By Phil Hecken
Follow @PhilHecken
How’s everyone this fine Sunday? Hope all is well and you’re staying safe! If you missed it yesterday, I’m hosting my annual “Dads In Uniform” Father’s Day special again this year — details below. Please feel free to send in a pic of your dad, uncle or grandpappy in uniform!
Now then, today’s lede (yes, it’s more concepts — apologies to those who aren’t into all the concepts I’ve been running, but as you know, with the whole COVID-19 sitch we have a dearth of uni news at all, and nothing really lede-worthy) is a joint effort by two graphic artists I’ve actually hosted on here before. One of those is Mike Joseph (who you “met” a couple weeks ago and whose work I’ve featured on here before) and the other is Stefan Vasilev (who was one of the first artists to grace us with crossovers). They’ve teamed up to create some alternate helmets for the NFL — and some of them are out there. It’s food for thought — most teams in the NFL rarely change helmets, and of course, until the one-shell rule is lifted, most won’t be wearing anything different for a while. But…what if they could? And yes, I know the old axiom: “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should” — but what the hell, let’s have some fun.
So without further ado, let’s see what Mike and Stefan have cooked up. You can click on any of the images below to enlarge (initials by the helmet indicate which creator designed the helmet).
NFL Helmet Concepts
By Mike Joseph & Stefan Vasilev
We put our FieldFlex Helmet Template to the test and redesigned every NFL team’s helmet. We even did some twice! Relax – they’re just concepts.
Some logos and wordmarks were popular alternates found on Google images and did not have artist credit available. Some other logos and workmarks were wholly or partially designed by UniMockups friends and collaborators Nick Mueller of MLR Studios and GamePlan Chicago’s Tom O’Grady and team.
Arizona Cardinals (MJ)
Kyler wants something different? Here it is. Wordmark by Nick Mueller.
Atlanta Falcons (MJ)
Classic red with modern logo and forward movement.
Baltimore Ravens (MJ)
Leaned into purple (sorry, Paul) with a great logo by Nick Mueller.
Baltimore Ravens (SV)
Stefan wanted to maximize use of space with bold logos for all of his designs.
Buffalo Bills (SV)
Break the mold of helmet design with a forward moving design.
Carolina Panthers (MJ)
Can’t be Carolina without the blue. Wordmark by Nick Mueller.
Chicago Bears (MJ)
My only gradient and brought the GSH from the sleeve to the helmet with a white mask to pop.
Cincinnati Bengals 1 (MJ)
Less busy, sleeker stripes, slightly dirty orange like tiger fur. Wordmark by Nick Mueller.
Cincinnati Bengals 2 (MJ)
White Tiger seems obvious. Nick and I have been planning this for months (uni coming soon).
Cleveland Browns (SV)
Make the Browns helmet brown and take the classic stripes and repurpose them in an unexpected way that again indicates forward movement.
Dallas Cowboys (MJ)
The white star on a dark helmet has always spoken to me. It just pops.
Denver Broncos (SV)
Again, maximizing space and suggesting motion was key, using only two main colors for a sleek look.
Detroit Lions (MJ)
Out with silver, in with official lion color #DECC9C according to Wikipedia.
Green Bay Packers (MJ)
It’s hard with these classic “untouchable” looks but I like the idea of a green helmet over the yellow so I made it work.
Houston Texans (SV)
Such a great logo deserves a bold treatment.
Indianapolis Colts (SV)
The horseshoe as a C seems like an easy move to make and it fits the helmet shape perfectly, much like the Rams horn. [Yeah, but what about the other side???? — PH]
Jacksonville Jaguars (SV)
Big cats = big logos = big plays.
Kansas City Chiefs (SV)
Nothing crazy here, just bigger and more upward movement like an arrow flying.
Las Vegas Raiders (SV)
The swords form a V for Vegas.
Las Vegas Raiders (MJ)
Another untouchable look so I just had fun with the Vegas move and added a stylized spade.
Los Angeles Chargers (SV)
A tweak on a near perfect design. Not much else can be done here.
Los Angeles Rams (MJ)
Leaned in to the new bone color with the royal base and a wordmark I created for a previous concept.
Miami Dolphins (SV)
The details get lost with the small dolphin, and a little black trim really pops here.
Minnesota Vikings (MJ)
Imaging a viking helmet with the horns turned upward with a forward tilt, like a bull. When the head goes down, the horns become a weapon. [So, art kinda imitates NFL life then? — PH]
New England Patriots (SV)
TB is gone to TB. A bold new look for a new era.
