An Ordinary Logo for an Extra Ordinary Event - Super Bowl XLIII
The Super Bowl, the NFL’s or National Football League’s championship game, is something everyone must have heard about. It is the biggest one-day sporting event in the entire world, where The Super Bowl pits the best team from the National Football Conference (NFC) against the best team from the American Football Conference (AFC). The majority of the Super Bowl games have been frequently played in three cities, namely, New Orleans, Miami and Los Angeles. However, this time in 2009, the road to NFL is heading towards charismatic Tampa Bay. For the fourth time it has been scheduled to be played in Tampa, Florida, on 02.01.09, at Raymond James Stadium.
Tampa, once a little sleepy port, has turned into the most favorite vacation destination in Florida. Silvery beaches, waterfront resorts, thrilling activities and lavish shopping malls are not the only features, adding to the popularity of the place. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a national football league team, brought the area its first major sports championship at the end of the 2002 season, winning Super Bowl XXXVII against the Oakland Raiders.
If the logo analyzed keenly, you will view a stadium field displayed in a very unappealing manner. The color palette, including hues of blue and green, are used to highlight the lucid beaches and fiery landscapes of the region, but unfortunately, these colors have failed to define the complete beauty of Tampa Bay. Usage of some manly but vibrant colors had made it look more flashy and sporty. The number 43 written in Roman is undecipherable, which makes the logo look very childish and unfinished. The stars on either side of the logo symbolize the AFC (American Football Conference) and NFC (National Football Conference), a tradition that began with the Super Bowl XL logo. The critics have concluded that the logo has been unsuccessful in expressing the thrill and enthusiasm of the fans who long await this event.
On the other hand, many people have appreciated the tidiness and simplicity of the logo. They think such a logo never looks outdated and pleases every eye. Some people think it is presenting the event in a grand way, although it is not true.
Logos for sport events should be unique and impressive enough to achieve global acceptance and leave an everlasting notion on the viewer’s mind. The uninspiring logo of Super Bowl XLIII has immensely disappointed the fans of the game as well as the residents of Tampa Bay, who expected their homeland to be presented in an impressive way.
Usually the logos for sport events are expected to highlight the special features of the host city or express the determination of the participating teams, but this logo of Super Bowl XLIII evidently turned the expectations down. Not even a single aspect of the logo is exemplary or eye-catching.
Note: Super Bowl is the championship game of the NFL (National Football League), played between the champions of the AFC and NFC at a neutral site each January. Super Bowl XLIII will be the 43rd annual edition of the Super Bowl in American football, and the 39th annual championship game of the modern-era National Football League (NFL).
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March 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Interesting analyze and I agree mostly with everything though I do think the color palette fits.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:30 am
I like the way writer has discussed and criticized the different features of the logo. It really shows what an ordinary logo for an extraordinary event.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I think the observations are good in this criticism. In many ways you expect more flair in this opportunity to design for such a prestigious event. It does seem ordinary and the type of predictable logo thought of at first by any designer. I always think the Olympics do a nice job with their logos each time. They are always fresh and have an energy about them. This superbowl logo is too predictable and uptight. I think it should be looser in the illustration aspect of the image. We seem to be entering this age of cookie cutter solutions to logo design. We have to stop using the computer and draw by hand logo concepts again. The industry relies too much on computers these days for graphic design. We have to get back to the basics. Logo design is an art! Put away the computer until you have something great worked out on paper.