EuroBasket 2013

[Philsphan]

Essen

Nicknamed the Miners, for the Western Germany's great mining industry, Essen was founded in 1985. Essen has never won a EuroBasket championship or a EuroCup. The Miners have gone in and out of the EuroBasket and division 1, most recently being promoted in 2011. Aesthetically, Essen is known for their plain black shorts with no numbers or logos. Overall a plain team, Essen spiced it up this year with a yellow sash across their home jerseys.

[Whittier S]

München--Two things. Drop the details of the name and the basket and ball (the latter *really* unnecessary in any form) from the logo on the jersey. Those details would be lost. Also, you need to have numbers on the front of *every* jersey. Numbers aren't just decoration--the officials need them. But beyond those things, I like the identity. The away jersey is slick.

Also, Essen is easily your best concept here. Trust me--simpler is better.

[Philsphan]

All teams from now on will have numbers on the front. I might go back and edit Bordeaux and Munchen at the end.

Olympus

15 years after its founding, 1996, Olympus made its mark on history by signing two of the EuroBasket's best players to go along with their monstrous center. Labeled the Big 3, Olympus drew crowds across Europe and went one-defeated (37-1) for their first EuroBasket championship in 2011. However, Olympus lost in the finals of the EuroCup. In 2012, Olympus completed the double, winning the EuroBasket and the EuroCup. The players on Olympus were soon nicknamed after Greek Gods only to be split up in 2013 due to an ownership change. Olympus wears skye blue and yellow and their logo, not script on their jerseys. Construction of a new stadium on top of a mountain is almost done.

EDIT: bigger numbers and no more Greek temple similar to Athens' logo on the logo.

[Whittier S]

I like the out-of-the-box thinking for the Olympus jerseys, though realistically, the jersey number would need to be a little bigger. Also, since this is a more complex logo, the number is kind of getting lost in it. Of course, you can put a number inside the logo--see Golden State--but you'll need to experiment with the negative space in the logo.

[Philsphan]

Colossi of Rhodes

The Colossi of Rhodes, named after the ancient statue that stood in Rhode's harbor during ancient times called the Colossus of Rhodes, are consistently the third best team in Greece. They bounce in and out of the EuroBasket and Division 1 with no EuroBasket titles. Rhodes' uniforms are pretty simple and they use the colors red and black. Rhodes plays in a small stadium and has some of the rowdiest fans in EuroBasket. Laws are commonly broken in the crowd but crowd control and the police have turned their backs before causing investigations before.

[Philsphan]

Athens

Athenians take great pride in their local team BC Athens. Athens has achieved moderate success since their founding in 1985. They have reached two EuroCup finals, but lost both. Rivalries with Olympus and Rhodes are strong, but there isn't a hatred of these team from Athens' fans. For instance, if Olympus is in the final, many of Athens' fans will root for them. Athens plays in a state of the art stadium, perhaps the greatest building in Athens today that isn't crumbling. Athens is known for their very simple blue and white uniforms with a two-toned stripe alternate.

[Guest darkpiranha]

I like Athens a lot. However, I like the building here better than on Olympus's logo. It looks a bit odd sitting on top of that mountain. Since the buildings look so much alike, I'd keep the building style like this for Athens, but would maybe come up with something a bit different for Olympus. Mythological Olympus often has clouds associated with it, so maybe instead of a straight on mountain side view, something more angled, like we're looking at it from below, with clouds ringing the top (where we don't see the peak) and then the building rising from the clouds.

[Philsphan]

Regal London

Regal London, like basketball in England, is a new. They were founded in 2002 and 2013 is their first season in the EuroBasket. Their identity is based on the Tudor rose, the symbol of England's royal family during the 1500s. Red and navy are the primary colors of the team and colors on the present day Union Jack, but the green stripes with red trim is a throwback to what England's identity was under the Tudors. Regal London is moving into the London 2012 basketball arena for this season to accommodate for larger crowds, now that the club is in the top division.

[Whittier S]

You're doing a much better job of maintaining more consistent identities. You're definitely growing as a designer.

[Philsphan]

Kosmos BC

Kosmos BC is a team from Western Russia, the city of Chelyabinsk, named after the famous Russian "Cosmonauts." Chelyabinsk was a center of space exploration during the Soviet years and a team was formed to amuse the growing town. Kosmos BC declined as well as Soviet Union and the space program, but has made a resurgence back into the EuroBasket for 2013. Kosmos BC plays in a futuristic stadium that is kind of quirky. Planets, rockets and stars are painted onto the ceiling and the walls so when a team comes to Chelyabinsk, they feel as if they are playing in space. Kosmos BC wears orange and purple.

