Our First "Roughnecks" Submission

Click to enlarge

We asked for logo designs for a hypothetical Oklahoma City NFL team. And, after 12,000 unique visitors over three days, we received our first Roughnecks design. It came from Blake Campbell, who saw our contest link on OperationSports.com. Mr. Campbell owns and runs Friday Night Design. His Web site is still a work in progress, but he has some great work he plans to display under the Fantasy tab.

But Campbell had his reservations about Roughnecks. It's understandable for anyone who is not from oil country. Campbell worked through his apprehension though:

---

"I must admit, I initially felt the task of branding an NFL team on men in the oilfield was a daunting one. But the more time I spent pondering the idea, the quicker my imagination began to run wild. I hope you and your readers will enjoy the design that I've put together. Let me explain my design.

When I think of Oklahoma I think of blue collar, laid-back and prideful people. I wanted to make sure I gave this design a feel that would be representative of the State of Oklahoma. With the obvious connection to the oilfield, I chose to go with a color scheme of black and clay. While black is most certainly a color that is being "done to death" in the modern uniform era, I felt it was the best way to truly define that connection to the men and women this team is paying respect to. The clay color is one that I haven't seen used with a Professional team and I feel it also shares a great history with the state. so it became the secondary. I then used spurts of white here and there throughout the design to break up the harshness that the dark colors presented." 

I love the idea. My only criticism is that the clay color looks a little close to the burnt orange used by the University of Texas. The Longhorns are not very popular here. I shared this concern with Campbell, and he agreed to modify the clay color to more accurately represent the "red dirt" that is famous in Oklahoma. But I love the overall design, so I'm posting the submission anyway. Back to Campbell's design though:

Helmet

Campbell's helmet design is clean and simple. 

Click to enlarge.

"I chose to go with a clay helmet and a clay chrome facemask. I wanted to implement a black oil flow throughout the bottom of the helmet to really drive home the theme. The helmet also features a black oil well."

I like it a lot. Although oil wells like the one Campbell uses have given way on the Oklahoma horizon to hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") rigs, they are still iconic. They symbolize what drove the history of the state. And that is the kind of local connection I wanted when I decided on Roughnecks.

Jerseys and Sleeves

"Both the home and away uniforms feature an Oklahoma emblem that is of clay color with a black oil well in the center. It also features a custom "Roughnecks" font design that hangs over the numbers. I chose to display the uniforms with the number 46, as Oklahoma was the 46th state in the United States. The uniform also has numbers on the sleeves so that they fulfill the requirements of the NFL. The sleeves display an actual clay pattern design"

I especially like the influence 46 had on the design. I know only one jersey could wear 46, but I appreciate the inclusion. Few know this, but Oklahoma's original state flag was inspired by the state being 46th in the Union. After the Red Scare, the state changed the flag for fear that it looked too communist. 

---

And I like the outline of the state on the chest. Yes, it looks like a meat cleaver, but it's uniquely Oklahoma. We're proud of it, just like anyone is proud of their home. 

Pants, Socks and Cleats

Click to enlarge.

"The pants for both the home and away uniforms are clay with black belts. The cleats are mostly black but feature clay tips.

I'm excited about this uniform design as it's something I feel I had to really dig into the "well" for. I hope you and your readers enjoy it and I look forward to hearing feedback. 

Best Regards,
Blake Campbell
Friday Night Design"

Click to enlarge.

Campbell's submission is the third we've received, and the first named Roughnecks. Our other submissions have been for the Oklahoma City 89ers and the Oklahoma City Crazy Eights. It's obvious that Campbell put a lot of thought and work into this design, and we appreciate it. I look forward to his Roughnecks 2.0, and I hope to receive more submissions soon. Please share this contest and have designers send submissions to [email protected].