Team Logos

[phydeaux72]

It's bad enough that all the teams' jerseys look the same. So are the teams going to have their own logos? I was looking at the UFL merchandice page and all the team shirts have the UFL logo and no team logo. It would be nice if the individual teams had their own identity other than just a name.

[indoor fan]

And now San Francisco has changed their name to the California Redwoods.

[wellington]

And now San Francisco has changed their name to the California Redwoods.
I like this one better than SF Rockfish.

However, the jersey colors are bad (left image) -- neon green? It reminds me of the Orlando Thunder of the WLAF.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nfl_experts__15/ept_sports_nfl_experts-7491562-1250065202.jpg?ymy8AuBDwnisyVib

They should have gone with something either darker green/white or maroon/black combination.

I'm not too fond of Las Vegas' name either (Locomotives?), but at least they avoided using some of the cheesy names used by past leagues.

[preeths]

Logos for all teams are supposed to be unveiled in early September.

[phydeaux72]

Awesome. Can't wait.

I really hope the UFL puts a team in San Antonio in the next few years.

[wellington]

For all the sniping/criticizing that we hear about the UFL, it's going to be a very affordable entertainment option. I was looking at their ticket prices -- most tickets in the stadium are in $15-20 range. I doubt you can even get a college ticket for that price. For instance, the cheapest single game ticket for the University of Central Florida in Orlando is $25 (it's not like UCF is a high profile collegiate program).

[Panthers14]

San Francisco Rockfish...are you kidding. That is wild, I never knew that. Did they have a logo? And as far as logos go, when will the UFL publish their four logos: Redwoods, Locomotives, Sentinals, and Tuskers? Thanks.

[preeths]

Should be in the next week or two, I'm told.

[Panthers14]

Still waiting (9/28/09) and UFL Season about to start, so when will they release each individual franchise logo? Thanks.

[preeths]

The league starts next week, so they better be out pretty soon. This is a unique strategy.

[SignGuyDino]

You don't get it? This WILL be the Florida logo, they just haven't announced it yet:

http://www.ufl-football.com/content/downloads/FloridaLigature_0/FloridaLigature.jpg

Same with the other 3 teams.

[phydeaux72]

Wow. No real team logos. No team websites. Except for the fact that the teams have names, this is starting to feel a lot like the format that the AAFL was going to follow.

[SignGuyDino]

These ring a bell?

http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/AshevilleAltitude.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/ColumbusRiverdragons.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/FayettevillePatriots.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/GreenvilleGroove.GIF

[SignGuyDino]

How about these?

http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/HuntsvilleFlight.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/MobileRevelers.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/NorthCharlestonLowgators.GIF
http://www.logoserver.com/basketball/RoanokeDazzle.GIF

They worked so well no team in the southeast is in the D-League anymore...

...are we about to see the same thing? Sorry, two years and no logos? Spare me excuses.

[preeths]

The UFL teams will have logos, at least that's what I've heard.

[preeths]

Here's a look at the UFL logos, at least those applied for through the USPTO:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=brws_img&state=4009:3l3bp2.9.1&p_L=100&p_toc=brws_img

[feverfresh]

http://tess2.uspto.gov/ImageAgent/ImageAgentProxy?getImage=77835552&widthLimit=400&heightLimit=300

http://tess2.uspto.gov/ImageAgent/ImageAgentProxy?getImage=77835664&widthLimit=400&heightLimit=300

http://tess2.uspto.gov/ImageAgent/ImageAgentProxy?getImage=77835631&widthLimit=400&heightLimit=300

http://tess2.uspto.gov/ImageAgent/ImageAgentProxy?getImage=77835509&widthLimit=400&heightLimit=300

[SignGuyDino]

No, don't buy it...they'll change them like they did team names...LOL

[preeths]

The only team name I heard that got changed was the California team. They were going to be the Rockfish if I remember correctly, but I think the other three remained the same.

[SignGuyDino]

Yeah, I know, but if you'll remember they teased that all the names MIGHT be changed.

I'm starting to think with this league and the supposed SC PBL team that naming contests should be ended. We're too naturally inclined to try to out the names and logos. And the way these teams and leagues are handling the naming contests are looking more and more foolish.

[preeths]

Now officially released:
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3912470

[Minor League Man]

EDIT: Never mind, the story's now up.

Any thoughts?

[preeths]

I would like to have seen a bit less gray/silver and a bit more of anything else. There's a certain uniformity to the color scheme, sure, buy there really doesn't need to be that much.

[tops804]

For some reason, the concept behind these logos sticks too close to what MLS
first had.

"Locos" for the Las Vegas logo. A bit too obvious (Like the XFL's Memphis
Maniax using "Ax" on their helmets.). Something with an actual locomotive
theme may have been a better choice, and helped steer away from the
MLS comparision.

Agreed on the color scheme, it is all going to blend in on the field. Granted
the season is short, but one team from another is going to be a hard pick
up. Especially when trying to draw a fan base from around the country
for four franchises.

[wellington]

I would like to have seen a bit less gray/silver and a bit more of anything else. There's a certain uniformity to the color scheme, sure, buy there really doesn't need to be that much.

Yea I agree. There's also too much of that neon green. Reminds me of those hideous Seahawks jerseys from a week ago. Yikes!

Tuskers is the best looking one.

[Evad]

I think the Redwoods logo is cool. Yeah the silver is a bit to much, but if they change it in year 2 to a redish brown color it will be alot better

GO REDWOODS!!

