Sports Design Blog

Favorite Sports Teams

I'm sure many of you can tell who some of my favorite teams are by the articles I've written, but I wanted to create a list of my favorite teams and what made me love them. Here we go:

NBA:
San Antonio Spurs
There is one reason why I am a fan of the San Antonio Spurs, and that is David Robinson. I've written a few times before about my admiration for the Admiral and the type of person and player he was. After following David in college, I became a Spurs fan the minute he was drafted. I have been a loyal fan ever since. From a logo perspective, the Spurs went through the dreaded fiesta colors era which was not one of the brighter spots in sports logo history, but their current logo is clean and well done.

MLB:
Houston Astros
Big surprise here for anyone who is a regular reader. The Houston Astros are the reason I became obsessed with sports logos and uniform designs as a child. Again, I've written several times about my love of the Astros unique style in the 1970's and 1980's. As a kid, growing up in the Cincinnati area it was a bit strange for me to like the Astros so much, but they were definitely my favorite. Don't get me wrong, like every Cincinnati area kid, I loved the Big Red Machine, but the Astros were my baseball passion. I have been disappointed in the Astros since they left behind the classic round logo and rainbow look many years ago, but hope the team will return to its roots someday.

Runner Up:
Baltimore Orioles
The other team I liked to pull for as a kid was the Baltimore Orioles. The only reason I adopted the Orioles was because of the Jim Palmer Kellogg's 3-D card I pulled out of my cereal box in the 1970's. The smiling bird and the black hat with the white front panel were definitely on the top of my list.

NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals
The one Cincinnati team that is at the heart of my sports loyalty is the Cincinnati Bengals.Though the team has provided more downs than ups over the years, they still occupy the top spot on my NFL team list. The two Super Bowl years provided the city with a ton of excitement, and that has kept fans of the Bengals going all these years. Though I do like the Bengals current helmets and uniforms, I am an old school fan of their original look. I've written many times on SDB about my love for the Bengals.

NCAA:
Kentucky Wildcats
Growing up in Northern Kentucky gave young sports fans a bit of an identity crisis. You were so close to Cincinnati, it seemed as if you should root for all things Cincinnati, but there was a certain pride in living in Kentucky. That pride led to a strong devotion to the Kentucky Wildcats. As a kid I remember listening to Caywood Ledford call the games on the radio and would not miss a single game on television. The great Kentucky basketball players of the time were my heroes as a young Kentuckian. Over the years I have been extremely fortunate to have worked closely on many projects relating to and with the Kentucky basketball program. To this day, I am stil a devoted Wildcats fan who is definitely looking forward to what the next chapter in the school's long basketball history will be.

Alright, there you have it. I have confessed my loyalties to the world and the reasons I have them. I know my favorites are all over the place and seem to have no real rhyme or reason. Let's hear from all of you about who your favorites are. Time to open up and confess your loyalties in the comments. I want to hear about the passions everyone had for their favorite teams and why you chose to support them. Make your lists and let the world know the reasons why you support those teams.

Just a quick note:

The column that I wrote last week about redesigning the Astros uniforms is running today on Astros Daily.com. Stop by and check out this site dedicated to all things Houston Astros. Maybe we can start a revolution!

The XFL

Was there ever a league that completely epitomized the design styles of its time more than the XFL? The XFL was a professional football league that played one season in 2001. The league was founded by owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon. Unlike the USFL who tried to go head to head with the NFL, the XFL was intended to be a major professional sports league to complement the NFL during the offseason, but failed to find an audience and folded after its first season. The idea behind the league was to bring some wrestling excitement to the game. Roughing penalties were few, the players could celebrate on the field and television coverage feature some really original camera angles.

The league also provided some seriously entertaining team logos. The league featured eight teams in its one and only season, and each had a logo that was filled with the popular sports design styles of the time. Here are a few of my favorites. The Birmingham Thunderbolts featured a lightning logo that was used in a very unique way on the team's helmets.

The Orlando Rage had a very unique look as well. The team's mascot was an angry, red faced man who looked like he was suffering from a serious headache! The word Rage is an extremely hard one to create a visual image for, but this one gets the job done. The helmet featured more unique striping that was different than the type of striping seen in the NFL.

