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North American Football Association (NAFA) Relaunch - Team #1: Boston Breakers


eagle98

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North American Football Association

I am re-launching my North American Football Association project. I have the majority of the teams designed by this point, and I will try to post at least one team per week.

The NAFA is my fictitious league. My sister came up with the original names years ago, but none of these names still exist in the league. Only one team remains in its original location, but its name has changed since its founding.

I have been creating football leagues for a long time now. One of my earliest was my USFL. Click here to see some of my first attempts at logos for the Minnesota Aliens USFL franchise.

My design skills have improved greatly since then, and my fictitious football world has developed into what it is today.

I have gotten a new template since my last attempt. All of the uniforms are manufactured by Delta Athletics (a fictitious company).

And now here is my backstory for my alternate football universe:

Football was brought to America in the early 1920s by immigrants. It was played at sand-lots and became very popular, with informal exhibition games played regularly. It became an official collegiate sport in 1927. At this point, it roughly resembled a game of rugby. In 1935, oil baron and businessman Red Nash sought to capitalize on the sport's popularity. He founded the ten-team American Football League and made modifications to the rules, including the addition of the forward pass. [NOTE: The AFL is a separate league from the NAFA and may be further explained in a future series.] Red Nash’s team, the Barons, still exists today.

The sport was wildly successful in its earliest years, and the league continued to expand, reaching 14 teams by 1938. However, World War II hit the league hard, and by 1943 all but six teams had folded. Following World War II, the league rebounded with two expansion teams in 1947. The league continued to expand through the 1950s and early 1960s, reaching 16 teams in 1962. The membership would remain stable for nearly four decades, as the league instead focused on expanding its television presence. In the late 1990s, following the example of other major sports, the AFL decided to expand once again. They added eight teams in 2000 in what was known as the “Millennium Expansion.” Only four of the eight Millennium Expansion teams remain in their original location today.

In the aftermath of the Millennium Expansion, Eugene Lambert decided to found the NAFA after realizing that there were still several large markets without football teams. In 2005, after nearly four years of work, Lambert had the backing he needed. He planned to begin play in Fall 2006 with ten teams, but after one team withdrew and three more experienced financial issues, the inaugural season was pushed back to 2007. The league played its first games on August 12, 2007.

The Washington Cardinals compiled a 6-1 regular-season record and went on to win the championship.

The league had a team fold after the 2008 season, and the Colorado Rockies folded the following year after posting a horrific combined 1-20 record over three years and seeing nearly-nonexistent crowds. Both times, a new expansion team entered the league the following year.

Following the 2010 season, the league saw major changes as a new commissioner was hired. Washington and New Jersey (two of the league’s most successful teams) did not return for 2011. Meanwhile, there were several relocations and re-brandings. Finally, three new expansion franchises were added. The expansion DC Eagles went on to win the 2011 title.

The league added three more expansion teams in 2012, and the Texas Thunderbirds went on to win the title.

The NAFA had planned to expand to three cities in 2013, but expansion was put on hold, and they currently plan to expand to four as-of-yet-unannounced cities in 2014.

Here is the league logo:

league_logo_zps6b6e0949.png?t=1385849891

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.'" - John 14:6

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

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Team #1: Boston Breakers

The Boston Breakers were originally slated to play in the league’s cancelled 2006 season as the California Sharks. However, in a last-minute deal, they were relocated to Oklahoma City and were rechristened the Oklahoma Sharks. They were met with sellout crowds their first season in 2007; however, despite the superb play of quarterback Ethan Ups (nicknamed “Eat-‘em Up” by fans), abysmal on-field play by the rest of the team doomed them to a 2-5 record. The following year, the team scored just 62 points all season, and their 1-6 record put them in last place in their division. Disappointingly, attendance and merchandise sales dropped precipitously, and after the season, the team was sold to Peter Riley, who tried to relocate the team to his hometown of Baltimore. However, unable to secure a stadium deal in Baltimore and unwilling to keep the team in Oklahoma another year, his team played games in Cumberland, MD at Maryland A&M University Stadium. The team was named the Maryland Bears, and Riley continued trying to find a stadium closer to Baltimore. His team enjoyed mild success in its first year, going 4-3 before falling to the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. However, due to the team’s remote location, attendance was sparse, and the organization was a financial disaster. 2010 was no better, and faced with the prospect of new competition from the Maryland Americans AFL team, Peter Riley decided that he’d had enough and sold the team. They were then relocated to Boston, where they played one season as the Boston Minutemen. They drafted highly-touted quarterback Jack Revere, who led the team to a 3-5 record before being injured at the end of the season. 2012 saw them rebrand as the Boston Breakers and finish a disappointing 3-8 without Jack Revere. Now, in 2013, with Revere healthy again, the Breakers are in the hunt for a playoff spot.

The Breakers name is the same as the USFL franchise of 1983. However, the logos were designed by me. The colors are aqua and indigo. Aqua represents water (Massachusetts is the Bay State), and the indigo—which is the same shade used on the United States flag—draws on Boston’s deep roots in the Revolution. I understand that this uniform in nontraditional, but my goal in this series is to think outside the box of traditional football uniforms.

Constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

bos_logo_zpsb06cc518.png

bos_home_zpscd2ae829.png

bos_away_zps0aab25a9.png

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.'" - John 14:6

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

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I remember this series! With that Quails logo. With the breakers, it's great, but I'd make the colors the opposite color as it is in that solid area (home=purple collar, road =white collar.) Real retro feel here and I like it

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  • 3 months later...

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