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Exactly 10 years ago, we launched OklahomIraqis.com and a new era of the OIL was born. As a league, we were approaching our fifth season, and "The OIL" wasn't yet in our vocabulary. It was either the OklahomIraqis League or just "the league," not that either name was uttered much in the offseason. So it isn't a coincidence that I started this site that offseason, just one month before I was scheduled to leave the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Leaving the 158 meant I would no longer see the guys at least once a month, and this site was the first step to keep up the communication outside of football season. I think it's been a success. And the launch of the website was the catalyst for what the OIL is today. To see how different things were then, just look at the first OIL logo and first blog post: 
While typing in oklahomiraqis.com will still get you here, the site has changed exponentially. It averages over 1,600 unique visitors per week during the offseason and has grown from about a dozen pages to well over 100. The logo has evolved while remaining true to its roots, and the team names and logos have improved dramatically.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the cooperation of the league members, as begrudging it is at times. Thanks for all the help over the years. On this 10th anniversary of the league website, what are your favorite additions? What would you like to see moving forward?
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OKLAHOMA CITY — 2020 marks 15 years since the 1st Battalion 158th Field Artillery regiment deployed to Iraq on the SECFOR mission; it is also the 15th season of the OIL. To commemorate the occasion, the OIL Tuesday unveiled a new logo to be worn for the 2020 season.  OIL 15th Season Commemorative Logo The 15th season logo draws on the league's heritage by taking the form of a challenge coin, using stenciled font, and displaying the 1st Battalion 158th Field Artillery unit motto — Unusual Efforts Expended — in Latin. Of course, the logo incorporates the now-familiar OIL logo that has been around since 2015, and the color scheme mirrors that of our flagship logo. The OIL logo has changed quite a bit since the website was first launched In March 2010. Back then, the commissioner's design skills consisted of finding a photograph of a football and superimposing text and a crude Iraq-inside-Oklahoma image on top of it. When the league ordered its first trophy from SculptureAlley.net, it was told the logo was simultaneously too simple to look good yet too complex for their engraver to replicate. Their art department designed a cleaner, more professional logo, which the OIL used until 2015. As the 10th anniversary approached, the logo was simplified once again, resulting in the current iteration.  The OIL is proud to announce updated logos across the league. First is a special 10-year anniversary logo for the league. It is based on Breakfast Supply Co.'s streamlined version of the original OIL logo. Hector of Breakfast Supply Co. also designed the Liberty Bowl logo and streamlined the logos for the OIL's three conferences.
OklahomIraqis.com went live in March 2010. It's hard to believe that was four years ago. The site has grown quite a bit since then. We've added two more URLs* that are (hopefully) easier to remember, and we've joined Fox Sports's Yardbarker Network of sports blogs. We've expanded to three other Web sites and three other leagues. We have our own traveling trophy with its own unique Web page. |
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