The Chicago Enforcers had another great look. The logo featured a simple stylized C with a fist punching out of it. The logo looked great on the Enforcers' black helmets. The look was very simple, but effective. The colors worked great together and created a great look.

The XFL was a league that wasn't around very long, but made a big impact on logo design and how we thought about football as an entertainment product. The concept may have been a bit crazy, and the football wasn't quite up to NFL standards, but who can forget characters like "He Hate Me"? The XFL definitely has its small place in sports logo history.

NBA Logo News: Philadelphia 76ers

I couldn't let the day go by without commenting on the wise choice the Philadelphia 76ers have made by returning to their classic red, white and blue colors and old school logo. The return of this logo signals the end of the use of black and gold, which was way overdue. As a huge fan of the Doctor, Julius Erving, I can't wait to see the 76ers return to the look they had when he was tearing up the NBA.

Logo Breakdown: Memorial Day Edition

In the spirit of a holiday as patriotic as Memorial Day, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of sports' more patriotic logos. Below are a few true, red, white and blue logo designs from around the sports world.

Robert Morris Colonials:

The Robert Morris Colonials have one of the most obviously patriotic logos in sports. The logo features the required American colors of red, white and blue. The mascot is a patriot waving the original flag of the United States behind him. The logo is a great reminder of the time when our great country was founded and the sacrifices that those soldiers gave to give this country its start.

New England Patriots:

This one is also pretty obvious, as the team's name is the Patriots. This more modern logo style for the New England Patriots also features the red, white and blue colors (with some silver mixed in) and a patriotic soldier image. This logo seems to be loved by many, but is also a logo with its fair share of detractors. The team's earlier logo, Pat Patriot is also a classic American image, and is also one that is loved and not loved. The Pat Patriot logo features a patriotic soldier preparing to deliver the ball to the quarterback. Definitely a patriotic classic.

Philadelphia Phillies:

Is there a more classic patriotic image than the Liberty Bell? The Phillies logo features this iconic American image behind the Phillies script. The Phillies are from the city where our country took shape and where the Fathers of our country signed ouir most important documents that lead to our independence, so a patriotic logo is very fitting. 

I know there are other patriotic logos out there, but I wanted to take a look at a few just for some Memorial Day fun. Besides, you should all be out grilling hot dogs and burgers with your family instead of reading your favorite sports blogs!

In all seriousness, there are only a few logos that should really be important to us on this day:

Please take some time today to remember the sacrifices of the heroes who gave their lives to give us the opportunity to live free in the greatest country on earth.

Top 5 Defunct Team Logos

Today I wanted to take a look at some of my favorite logos from teams that no longer exist. Sports history is littered with great teams from the past who are no longer around, and there are hundreds of great defunct logos out there. Here are a few of my favorites.

5. Houston Oilers-NFL
The Oilers had one of the classic uniform and logo looks from the 1970's to the 1990's before the team moved to Tennessee. Who can forget the sight of Earl Campbell thundering through defenses in the powder blue uniforms with the oil derrick on the helmets. The days of Bum Phillips and Ken Stabler provided some of the most entertaining teams in NFL history. They even had their own theme song! It was a sad day when the Oilers moved to Tennessee and changed their name to the Titans. The powder blue and white was a true NFL classic.

4. Memphis Tams-ABA
I have no idea why I like this old logo from the ABA so much. I think it is because it is one of the unique examples in sports logo history when the team's mascot was a hat. This logo captures the essence of the league and the design styles of the time. The colors are true 1970's and the Tam is just a great visual image. The team spent part of its existence as the Memphis Pros, but nothing compares to this classic Tams logo.

3. Houston Colt 45's-MLB
For #3 we head back to Houston for this classic Colt .45s logo. I know my Astros bias may play into this one, but the logo is great in many ways. You just don't see logos any more that feature a gun in them. It is not particularly politically correct to have a firearm as your logo in today's sports world. After a few seasons, the Colt .45s became the Houston Astros, who are champions in the great logos of all-time category. The Colt .45s logo and it's unusual imagery land it on my list at #3.
 
2. Boston Breakers-USFL
At #2 on the list is the Boston Breakers from the USFL. This logo served three different cities over the course of it's existence. Boston was the first home of the team, followed by New Orleans and then Portland. The team had a really great helmet design with the multi-colored blue waves going down both sides. I kept my eye on this team because they took one of my favorite Bengals, Dan Ross, away from my home team. Despite the team residing in three different cities, the logo is a classic from the realm of defunct teams.
 