[preeths]

Great article from the Orlando Sentinel that mentions the late logo release:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-sportsdiaz-tuskers-08100809oct08,0,7004428.column

[SignGuyDino]

I agree with everything said there and in the first response. I knew the moment they said "Florida" anything this league was done. It's no different than the fiasco of this supposed PBL team in Greenville, no wait, South Carolina. They're loyal, unless there's no fans, so they are already planning an exit. When the SC PBL would not name the team "Greenville" something it told me immediately they're thinking of moving. Same with the UFL in Orlando. It's convienence to find a place to play.

And before somebody pulls up "Carolina Panthers" or "Carolina Hurricanes," EVERYBODY knew the teams were not leaving due to new venues on the way at the time. Doesn't work with startup leagues especially since they can't afford to build their own venues.

This is a new league with no local promotion after TWO YEARS of telling us they were coming.

This adds to my growing belief to just end naming contests. Take your chances with research and being IN the community long enough to understand what makes it tick, and come up with a local name.

[wellington]

It's no different than the fiasco of this supposed PBL team in Greenville, no wait, South Carolina. They're loyal, unless there's no fans, so they are already planning an exit. When the SC PBL would not name the team "Greenville" something it told me immediately they're thinking of moving.

I agree. If you are in a particular town/city -- it only makes sense to use the city in the name. I think the PBL is a little obsessed with making themselves look bigger than what they are and like regional names... South Carolina, Georgia, Florida... another Greenville example is the South Carolina Force. Dumb for 2 reasons... 1.) again another regional name, 2.) Greenville has a lot of Clemson fans -- not too smart calling the team South Carolina. BTW the Force are supposedly playing in the SIFL this year.

[Pounder]

Color me in the "I'm surprised the league got this far" camp.

I think this venture probably has all the marketing they could afford after everything that's happened. The launch is a miracle IMO.

Next question: didn't the AFL have a year hiatus between their first 4-team year and the next season they played? I forget. Seems like something like that can easily happen here.

Because this is a six-game season, it's just a shakedown cruise. If this outfit can survive this shakedown (a big "IF" to be sure), it has the right to change things to suit local tastes. I doubt there'd be much in the way of "established history" that couldn't be changed after this year. It's a tree that fell in a forest in a very remote corner of the Northwest Territories, essentially.

BTW- the Orlando article clearly demonstrates that this operation is, so far, very CENTRALLY managed. This means they may lack investors and, if this condition continues, there's no worry about my talking about next year- in that scenario, there won't be one. The "centrally managed" explains the uniform similarities, because there must be only one supplier, and when the league decided they couldn't afford radically different uniforms, they got what they paid for. Ticket operations out of a non-league city? Check. No local promotion? Check? It doesn't work... and there's no money matching people who actually want to spend it, clearly.

Here's the conundrum, however. Would you rather have no league to talk about because the people with vision couldn't find the money, or would you rather wait in perpetuity for people with real money (definition: people who can afford to get into the NFL) to be sick of the NFL? I think you're fooling yourself to think the wait will generate something of substance. I believe you need someone to think (and scale) small at the start and figure out how to grow from there. You need to be patient with the "growth" that takes place. Otherwise, no real new league, competing or otherwise. If I dare translate to indoor terms, someone needs to create the af2 BEFORE the AFL, not the other way around.

[preeths]

I think that there is a good bit of money behind the league. To me, the problem seems to be that the UFL's entire focus has been on the football operations, instead of the marketing and business operations. Case in point, we knew who the head coaches were months ago but only got team logos the week before the openers. I thought for the most part the first two games looked good and were fairly sharply played, particularly for debuts. The rule changes seemed well thought-out and meant to encourage offenses without being gimmicky.

But football is only part of the product. It seems that the entire game experience is a little lacking. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and little looks worse than games played in nearly empty stadiums. I think that x amount spent today on things such as local promotions, real cheerleaders, better uniforms, mascots, etc., could well save you three times as much down the line. Building slowly isn't a bad idea, but you don't want to create a negative impression along the way because you just won't be able to overcome it in some markets.

[Micro67]

Just thought I'd put in my two cents. I like the Sentinels logo. It looks like the cover of Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead'. A team in New York should have a little conciet. It makes me want to beat them more.

I also like the Redwoods. A California team should be a little avante guard.

I'm not so big on the Tuskers. I would like a southern team to have a simple numbers on one side, silhouette of a tusk on the other design. Also, since it is the 'Speed State'. I'd like bright colors - like the old Orlando Thunder of the WLAF.

Vegas too, should be flashy.

[Sam Hill]

Next question: didn't the AFL have a year hiatus between their first 4-team year and the next season they played? I forget. Seems like something like that can easily happen here.


Arena football played its first four-team, six-game "season" in 1987. Six teams played 12 games in 1988. It was 1989 when they had that kind of barnstorming "reboot" season (five teams, four games) before coming back in 1990 with six teams playing eight games and growing (mostly) from there.

[wellington]

I'd like bright colors - like the old Orlando Thunder of the WLAF.



Noooooooooooooo... please no more of that puke neon green. That color should be banned.

I actually think the Tuskers have one of the better uniform/logo schemes.

[Pounder]

If you get me started on S**ttle Sounders FC, with the puke radioactive green basically lifted from the redone S**ttle S**hawks logo, the board may self-destruct.