Where have all the good football helmets gone?
It seems most of the high school football teams in Maine simply use the first initial of the school – or nothing at all to decorate their helmets these days.
The Cleveland Browns’ look is OK, but come on. Yes it’s a traditional look, but not many local teams have had the same logo for more than the last half-century like the Browns.
In this age of merchandising and the increasing popularity of athletic clothing, local teams should take some initiative and adopt some catchy or clever logos to stimulate sales of school sweaters, T-shirts, and other merchandise.
A handful of teams have some pretty catchy logos no doubt inspired by National Football League and major college teams:
Lawrence of Fairfield has adopted Michigan’s striped Wolverine helmet although they are known as the Bulldogs. Bangor has incorporated the Rams horns design, used by the Los Angeles, make that St. Louis Rams; and Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln uses the paw print logo possibly inspired by Clemson University.
It’s time for some other schools to get into the 90’s. Instead of just a plain purple helmet, John Bapst could have a medieval knight on horseback (they are the Crusaders after all). Perhaps Belfast could adopt the Lions silhouette employed by Detroit’s NFL team or a Lions head in place of the word “Lions” written in script.
Be creative. Have fun with it.
Coaches used to commonly change helmet logos when they took over a new team, but that practice seems to have gone the way of the flying wedge formation.
Admittedly, the scarcity of quality helmet logos isn’t one of the top 10 most pressing concerns facing our communities, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere.
– Andrew Neff, BDN
On Wednesday, Sept. 25th, I experienced an athletic director’s nightmare. Our girls varsity soccer team failed to appear in Greenville for a game. When I heard about this the next day I investigated the situation and discovered that, sure enough, we had somehow let an error in our schedule go unnoticed.
I immediately called Greenville athletic director Bob Villon, and principal of Greenville High, William Crumley. I apologized for our error and asked if they would consider making up the game at a later date. I explained that I would hate to see our girls soccer team lose out on a chance to compete because of a situation that they were not even aware of.
That afternoon, principal Crumley called me back to say the game could be made up and would not be considered a forfeit. Even though it would have been easy (and proper) to “take the win,” the administration and coaches at Greenville High School decided to allow the kids to play.
This is a fine example of what high school athletics is all about and a great example of sportsmanship at its finest.
– Paul A. Stearns, Valley principal
Readers may submit “Sounding Off” comments to the Bangor Daily News’ Sports Desk at P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329. Our fax number is (207) 990-8092. All comments will be edited for accuracy, clarity, content, and taste.
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