1. Hartford Whalers-NHL
The logo that takes the top spot on my list is the Hartford Whalers. I am by no stretch of the imagination a big hockey fan, but I am a sports logo fan and this logo is the all-time defunct classic in my book. I love the way the negative space of the logo between the whale tail and the W make the Hartford H. Unless you really look at the logo closely, you may not even see this great design element. The color set was great and the logo was the clear winner in my list of top 5 classic defunct logos.

I'm sure you all have many favorite defunct team logos. There are so many to choose from over the years, and this list is just my group of picks. Are there other classic out there that you like? Feel free to discuss your favorites in the comments. I'm sure there are many classics worth taking a look at that I missed on my list.

Logo Passion: Reader Submission

Last week I profiled the Houston Astros logos from the 1970's/1980's and how much those logos meant to me as a kid. I asked for readers to submit their stories about logos they loved and received this great e-mail from Jon who is the editor of the Fleer Sticker Project. If you haven't seen this fantastic blog, I can assure you that you will lose a few hours of productivity when you visit. Jon's knowledge of Fleer Stickers and sports logos in general is outsranding and this blog is packed with great imagery and information. Here are Jon's thoughts on some of his favorite sports logos.

By Jon Helfenstein

First off, I've always thought the Astros had one of the best logos in baseball when they had the Astrodome logo, and I thought the rainbow uniform look was great.  Yes, it was very 70's, but the great thing was that it was unique.  Unfortunately the uniforms of today (for all teams) seem to be much less interesting and unique than they were during the 1970s.

Another logo that I always liked was the 1970's A's logo. Once they added "The Swingin'" and the pair of white shoes (which were very cool at the time) to the logo (which had previously just been a white baseball with "A's" in the center), the logo had personality and some attitude. I also love those 1970's A's uniforms. The logo did a good job of reflecting the personality
of the team at that time which had a swagger from winning 3 consecutive championships.

But my favorite logo is the 1960s - 1980's Orioles logo with the cartoon bird swinging the huge bat in the orange (and sometimes black) circle. The smiling bird on the caps was a great compliment to the logo. The cartoon bird has a personality, something the current logo clearly lacks.

I understand why teams change logos and uniforms from time to time, but I was very disappointed when the Orioles changed the logo in 1989 and starting using the more ornithologically correct bird in the logo and on the caps. The logo is just very cold and drab to me. It has no life or personality, regardless of how many times they've made slight changes to the bird over the last 20 years.

I mean, which logo is more eye catching? Its not even close. Same with the caps. I know the Orioles finally brought back "Baltimore" to their road jerseys this year (thanks Washington Nationals!), but they really had a chance to improve things by going back to the cartoon bird caps as well - if not as the primary cap, at least as an alternate - but no....we have the "O's" cap with the upside down apostrophe.  Is there a more ridiculous cap in baseball?  Yes, fans call them the O's, but the caps just don't do it for me.

I followed the Orioles as I grew up near Baltimore during the 1970's and early 1980's when they were a class organization, and were one of the best teams in baseball.  Obviously that impacts how I feel about the logos and caps that I associate with those teams and the memories I have of seeing the team making some World Series appearances during that time, so I admit a strong bias in preferring the old logos. If I were designing a logo for a team today, and could animate that logo to have some personality versus just making the logo look just like a realistic representation of my team's name, I would go with the option that made the character at least look interesting and something you would want to look at.

Thanks to Jon for this fantastic submission. I really appreciate his passion for sports logos and especially the effort he puts into his Fleer Sticker Project. This is a great example of how much a sports logo means to a fan and the emotions it represents. I too liked the Orioles as a kid, after pulling a Jim Palmer 3-D card out of my cereal box one day, the Orioles became my favorite American League team. The smiling Oriole is a logo I would also like to see return to the field, as it was one of the best from its era and one of my all-time favorites. -Jim

Logo Breakdown: Teams in need of a new look

In today's logo breakdown we will take a look at some teams that are in need of a logo makeover. Sports logo design has continued to evolve but there are still major sports teams out there that could use a logo makeover and could add a little more modern design spin to their looks. We'll take a look league by league and see who could use the help of one of us sports designers or logo experts!