New Orleans Saints (MJ)
Black and gold on white just looks beautiful, especially with the new fleur-de-lis and wordmark by Nick Mueller.
New York Giants (MJ)
NY is not enough. The Yankees and Jets both use it. Let’s go with the TV abbreviation of NYG with a strong mark.
New York Giants (SV)
Big and bold like NY itself. [I think this is the point were Jimmer Vilk will remind us the Giants actually play in New Jersey — PH]
New York Jets (MJ)
Full protective visor concept with logo design by Tom O’Grady’s team at Gameplan Chicago. To my knowledge we have the only template on the market with the full visor option that the NFL may use when play resumes.
New York Jets (SV)
Something totally new and fresh – jetstreams because the Jets have already passed you by.
Philadelphia Eagles (SV)
An unexpected move and enlargement of the wing creates a unique, striking look.
Pittsburgh Steelers (SV)
Repurposing of the “steel” colored ring as a top stripe and mask color and removal of the large, white circle modernizes a classic look.
San Francisco 49ers (MJ)
I always loved this alternate logo and wanted to see it on a helmet. I hated when the 49ers forced black unis, but for some reason I liked black the most with this logo.
Seattle Seahawks (MJ)
This might be the one I would want to happen the most in reality. These colors need to come back.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (MJ)
White helmets make sense in Tampa. This look merges two eras and brings Bucco Bruce back ever so discreetly.
Tennessee Titans (SV)
Are we detecting a theme here? Big, bold, use of space.
Washington (SV)
An easy way to create one of the best looks in the league.
Think you can do better? Pick up the UniMockups FieldFlex Football Helmet Mockup (PSD) template and show us what you’ve got.
Be sure to enter our State Flag Helmet Design Contest while you’re at it!
We’re also offering design services for those who don’t have Photoshop or don’t know how to use this stuff — good for coaches, etc. Looking to have UniMockups design a custom helmet for you? Click here.
Thanks Mike & Stefan! Clearly, none of these helmets are going to happen — although there are definitely a few I wish would (looking at you Seattle, Atlanta & Balto!). But this was definitely a fun exercise and the graphics were of course, splendid.
OK readers? What do you think! Please let the designers know in the comments below.
Guess The Game…
from the scoreboard
Today’s scoreboard comes from Mike Styczen.
The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).
Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date & location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):
Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.
The “BEST OF” Kreindler’s Korner
Hey guys & gals. You’ve enjoyed Kreindler’s Korner for several years now, mostly on the weekends, on Uni Watch, but with the recent coronavirus outbreak, Graig’s time is just too precious and he needs to tend to other things besides coming up with a new writeup each weekend.
So, going forward, for as long as the COVID-19 situation is bad in New York, I’m going to run a few “Best of’s” until Graig returns.
Here’s today’s offering (click to enlarge):
Title: “Loaded”
Subject: Los Leopardos de Santa Clara, 1923
Medium: Oil on linen
Size: 30″ x 48″The 1923-24 Leopardos de Santa Clara are considered one of the best Cuban clubs of all-time. The team boasted National Baseball Hall of Fame members José Méndez and Oscar Charleston (perhaps one of the greatest all around players in the history of the Negro Leagues and probably baseball history as a whole). Also featured were Cuban Hall of Famers Alejandro Oms, Pablo Mesa, Ghost Marcelle, Eustaquio Pedroso, Esteban Montalvo, Julio Rojo and Pedro Dibut. And, lets not forget Negro League standouts Dobie Moore, Dave Brown, Frank Duncan and Frank Warfield. This stacked club went 36-11, and won the pennant by 11.5 games over Habana.
This painting is one of only handful team shots I’ve attempted, and though it wasn’t as complicated as the 1927 Yankees monster, it definitely had its own challenges. Like Murderer’s Row, there was a ton of pinstriping to handle, all of which had to follow the forms of these guys, undulating and folding in space. Thankfully, it only included about half of the number of players the Yankees image did, so in that regard it wasn’t as brutal. But unlike Yankee Stadium, I found that everything other than the players was pretty spartan.
Pictured in La Boulanger Park in Santa Clara, it’s obvious that the places these teams were playing in had more of a feeling akin to the American ballparks during the early 20th century. Additionally, I was dealing with a bit of a different climate situation than that of the states. I did my best to illustrate sub-tropical temperatures, and though trade winds can provide some relief from heat and humidity, I wanted to make sure that there was moisture in the air. That feature is probably most noticeable in the modulation of the color temperature of the grass as it recedes into the distance. Also, the very soft edges augmented that feeling.
