Hello everybody! One thing I noticed soon after entering the league is that there is a wide variety of colors represented in both the NSFL and the DSFL. There are many different teams with awesome color palettes for their logos and uniforms. Another thing that I learned is that there is no association between a DSFL team and an NSFL team, rather players who are "sent down" to the DSFL from the NSFL just go back to the DSFL team they were on before they were drafted. In learning this, I thought it might be an interesting experiment to combine these two aspects of the league into a thought experiment: what if DSFL teams were paired with NSFL teams based on their color? This led me down a rabbit hole in learning about color theory, which I've outlined below. I've also included some graphics to give a better representation for what I'm talking about. Enjoy!
* A note about an inconsistency in this article: In writing up this post and making graphics for reference, I'd realized that I'd made a mistake on teams main colors. For the content above "More comparison options", I base my argument on the idea that the Tijuana Luchadores main color is red, and the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers main color is green. This is based on the background color of their pictures in the forum. For the graphical content and the content below "More comparison options", I base my argument on the Luchadores main color being green, and the Buccaneers main color being a light purple. As I didn't feel like updating the graphics retroactively, I decided to keep them the way they are. I have noted the teams in question with an asterisk where this difference may exist to provide reference to hopefully lessen any confusion regarding the inconsistency.
Some definitions
I'll be using some terms that may or may not be familiar to you throughout the article. I've included the below picture that should provide a visual outline of terms I use. I also include a lot of definitions throughout the article itself!
Color Categories
Primary Colors
Primary colors are hues that cannot be created as a result of any combination of other colors. All secondary and tertiary colors derive from these primary color values. The three primary color values are red, blue, and yellow. Teams that have primary colors as their primary brand color ( that'll probably get confusing ) are listed below:
- Chicago Butchers
- Colorado Yeti
- Philadelphia Liberty
- Yellowknife Wraiths
- Arizona Outlaws
- Austin Copperheads
- Portland Pythons
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Tijuana Luchadores*
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are hues that are created by mixing primary colors together. These colors are green, orange, and purple. Teams with secondary colors as their main color are the following:
- Baltimore Hawks
- New Orleans Second Line
- Orange County Otters
- San Jose SaberCats
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers
- Kansas City Coyotes
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary and secondary color together. Some examples are blue-green and yellow-orange. Most of the examples here are purely for argumentative purposes; I'd personally be more likely to keep these teams in their primary or secondary categories, but I'm not an expert on color theory so I could definitely be wrong in that regard:
- Austin Copperheads ( red-orange )
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers ( yellow-green )*
- Minnesota Grey Ducks ( blue-green )
Warm vs. Cool Colors.
This is likely another easily recognizable section of this review for a lot of folks. Warm and cool colors inhabit opposite halves of the traditional color wheel. Warm colors are generally between yellow and red-violet, and are commonly associated with being very bold, loud, and exciting. On the other hand, cool colors between violet and yellow-green are much more soothing and calming. By my count, the NSFL and DSFL are perfectly split between teams with their primary brand color being warm and cool.
Teams with Warm Colors
- Baltimore Hawks
- Chicago Butchers
- Colorado Yeti
- Arizona Outlaws
- Austin Copperheads
- Orange County Otters
- Portland Pythons
- Tijuana Luchadores*
Teams with Cool Colors
- Philadelphia Liberty
- Yellowknife Wraiths
- New Orleans Second Line
- San Jose SaberCats
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers
- Kansas City Coyotes
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
More comparison options
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are two colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. These colors cause the highest level of contrast, and can be used to provide bold designs with stark differences between color values. These stark differences in color invoke excitement and energy in our brains, which "complements" the motivations of watching a sporting event in the first place.
Probably the best example of complementary colors in action in the DSFL or NSFL is the Tijuana Luchadores logo. The green and red combination, although having a darker value than a typical color wheel, showcase the contrast of complementary colors on a uniform very well. This contrast is further accentuated when used alongside black and white primary colors in their uniforms.
Best Complementary DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
These aren't all exactly complementary matches, but I wanted to at least provide nearby matchings to have as many teams as possible be included.
Baltimore Hawks
Analogous colors refers to colors that are adjacent on the color wheel, with the number of related colors varying based on the specificity of the color wheel reference that you are using. Some examples would be blue, blue-violet, and violet or yellow, orange-yellow, and orange. Listed are some teams that have analogous color palettes inside of their own logo. Some of these relationships can be noted in shadow or highlight values on the logo its
- Baltimore Hawks
- Colorado Yeti
- Austin Copperheads
- New Orleans Second Line
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
Best Analogous DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
Baltimore Hawks
Split-complementary is a slight variance from just complementary colors. Rather than using two colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel, one base color and two secondary colors are chosen. The secondary colors are two colors at a symmetrical distance away from the base color's complement. Most teams don't have this relationship, but there is one example listed below.
Best Split-complementary DSFL Match for an NSFL Team
- Orange County Otters
Triadic colors are three colors that are equally spaced apart on a color wheel. The classic examples here are primary colors (red, blue yellow) and secondary hues (orange, purple, green). The color wheel that I've chosen for this example doesn't have a perfect split, but we'll make it work. There are a couple good examples for this.
Best Triadic DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
- Orange County Otters
- Regarding primary colors, there is a lot of representation for blue and red in the league, but hardly any instances of yellow.
- I don't know any exact stats offhand about other leagues, but I was surprised to see the amount of purple representation between the NSFL and DSFL.
I hope you enjoyed this examination of all-the-things color in the NSFL and DSFL; I'd be curious to hear any and all thoughts around this topic! If anybody knows the history of the team color choices, that'd be really cool to hear about.
