest, if you're going to propose doing an entire league, this is the way to do it. Get them all done first, and then roll it out.

The introductory map was also a great touch, as it allowed everyone to locate their region and being anticipating what "their' team was going to be.

As far as the detailed history goes, I think what many of the less-interesting do is when they start listing out individual players that were on those teams, and the specific results of specific games. I think our attention span is limited to the broad scope of history.

Other current series that seem to follow many of these unwritten 'rules' are GotPixel's rugby series that just finished, Jabberwockey Hockey, and Eurobasket. Enjoying all three of those and look forward to the new releases every day.

Granted, not everyone can be both a great designer AND a good writer. But if you're creating a league from scratch, take note at how much these 'histories' shape and inform and sometimes even excuse a team's logo and uniform design. So keep them coming, everyone. For the first time, I'm checking into this forum not just weekly, but several times a day, excited to see the great series everyone is coming up with.

Agreed

As a newbie in the design game I am definitely learning a lot from this and trying to apply it to my own thing.

BTW, it would be completely awesome if after you did every team there was a way you could do a US Open Cup tournament for people to vote on. It would be like raysox's NCAA Yakball threads but with just your stuff.

[pcgd]

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!

[mcrosby]

I defiantly did not want to start posting and then stop, I've seen that happen too many times on here.

Oh hey. It's always a case of "I need to set this aside, I'll come back to is ASAP."

Don't fall for that, ignore your brain.

Really though, I'm gonna finish those series, someday.