Overall, I am SUPER happy that I was able to paint this formidable club, and hopefully was able to do them the justice they deserve.
Thanks, Graig! You can (and should!) follow Graig on Twitter.
Father’s Day Is Coming: Next Sunday is Father’s Day, and I’ll once again be posting photos of Uni Watch readers’ “Dads In Uniform,” a tradition that began in 2013 (and has continued in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and last year). This is always a very special day, and I’d love for as many readers as possible to participate — especially those of you who haven’t done so before.
I welcome those who have submitted before to do so again — and this time, I’m going to allow readers to send in photos of their Grandfathers or Uncles (sorry, no brothers — maybe next year). So if you have a photo of your grandpappy or uncle in a uni, please send it in!
To take part in this annual tradition, select one photo of your father (or grandfather or uncle) in uniform (it can be sports, military, work — as long as it’s a uniform) along with a short description of 100 words or less (refer to my prior years’ entries to get a feel for the style of the descriptions). Then email the photo — again, only one, please — and text to phil.hecken@gmail.com with the subject line “Uni Watch Father’s Day 2020” by this Thursday, June 18, midnight Eastern. I’ll run all of the submissions next Sunday. Thanks!
Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil
Baseball News: Looks like Cherry Creek HS in Denver, whose teams are the Bruins, has appropriated a Cubs logo for their baseball uni sleeves (from Perry Sailor). … A great announcement yesterday. Youppi! will be inducted in the Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, IN. Wade Heidt explains: “There of course was the decision for Youppi! about what team to represent when he is inducted. He will be wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey for the occasion instead of a Montreal Expos hat.” … Apologies if this is a repeat, but the Tulsa Drillers have unveiled their uniforms for the 2020 season. … Nice little painting update from Andy Brown, who continues his magnificent work during the COVID-19 pandemic. … Pretty sure Paul has written about this one a few times, but Lou Whitaker forgot his uni for the ‘85 ASG (from Goat Jerseys). … Also from Goat: “Watching the ‘85 ASG in the Metrodome. Totally forgot the base lines were red, white, and blue.” … “In watching some 1968 World Series video, this gets even more fascinating. While McLain started Game 1 with the number on his right sleeve. By the 5th inning…” writes Lou Griffel. “By the 5th inning he appears to have switched jerseys and the number is now on the left sleeve!”
NFL/CFL News: How do you feel about the Philadelphia Eagles “unofficial retired” jersey numbers? … Nice throwback to 1980 here, with the Edmonton Eskimos wearing slightly re-jigged jerseys, with an EE on the arm and the Alberta 75 crest (from Vintage Oilers). … Baker Mayfield will absolutely kneel down during the national anthem (from Paul). Looks like JJ Watt will as well. … I can’t believe Paul retweeted this! … Paul’s tweets are embedded in this article acquainting new Las Vegas Raiders fans with the team’s uniform history.
College Football News: A guest columnist for the Cedar Rapids Gazette is advocating for the name of Duke Slater, Iowa’s first black All-American, to be added to Kinnick Stadium’s name in the wake of allegations of racial insensitivity and unequal treatment within the football program (from Kary Klismet). … Liberty Football honored the 75th anniversary of D-Day invasion in 2019 with a one-game special helmet. On the side of the helmet are decals with the faces of 21 men who made up the “Bedford Boys”, in memory of their sacrifice (from Blaise D’Sylva). … Also from Blaise: LSU football
wore numbers on their helmet from ’57-’71. During that time there were three number styles. ’57, ’58-’64 and ’65-’71. … Kent State players will get to wear their area codes on their helmet bumpers (from Colin Ferrell).
Hockey News: The author of this article firmly believes that there are five throwback jerseys (for the Pacific Division) that absolutely need to return.
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NBA & College Hoops News: Someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided it would be necessary to rank the five best jerseys that LeBron James ever wore. … Former Murray State star Ja Morant is asking a Kentucky judge to remove a Confederate monument in downtown Murray (via Paul).
Soccer News: MLS will allow teams to sell advertising patches on players’ shorts, an initiative to help organizations offset considerable losses amid the shutdown caused by the novel coronavirus (WaPo link). … Next weekend, AFC Bournemouth “Cherries” will be sporting a new look as they take to the pitch looking for three points against Crystal Palace. The team will be wearing the 2020/21 home shirt for the remainder of the season, with Vitality taking over the front of shirt advertising for the next nine games (from Chris Edwards, Ed Żelaski and Josh Hinton). … Irish football club Cork City FC, which plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division & is known as the Rebel Army, has banned the Confederate battle flag (from Timmy Donahue). … Check out this neat Fortuna Düsseldorf kit to commemorate their 125th anniversary (from Frederick Eloy Vaughn). … Jeremy Brahm observes, “interesting thought on the pre-match photo, how do you it with social distancing? J.League is having warm-up matches before restarting season and this shot happened.” … The Richmond Kickers have released a Pride jersey (via Paul).