* A note about an inconsistency in this article: In writing up this post and making graphics for reference, I'd realized that I'd made a mistake on teams main colors. For the content above "More comparison options", I base my argument on the idea that the Tijuana Luchadores main color is red, and the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers main color is green. This is based on the background color of their pictures in the forum. For the graphical content and the content below "More comparison options", I base my argument on the Luchadores main color being green, and the Buccaneers main color being a light purple. As I didn't feel like updating the graphics retroactively, I decided to keep them the way they are. I have noted the teams in question with an asterisk where this difference may exist to provide reference to hopefully lessen any confusion regarding the inconsistency.
Some definitions
I'll be using some terms that may or may not be familiar to you throughout the article. I've included the below picture that should provide a visual outline of terms I use. I also include a lot of definitions throughout the article itself!
Color Categories
Primary Colors
Primary colors are hues that cannot be created as a result of any combination of other colors. All secondary and tertiary colors derive from these primary color values. The three primary color values are red, blue, and yellow. Teams that have primary colors as their primary brand color ( that'll probably get confusing ) are listed below:
- Chicago Butchers
- Colorado Yeti
- Philadelphia Liberty
- Yellowknife Wraiths
- Arizona Outlaws
- Austin Copperheads
- Portland Pythons
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Tijuana Luchadores*
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are hues that are created by mixing primary colors together. These colors are green, orange, and purple. Teams with secondary colors as their main color are the following:
- Baltimore Hawks
- New Orleans Second Line
- Orange County Otters
- San Jose SaberCats
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers
- Kansas City Coyotes
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary and secondary color together. Some examples are blue-green and yellow-orange. Most of the examples here are purely for argumentative purposes; I'd personally be more likely to keep these teams in their primary or secondary categories, but I'm not an expert on color theory so I could definitely be wrong in that regard:
- Austin Copperheads ( red-orange )
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers ( yellow-green )*
- Minnesota Grey Ducks ( blue-green )
Warm vs. Cool Colors.
This is likely another easily recognizable section of this review for a lot of folks. Warm and cool colors inhabit opposite halves of the traditional color wheel. Warm colors are generally between yellow and red-violet, and are commonly associated with being very bold, loud, and exciting. On the other hand, cool colors between violet and yellow-green are much more soothing and calming. By my count, the NSFL and DSFL are perfectly split between teams with their primary brand color being warm and cool.
Teams with Warm Colors
- Baltimore Hawks
- Chicago Butchers
- Colorado Yeti
- Arizona Outlaws
- Austin Copperheads
- Orange County Otters
- Portland Pythons
- Tijuana Luchadores*
Teams with Cool Colors
- Philadelphia Liberty
- Yellowknife Wraiths
- New Orleans Second Line
- San Jose SaberCats
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers
- Kansas City Coyotes
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
More comparison options
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are two colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. These colors cause the highest level of contrast, and can be used to provide bold designs with stark differences between color values. These stark differences in color invoke excitement and energy in our brains, which "complements" the motivations of watching a sporting event in the first place.
Probably the best example of complementary colors in action in the DSFL or NSFL is the Tijuana Luchadores logo. The green and red combination, although having a darker value than a typical color wheel, showcase the contrast of complementary colors on a uniform very well. This contrast is further accentuated when used alongside black and white primary colors in their uniforms.
Best Complementary DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
These aren't all exactly complementary matches, but I wanted to at least provide nearby matchings to have as many teams as possible be included.
Baltimore Hawks
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Tijuana Luchadores*
- Tijuana Luchadores
- Portland Pythons
- Portland Pythons
- Tijuana Luchadores
- San Jose SaberCats
- Tijuana Luchadores
- Portland Pythons
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*
Analogous colors refers to colors that are adjacent on the color wheel, with the number of related colors varying based on the specificity of the color wheel reference that you are using. Some examples would be blue, blue-violet, and violet or yellow, orange-yellow, and orange. Listed are some teams that have analogous color palettes inside of their own logo. Some of these relationships can be noted in shadow or highlight values on the logo its
- Baltimore Hawks
- Colorado Yeti
- Austin Copperheads
- New Orleans Second Line
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
Best Analogous DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
Baltimore Hawks
- Portland Pythons
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Norfolk SeaWolves
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers
- Kansas City Coyotes
- Portland Pythons
- Tijuana Luchadores*
Split-complementary is a slight variance from just complementary colors. Rather than using two colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel, one base color and two secondary colors are chosen. The secondary colors are two colors at a symmetrical distance away from the base color's complement. Most teams don't have this relationship, but there is one example listed below.
Best Split-complementary DSFL Match for an NSFL Team
- Orange County Otters
- Tijuana Luchadores*
- Minnesota Grey Ducks / Norfolk SeaWolves
Triadic colors are three colors that are equally spaced apart on a color wheel. The classic examples here are primary colors (red, blue yellow) and secondary hues (orange, purple, green). The color wheel that I've chosen for this example doesn't have a perfect split, but we'll make it work. There are a couple good examples for this.
Best Triadic DSFL Matches for NSFL Teams
- Orange County Otters
- Myrtle Beach Buccaneers*/Kansas City Coyotes
- Tijuana Luchadores*
- Norfolk SeaWolves / Minnesota Grey Ducks
- Portland Pythons
- Regarding primary colors, there is a lot of representation for blue and red in the league, but hardly any instances of yellow.
- I don't know any exact stats offhand about other leagues, but I was surprised to see the amount of purple representation between the NSFL and DSFL.
I hope you enjoyed this examination of all-the-things color in the NSFL and DSFL; I'd be curious to hear any and all thoughts around this topic! If anybody knows the history of the team color choices, that'd be really cool to hear about.