Introducing the 1st Annual "Coulda Been Worse" MWC Bad Logo Smackdown

by pack_fan on Jun 10, 2011 12:18 PM PDT

The competition has been completed. The winner was 6th seeded "OOC"!

Championship round results: 2 vs. 6

2nd round results: 2 vs. 4, 1 vs. 6

1st round results: 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7, 1 vs 8

If you're just joining us, this was the introductory post:

So now that you've had a few days to let the new logo set in, is your opinion any different? Sometimes I need something to set in a bit before I can truly judge something, and there are times where my heightened expectations for something cloud my judgement at first. Here's another look:

via therealrapgame.com

Well, it's....uh........dang, I still don't like it (I'm still trying to figure out why they decided they needed to eliminate the mountains in the logo). But while the new logo falls pretty flat, BoiseState78 found for us a sheet of other logos they were considering. I've always subscribed to the theory that if you're down about something a good strategy is to think about how it could have been worse. Well, that sheet of other logo ideas showed that the new logo could've been much much worse. But which one would've been the worst, I wondered?

That led me to the idea of us having a run-off here on Mountain West Connection which will give us a look into just what exactly $250,000 dollars can buy you. So in an attempt to make us all feel better about the new logo, I introduce to you the 1st Annual "Coulda Been Worse" MWC Bad Logo Smackdown! (ed note: the annualness of this competition might depend on the MWC changing their logo every year)

Follow after the jump for the bracket, the rules, a look at the logo that just missed the cut, and the 8th seed play-in candidates!

Here's the bracket:

The rules:

Over the next 4 days I'll be posting each 1st round game. Once all four 1st round games are posted there will be two days to complete the voting, and you can vote on any you missed up until then. The voting starts today for the play-in game for the 8th seed and ends tomorrow at 11:30AM PST. Keep in mind that this is a competition for the worst logo, so vote for the ones that you think are the worst of the two rather than the ones you like the best. Alright, lets get to the play-in candidates!

Play-in Candidate 1 "The Shield":

via farm4.static.flickr.com

This was the result of an over-infatuation with the mirror image M and W, but this one ended up just looking like a knight's shield. Were they trying to convey the new buy-out rule to "block" teams from leaving the MWC? Are they "shielding" themselves from the criticisms of the media? I'm not really sure what they were going for with this one.

Probably stolen from:

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Play-in Candidate 2 "Pretty Birds":

via farm3.static.flickr.com

There's a part of me that likes this logo. Problem is, how in the world is this considered a logo for a college football league? Looks more like a logo for some hippie environmental group or an outdoor enthusiast corporation. Are those supposed to be an M and a W? Because I just don't see it.

Probably stolen from:

via farm3.static.flickr.com

Before we get to the voting, let's take a look at the logo that just missed the cut:

(note: this logo is not part of the voting, the two above are)

via farm3.static.flickr.com

This logo idea was my personal favorite, and I had a hard time cutting it. I love this one, which is just a zig-zag pattern of the M and the W and was so awful that the artist didn't even finish it. Being something of an afterthought left it on the outside looking in, since it seems it was never really a consideration. It's a hilarious idea nonetheless.

Probably stolen from:

via upload.wikimedia.org

So without further ado, who is your choice for the winner of the play-in game?

NOTE: In this competition we are voting for the WORST logo, so vote for which one would have been a worse choice than the other

(voters are encouraged to post their own look-a-likes in the comments)

Poll

Which one is worse, and therefore the winner of the play-in game?

Candidate 1 - The Shield

19 votes

Candidate 2 - Pretty Birds

39 votes

58 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 15 comments | Add comment | 4 recs |

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Comments

Never making the cut!

"Speak softly and wear a loud shirt" - Kimo's Rules

by greekpadre on Jun 10, 2011 12:47 PM PDT reply actions 4 recs

Note to anyone...NEVER EVER EVER TYPE IN B1G FOR GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH! ALWAYS TYPE BIG TEN LOGO

"Speak softly and wear a loud shirt" - Kimo's Rules

by greekpadre on Jun 10, 2011 12:50 PM PDT up reply actions

that one

does look like birds flying.

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by Jeremy Mauss on Jun 10, 2011 1:02 PM PDT reply actions

Confused.

Am I voting for the worse of the two or the best?

~ :: ~
"Everyone counted us out. I don't know why they keep doing that." -- Kyle Wilson
"It takes no talent to give great effort."
"We’re not going to play to the outside noise." -- Chris Petersen
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by Loque on Jun 10, 2011 1:56 PM PDT reply actions

the one that is the Worst

I had that in the rules, but I should make it more clear. now fixed.

by pack_fan on Jun 10, 2011 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Stolen from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"

"From the end spring new beginnings." - Pliny the Elder

by daedalus17 on Jun 10, 2011 2:07 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

A shield could be cool if used in the following ways...

"From the end spring new beginnings." - Pliny the Elder

by daedalus17 on Jun 10, 2011 4:14 PM PDT reply actions

Great idea!

I voted for the shield since the birds isn’t all that bad.

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by rebelfan1 on Jun 10, 2011 4:23 PM PDT reply actions

the "E" looks like a "C" in west.

Anderson Silva would never fight "Bones". He is too scared to fight the real P4P champion. Nick Diaz, the man who will prove to the MMA world that he is the best WW in the world. Still public enemy #1 and enjoying every minute of it.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Jun 10, 2011 5:22 PM PDT up reply actions

I actually liked the shield

I am a big fan of the medival time period and love the imagery so I thought the shield was kind of cool. However, I think if they had chosen it, they would have been accused of trying to copy the PAC-12 motif. I still think it would have made a killer patch on a jersey or ball cap.

"Gandhi didn't take a knee, Martin Luther King didn't take a knee, Thomas Edison didn't take a knee, and I sure as hell am not going to take a knee." -- Dan Hawkins

by smurfturfer on Jun 10, 2011 5:30 PM PDT reply actions

In truth, I actually don't mind either of these logos

both are kind of cool in their own way, but thats why they’re the going for the 8th seed and not higher seeds. I’ll admit though that I like the one they chose better.

by pack_fan on Jun 10, 2011 7:10 PM PDT up reply actions