Grab Bag: Vancouver cannabis dispensary Herbs “R” Us will need to get a new name and logo. A federal judge ruled Herbs “R” Us Wellness Society has used Toys “R” Us’s registered trademark in a way that damages the goodwill attached to it (from Wade Heidt). … Looks like the US Army has throwback unis(?) (from NY is Blue). … The city of Pittsburg KS has asked the public to vote on new city flag. Members of the public can pick from 3 designs (from Timmy Donahue). … Also from Timmy: The Army’s new ‘pink and greens’ are coming to new soldiers in 2021; Soldiers graduating Basic will receive the new uniform. All Soldiers will have until 1OCT27 to make the switch. … One more from Timmy: Florida Sheriff office bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ logo, citing ‘stigma’ and need for uniformity.
And finally… big thanks to Mike & Stefan for their helmet concepts. I’m not a helmet guy by any means, but a couple of those were really, really good. What do you guys think?
Don’t forget Father’s Day — scroll up for the deets on this year’s post (I’m including all dads, uncles and granddaddy’s so long as they’re in uniform). It’s a favorite of a number of readers and I’m happy to continue the tradition!
Everyone stay safe this week, and I’ll be back here again next Saturday.
Peace,
PH
re: confederate flag article: The original Irish Times article (linked from this bad piece) is very clearly talking about the county Gaelic games board, Cork GAA, and not Cork City. Besides that, Cork City does not play at Pairc Uí Chaoimh, and “football” often means “Gaelic football” and not “soccer” in Ireland.
I dig the Raiders’ one with the swords. And Buffalo one is pretty clever.
Scoreboard. Apr 4, 2015. MLB spring training between the Blue Jays and Reds. Over 50,000 people at the preseason game in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.
Aww, Wade beat me to it.
Helmets are interesting. I would like to see some of the wordmarks on their own. And if the Bucs did the white shell and that ship with the orange face mask and no Bucco Bruce, that would be better than what they had. The Bruce on the sail is too much for one logo, and the shell and colors make it clear where the source was. Plus, they could go full Bruce with throwbacks. And that Seahawks lid is the best one they ever had.
Eagles “retired” numbers: none of the ones held out of circulation should ever be retired. Even Randall Cunningham, who was the QB for many of my formative years.
1980 Edmonton Eskimos jersey featured another change not mentioned. When they added the EE logo to the sleeve striping, there was a striping change as well. An additional stripe added.
Edmonton went with with 3 white stripes between the 2 yellow stripes on the green jersey. 3 yellow stripes between the green stripes on the white jersey.
Previously it had been 2 white stripes on the green jersey and 2 yellow stripes on the white jersey.
link
That new jersey, with the five stripes and logo on the sleeves, is the classic I remember when I first started watching the CFL. That uniform, with Warren Moon behind center, along with the Alouettes, Argos, etc., was the hallmark of the league.
Two items in the Grab Bag are really one thing: the Task and Purpose article on the Army’s new “pink & green” dress uniforms mentions that the new duds have already been issued to some public-facing personnel and senior leaders. General Miley, a public-facing senior leader would seem to be one of them, judging by his appearance in the video where he apologized for joining the president’s political stunt.
This civilian thinks it’s nice to see an Army officer looking like an Army officer again.
it’s nice to see an Army officer looking like an Army officer again
This was also accomplished, I maintain, by the dress blues, evoking the Continental and Union armies. But one of the recent articles on the change made an excellent point: there’s a place for a formal dress uniform (what the blues will remain) and a day-to-day work uniform (what the new Army Greens will be).
The sooner we get the Army wearing the Greens stateside, as opposed to the disturbing sight of them wearing their combat uniforms, the better.
Love the Chiefs and Chargers helmets, they improve an already good logo presentation. The rest I either don’t care for (Bills, Browns), are just strange (Vikings), or don’t improve on what they already have. Nice try and very nice presentation, love the template.
