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***sve7en*** · 04-17-2025, 06:47 PM

S55 PT #4 - OK What's Your Expansion Team Idea

Originally a mindless PT thrown out there when I was just 7 months along in the league and SHL expansion was about to give us Seattle and Atlanta, the Venice Vibe became a fun idea and referenced more than a few times in my locker rooms and with the Hockey Talk Tonight crew. Pro Beach Hockey was in Huntington Beach, but the late 90s roller hockey league on ESPN 2, Jazz designs on paper cups, late 90s Los Angeles and design stumbled upon a niche that resonated really strongly with people from a nostalgic angle.

Pro Beach Roller Hockey '98 - '99 on ESPN

When the Zen Casual Hockey League, a discord only casual league reminiscent of SCFSL, started up I figured it was a fun space for me as a J GM to finally have a chance to build a roster and locker room (channel) of friends and new faces. In the spirit of Zen Casual, I drew back on the Vibe as a branding and it was a great time while the league operated.

With my expansion application, one of my two brandings provided was actually the Vibe. I'm sure as HO read through my application and they made it to brandings they had to do a double take. By nature, coming from a PT, being used in ZCHL, it's origins being 90s retro ideas and a paper cup design, and how I would so routinely refer to it, the first impression is that it's a meme branding. It is the paper cup team, but it really wasn't a meme. Refined a bit, with a focus on the retro themes, Boardwalk, Muscle Beach, outdoor basketball courts, Memphis Lite, pacific, and new wave punk design that stereotypically define the 90s, the Vibe checked a lot of the boxes regarding cohesive branding and identity, would have a solid fanbase among 30-40 year old users, and played the fine line between serious and fun that the SHL is all about.

Unfortunately, there were also some glaring issues with bringing the Vibe to the SHL after all these years:
1. Double stacking in Los Angeles would be one of the easier sells as far as two SHL teams in the same place, but was still a concern. I could have checked with Los Angeles to get their blessing, or pivoted to South Beach / Miami but that didn't interest me as much. If I felt really good about what I was going to bring to @Whitecap and @Reno I would have given that a chance but..
2. I didn't have much for logo design other than the wordmarks, and my friends working on my branding didn't have ideas they loved which would provide the Vibe with anything more corporeal.
3. Branding, and eventually merch, that drew on the Jazz design at all would put the team or SHL at risk of lawsuit from Solo, who actively still monetizes the Jazz design and goes after people using it. The design and my vision of the team's branding are unfortunately pretty tight and while there may have been space for me and my friends to design something that hit a lot of the same notes, there was something lost without that somewhat cultural (meme) connection.

So, until the next ZCHL comes along, this is it for the Vibe. I still smile when I think about the idea, and think it would have done well, but I feel good about what I'll be sharing with you soon...