Chiba is one of the other cities on Tokyo Bay and has a history with pilots of all kinds. Narita Airport, Japan's largest, is located in Chiba Prefecture, and the city is known for its hanging monorail. The Pilots use a classic color scheme of green and gold, mostly because there was no other team that used green. The icon in the middle of the C represents air, land, and sea, the places where real pilots make the world move.



The Pilots' uniforms are appropriately simple. The team's logo is on the helmet and sleeves, and gold pants with a single green stripe add a splash of color. The three stripe pattern can be found on the front and back bumpers of the helmet as well.

And that's Chiba! I don't really have any notes on them as they mostly exist to fill a gap in geography and color. As an apology for missing yesterday, I'll post the next team immediately! Happy holidays, everyone!

Today's team takes us to Nishinomiya and Koshien Stadium, home of Japan's world-famous high school baseball tournaments. Turns out, Koshien also happens to host the Koshien Bowl, Japan's college football championship game, and Nishinomiya is also home to Kwansei Gakuin University, one of the most prestigious football programs in the nation. Hanshin is the name for the Osaka-Kobe region, which includes Nishinomiya, and is also the name of NPB's Tigers, although they were named after their owner, Hanshin Electric Railway. Anyway, to fit the tradition of Koshien, Hanshin's NAFL team is very classic, with a generic football name to complete the deal. Their colors are navy and gold, a spin on Kangaku's blue and gold color palette.



The Wildcats' uniforms are inspired by the California Golden Bears, with navy helmets, jerseys, and socks, and gold pants. Their road jerseys minimize the gold, instead using navy pants and white socks to match with the white jerseys. A simple Northwestern stripe serves as the decoration.

And there's the Wildcats! I initially wasn't planning on a Hanshin team to avoid the direct parallels with NPB but when I found out that the area is a relative hotbed of college football in Japan I had to include them. Tomorrow we'll venture to the NAFL's smallest market, but it might be their mightiest!

Congrats to Quebec! It's a shame Davis couldn't go out on top, but he's an incredible goaltender and an ECHO legend nonetheless.

Steelman wrote:

The Sharks are definitely modern, sort of oddly minimalist despite the cool shark fin. It's a solid look. Why do I love a good gradient in my old age? That yellow-orange is nice. The Sharks sort of remind me of a cross between the new Texans set and the Jaguars, if they could ever get their ish together. My only quibble is I don't really like the back of the helmet, just feels like too much teal back there. Maybe if the wave crested at a lower point. I think the jersey number stokes might be a tad heavy compared to the rest of the design. But that's super minor stuff. The whole monochrome thing and word marks fit the modern vibes really well. They feel like a team my little brother would love, in the best way, so I think you nailed it.

I'm guessing you're just doing team identities, but I'm hooked now so more details would be cool later! Like field designs, stadium information, etc. Looking forward to the next one.

I'm glad you like them! The Sharks are a team that I in real life wouldn't be a fan of, but I felt I needed to have that kind of team represented here, haha. Thanks for the notes! I agree, I'll definitely be making those tweaks when I revise them. And I actually meant to do field designs but I was so excited to post that they slipped my mind. I'll have that and more when I do revisions!

Steelman wrote:

Super cool to see a unique new concept series! I really like the league logo.

The Samarai are cool. They remind me a bit of those classic Buccaneers teams in the best way. I think the logo is really solid. The two bottom sides of the cape not being the same threw me a bit but it's growing on me. Still wonder if they were both red it would feel more connected. Regardless I dig it. I do wonder if the gold is just a tad too dark for the color scheme but it's really only prominently on the helmet logo so maybe it's not a problem. The NJ Generals had a brighter red to offset if I recall. It does have that older established 90's feel, so maybe it's perfect for what you're going for. I think the helmet design is super cool and unique! Definitely a cool team. Great start!

Can't wait to see more!

Thanks a ton! The colors could probably use some tweaking - the primary monitor I work on is a really high-quality one, so I can end up making decisions that don't work as well on other screens. I'm pretty sure the red was selected to match the shade on the Japanese flag, but looking back I agree it should probably be a little brighter. I'll post updates after I share all 12 teams!