[Philsphan]

Olympus update regarding suggestions made my Whittier and darkpiranha ^^^

Red Star

Red Star, based in Moscow and founded in 1968, is the most successful team in European Basketball history. Below their logo, Red Star has 6 EuroBasket championship stars symbolizes 12 titles. Red Star was the communist regime team throughout the Soviet era, which was their peak in terms of success. However, many thought Red Star would never win a championship again without the support of the Soviet Union, but they were proved wrong in 1996, 2001 and 2007. Red Star plays in Europe's biggest stadium in terms of capacity and wears red and yellow. Although the team is commonly referred to as Red Star, "Mockba" has always been the script to symbolize the support of the government. Mockba is also the richest team in Europe but doesn't splurge in spending on players from other countries.

[Philsphan]

Sankt Petersburg was founded in 1971 and has always been the biggest Russian rival of Red Star. The success of Sankt Petersburg doesn't compare to their red rivals, though. Sankt Petersburg has never won a EuroBasket championship, but has won two EuroCups. Nicknamed the Polar Bears, Sankt Petersburg plays in a stadium nicknamed "The Winter Palace." Many opposing players have accused Sankt Petersburg of lowering the temperature in their stadium to make visiting teams uncomfortable.

[Philsphan]

Garden Ring

Garden Ring, named after a wide highway (18 lanes at the widest) that encircles Moscow, was founded in 1975 and routinely sabotaged by the government. The Soviet government, which favored cross-town Red Star, would try by any means to ensure that Garden Ring would never meet success. Garden Ring has been in and out of the EuroBasket sporadically, but returned in 2011. Garden Ring has no European championships or cups. The stadium is on the edge of the highway and the team's fans are nicknamed the "Gardeners." Signature hoops around the arms n Garden Ring's jerseys are dark green, light green, and yellow.

*sorry that the dark green bled into the script on the away/clash

It'd be nice to get some comments...

[Guest darkpiranha]

Good stuff. The backstories of each team really add to the overall identities. I like how each country has a variety of uniform styles appropriate to their histories.

At this point, something that would be neat to see is a logo map, showing where the teams are, and maybe an indication of where the remaining teams will be located. You've got so many now (a good thing) that now I'm looking forward to what's next, and I think a hint at the future would be fun.

[Philsphan]

Good stuff. The backstories of each team really add to the overall identities. I like how each country has a variety of uniform styles appropriate to their histories.

At this point, something that would be neat to see is a logo map, showing where the teams are, and maybe an indication of where the remaining teams will be located. You've got so many now (a good thing) that now I'm looking forward to what's next, and I think a hint at the future would be fun.

First, thanks for the comment. I was getting kind of discouraged by the lack of comments. I'm glad you like the histories. A logo map will be the final thing, displaying all 20 teams. I have 17 teams up now. I should be done by the weekend. The remaining teams are all in countries that do not already have teams: that's your hint.

[Guest darkpiranha]

Hmm... let's see... Portugal, maybe? Sweden? Serbia and/or Croatia, since so many actual NBA players come from there. Ireland or Scotland, perhaps.

[Whittier S]

For your Russian ones (and if you do a Serbian one), it would be nice to see them using the Cyrillic alphabet. It's actually not that hard to make the transition from Latin alphabet to what you have, especially since on most of them you've got things translated. (The Russian team with the English name is a bit bothersome, though I certainly can't fault you for the effort.)

[Philsphan]

For your Russian ones (and if you do a Serbian one), it would be nice to see them using the Cyrillic alphabet. It's actually not that hard to make the transition from Latin alphabet to what you have, especially since on most of them you've got things translated. (The Russian team with the English name is a bit bothersome, though I certainly can't fault you for the effort.)

I was going use Cryllic, but what I decided was that I'd use the phonics and sounds of the Russian words and put them into the Latin Alphabet. (Example: Sankt Petersburg) This league is already strange enough, being a fictional, hand drawn, European, basketball league. It would weird even more people out if some teams were in Cryllic.

[Whittier S]

BTW I *really* like that Kosmos home jersey.

[Philsphan]

Thanks. Kosmos BC is one of my favorites.

Note: this one is a little stranger, especially the clash (which I forgot #s). If it's not working, I'll replace the clash.

Vilnius

Vilnius, the capital of basketball-crazy Lithuania, has been home to the Amber since 1993. Nicknamed the amber, for the amount of, well, amber in Lithuania, Vilnius wears orange. Complimenting the orange is the colors of the Lithuanian flag, red, green and yellow plus light green. Lithuanians are very proud of their countries after years of Soviet control. Vilnius' symbol is an interlocking V and A. Vilnius won the European double, EuroBasket championship and EuroCup, in 2001, but those remain the only European victories for Vilnius. Vilnius has never lost a Lithuanian Cup.