NFL:

Jacksonville Jaguars- the Jaguars have had the same colors and logo since their inception in 1995. At the time, the design they have matched the styles of the day. The teal color was extremely popular, as was the use of black, so the colors made some sense at the time, though even that trend was starting to get old at the time. In today's NFL these colors don't look quite as fresh as they did in 1995. The logo is also very 1990's style. There are many ways you could update a Jaguar and make it look more modern and intimidating. It is also time to rid themselves of the teal and go with a color more suited to the current times. The Jags are definitely at the top of my list of NFL teams in need of a makeover.

Honorable Mention:

Cincinnati Bengals- The Bengals have updated their logo in recent years, implementing the striped B, which is a really nice, simple logo. Their uniform set is also relatively fresh and innovative. However, the striped helmets that were so innovative when they first hit the gridiron have been around a long time and the team needs to try a new style. These helmets were introduced in 1981, 28 years ago! Even though the helmets are still cool 28 years later, it would be great to see the Bengals hit the field in something different. I know this is not likely to happen, because most of the seatbacks in Paul Brown Stadium have the striped helmet embossed in them. That would be a big costly project replacing that, so knowing the Bengals like we do, new helmets are not likely in the equation.

MLB:

Houston Astros- as I've discussed before on Sports Design Blog, I loved the Houston Astros look in the 1970's and 1980's. The colors and the cool Astrodome logo were my favorites as a kid. So, my choice here is a bit personal. Ever since the Astros drifted away from the spacey font and the H-Star on their hats, I've been a bit let down by my favorite childhood team's look. Their current logo is an improvement form its predecessor, but still doesn't recall the great graphic look of Astros past. The star is still represented there in a way, but the font they use just does not do it for me. I would love to see the Astros go after a look that would fuse the coolness of their early look with a modern spin and bring back that old school Astros uniform and logo magic.

NBA:

Portland Trailblazers- The NBA is a league that is filled with teams that could use a logo makeover but I wanted to focus on two teams. The team taking the top spot is the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers have had the same uniform and logo look since Bill Walton was eating granola and hiding out in Montana in the offseason. Their look today is the same one that they had when they took Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Their logo has evolved a bit over the years but is still basically the same as it has been for what seems like forever. The uniform set has gone unchanged and is in need of a modern makeover. With the team moving forward, having on-court success and shedding its old image with a younger, more citizen-friendly roster, it is definitely time for the Blazers to adopt a fresh look.

Honorable Mention:

Oklahoma City Thunder- I can't remember a time that I was more disappointed with a logo unveiling than I was when I saw the Thunder debut this look. Moving a franchise and changing its name provides a team with a great opportunity to make a bold statement and create something great, but the Thunder really dropped the ball on this one. The name Thunder makes you think of power, darkness, bright flashing lightning, loud sounds, and an imposing presence. The logo and the colors that the Thunder chose don't even come close to conveying any of those images. The color set looks like a fresh spring day in Georgia, not a dark, stormy day in Oklahoma. There is nothing to the logo or colors that says "Thunder". I know this is only their second season, but this team really blew a great opportunity and needs to change direction on this look quickly.

Honorable Mention 2: Several other NBA teams could use a logo refresh, like the Clippers, Bobcats, Rockets and the Wizards, but we'll save them for next time.

NHL:

Los Angeles Kings- I will be the first to admit that I am no hockey expert. I might have been better served to let Johnny at PuckDrawn write this part, because he has the NHL knowledge to do so. I will however, take a shot. The team for me that really has gone down the wrong logo path is the Los Angeles Kings. First, I'm on Paul Lukas' team when he says that purple is death. I know its a kingly color, but I'm just not a big fan. The logo just seems a bit clip-artish to me and not up to the standards of a professional team. Simple, boring and nondescript. Call me old school, but I loved the silver and black look of the 1990's more than this, even though I know that era was dominated by many teams switching to that color scheme. Hopefully some of you NHL logo experts can comment further on NHL teams needing a makeover, but I'll go with the Kings.

I hope I've written enough to spark some debate. I'm sure everyone has strong feelings about teams needing new looks, so feel free to add comments and provide insight into your choices.