Typing Out Loud Vol. 1

winning design submitted by fans

A big reason for this blog is to have a place to put my mostly stupid thoughts on paper.......or a computer. I'll call it "Typing Out Loud" as that's exactly what I'll be doing. The grammar might suck, the flow of the thoughts may not be smooth, and I may not even make sense. Either way, some ideas may be worth discussion, who knows.

I'll start with today's news that the Milwaukee Brewers held a contest that let fans design a Spring Training uniform concept. GENIUS idea. I brought up a similar concept in a previous post for the NFL and Nike (read it here). It's a great way to express interest for fans that have creative ideas. 

Speaking of crazy uniform concept ideas, a colleague of mine and I were discussing a crazy cross promotion idea between the NFL and NBA. How crazy/rad/sad would it be if the NFL used the logos and color schemes of NBA teams for uniforms, while the NBA used NFL logos and color schemes for their uniforms?

Let me clarify. NFL teams that have a NBA franchise in close proximity would accept designs from fans. These designs/concepts would be influenced by the NBA team's logo. Example: The Minnesota Vikings would wear Minnesota Timberwolves FOOTBALL uniforms, while the Timberwovles would wear Vikings themed BASKETBALL uniforms. Seems crazy right? Check this very poor visual (I threw this together in five minutes)

NFL uniforms influenced by NBA uniforms

NFL uniforms influenced by NBA uniforms

It seems like a stupid idea...and I get that. But it'd be super interesting to see what sort of designs fans would submit. I'll continue to work on digital designs for this as I don't have the tools yet to make good looking rough draft designs. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute, email UniForumsDW@gmail.com and I'll post them. The cross promotion could go between the NFL and MLB too...but baseball has a lot of traditional color schemes and logos. The audience for the NFL and NBA are already in place, it'd be a great idea in my opinion.

New Orleans Pelicans' Logo

In other uniform news, the New Orleans Pelicans (yes, that's a real NBA franchise name) release their official logo. My reaction: I oddly like it...which I think most people have a hard time admitting. It's unique to New Orleans as the Pelican is their state bird, and that's important. The "Hornets" just doesn't make sense. In the past few years, NBA teams have been going back to a more "retro" look for their primary logos (see the Wizards, 76ers, Cavaliers, Jazz, Warriors...). I find this odd because the NBA was the first professional sport to embrace the "cartooney" and "teal" concepts (see Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets). 

Some NBA teams will never change their logo due to their history, nor should they (see Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Trailblazers), but some have flat out swung and missed with their uniform designs. Specifically, the Bobcats. If you're going to start a new franchise, you should at least let the fans vote on the best concept for uniforms and logos. Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one outside of OKC was happy to see that franchise leave Seattle. Like New Orleans did with the Pelicans, Oklahoma City chose a nickname that's specific to them...the Thunder. "The Thunder? Seriously?" was everyone's thought. Well, it stuck. They didn't go crazy with their logo or their uniforms. They went with unique ideas and kept it simple...and that worked. Congrats to the Pelicans for taking the same approach. DEAR SEATTLE: Take note...

Lastly, I'm working on a post that will cover the rumors of four NFL teams making changes to their logos for 2013. Those four "rumored" teams are the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You can ready the story about this rumor HERE.

As the author of this story suggests (and has apparently seen each logo change), one change is great, one is hardly noticeable  one is awful and one is modernized. It's possible that the Dolphins changes were leaked (to see it, click HERE), and if true, that would solve the "modernized" myth.

My prediction for the other three? 

Panthers - LOVE it
Vikings - Awful
Buccaneers - What changed?

The author suggests that Buccaneers fans don't need to worry about the Creamsicle uniforms coming back, so my guess is they don't change much...maybe just clean the logo up a bit. As for the other two teams, I'm from Minnesota...we just can't catch a break with any of our teams. That will result in the Vikings trying to make changes in house, through Nike, and completely botching a "re-branding" campaign. That won't sit well. 

I won't be surprised if the Panther come up with a cool new design. The "Carolina Blue" (not THE "Carolina Blue") was cool in the 90's when the franchise started. They haven't made many changes and their team has been garbage the past 10 years. They have a new regime in charge, and it only  makes sense that they'll go for a new identity. If they were smart, they'd change their colors and their logo. We should know before the NFL Draft in April...I guess time will tell.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

You can follow us on Twitter - @UniForums