Phil,
I don’t comment very often, and I never have on the weekends. Please don’t apologize for the weekend content that you put on here each weekend. Personally, there are many times where I enjoy the content as much or more than I do on the weekdays — esp. during College Football season. I, as I am sure many other readers can as well, can tell the amount of effort that you put into Saturdays and Sundays to keep our Uni-fixes in check for the weekend. I personally enjoy the somewhat consistent format that you keep — it makes it feel almost like watching a TV show each week. Keep up the great work, and don’t apologize!! If someone doesn’t like the content, they are welcome to read elsewhere.
Very well said and I agree completely.
I agree completely!
I make sure to read the site every morning on the weekends, where there is always original content, oftentimes created or written by readers. I love all the extra sections from Uni Tweaks (which is what brought me to the site 11 years ago), to Craig’s paintings, to Guess the Scoreboard (I’m terrible at it, lol), among other things.
It’s always an enjoyable, light-hearted way to start my day on a positive note.
Honestly, if Phil started his own site, I’d read that every day, and just check in here occasionally.
Not that I don’t enjoy Paul’s content, but what Phil does is far more in line with the aspects of the “Uni-verse” that interest me.
Regarding the Eagles retires numbers, most of the numbers in question have only not been used for a few seasons, Now I am no Eagles fan. I actually dislike them intensely. They are perhaps my least favorite team. But Randall Cunningham most definitely deserves to have his number retired. He was a phenomena. He killed the Giants time and again, and the things he could do with his arm and legs, not to mention his punting ability were incredible. I respect him as I totally respect Chipper Jones, from another team that I intensely dislike. In retirement, now that they can no longer ruin a game for me, I totally admire both Randall and Chipper and they are both in my personal Hall of Fame!
I liked the Seattle and Washington helmets. That’s about it. Thought the Vikings concept was ridiculous.
Cunningham’s 12 is the only number deserving any consideration for retirement. I don’t think that a number that hasn’t been used for a year or two merits being considered as unofficially retired, does it?
Bengals concept is gggggreat! Love to see unis.
I would like to see unis as well — not sure about the stripe going down the center of the helmet, though — it might be just having seen the helmets without any type of center stripe for so long, but I’d be curious to see what it looks like without the center stripe. As for uniforms, ANYTHING would be better than what we have now, although I can tolerate the orange tops better than the black or white ones.
Signed, a long-suffering Bengals fan from the NKY. . .
Also agree, a simplification of the Bengals helmet would be a big, long overdue improvement. Bills helmet I found it interesting.
I think this is the point were Jimmer Vilk will remind us the Giants actually play in New Jersey — PH
Could we see a helmet with either NJG or ERG on it?
Don’t like the move to flat paint schemes; prefer high-gloss. Interesting ideas, otherwise.
Many (including myself) have said that while the Bengals need a uniform overhaul, the helmet should not change.
After seeing the tweaked orange-and-black version, I’m strongly rethinking that stance.
Lose the center stripe and I’m on board.
Would love to see an all black Bengals helmet, black facemask, with the “running Bengal” logo the Bengals use at midfield on both sides. No stripe down the middle of the helmet.
Eagles retired numbers…
I don’t think any of those players listed are deserving.
Is there an explanation/reason as to why Harold Carmichael’s #17 has not been officially or unofficially retired?
Helmet designs-
-Sorry guys, but you should never mess with DA RAIDERS’ logo, and I’m not even a fan;
-Chicago Bears’ redesigned logo would be perfect, if the Bears would ever change-but they wouldn’t even think about it;
-Love, love, love the Tampa Bay design.
Fix the striping behind the Halas memorial and it’s “perfect”!
Most of the helmet designs are terrible. They look like what Nike did with the last set of Bucs helmets, i.e., find some part of the existing helmet or team logo and blow it up to 2x size. Not very imaginative. The only one that is redeemable is the Redskins one, because it draws upon the historical use of the feathers from several versions of the Redskins helmets.
How would that Ravens B helmet look on the other side?
It would have the same “B”, but would look goofy
I liked the Lions helmet. Since Detroit has been mediocre to terrible for so long, a change would do them good. More particularly, they have always suffered in the silver-with-blue helmet comparison to the Cowboys. The Cowboys own that look and the teams look too similar with white jerseys, even though, yes the blues and silvers are different. Going to the Honolulu blue helmet that retains the longstanding emblem is good jumping off point to a new identity. Yes, they’d have to give up their throwbacks but that would not be much of a loss.
Yes, that Vikings helmet re-do is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever seen, and the “reason” is even more ridiculous.
Seems like I’ve seen many of those types of re-imaginations before–or things very similar.