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*Giving Grades to the Expansion Teams - Cody - 09-05-2020 The newest expansion teams have been announced, the Berlin Fire Salamanders and the New York Silverbacks. I have always loved league expansion or rebranding of teams in real and virtual life. It’s something new and gives people a chance to be creative. I love to see how mascots are chosen and the lore behind those names. An expansion team is a chance to lay a fresh foundation and build up a legacy for years to come. Which team has created the best foundation so far with just the announcement of the team name and branding? I’m going to do a quick recap and grade on a few different categories. Name Berlin Fire Salamanders I like the idea of a Fire Salamander as a logo but honestly, I do not care for this name much. It doesn’t roll off the tongue.  I’ve never been a fan of the idea of two word mascots though. I thought maybe the fire salamander was only found in Germany, but it looks to be quite common throughout Europe. They could have stuck with a fire motif and still used the fire salamander as their logo. Perhaps the name will grow on me but for now I’m not feeling it. Grade: D New York Silverbacks Silverbacks is not a name I would have considered for a franchise and especially a New York based team, but it works. It harkens back to early cinema and King Kong and the idea of New York being a concrete jungle works very well. Grade: B Location Berlin Fire Salamanders This is a great choice for an expansion location, especially an international location. It’s great to see the league expand into Europe and especially great for a beautiful city like Berlin to be chosen. There is no mistaking that this city will embrace their new team with open arms. Grade: A New York Silverbacks You can’t go wrong with awarding a team to probably the most famous city in all of the world. I was honestly surprised when joining this league that we didn’t already have a team based in New York. It’s a safe pick and I can dig that. Grade: C Colors Berlin Fire Salamanders Berlin decided to keep it classic and go with the colors of the German flag which match well with the Fire Salamander. It’s not a bold pick but it is a timeless color scheme that should look very clean once the jerseys are revealed. Grade: C New York Silverbacks The official colors for the Silverbacks are dark slate and liberty green. It’s a good combination of dark and light. It really pops in their logo and should translate nicely to their jerseys. \\ Grade: B Logos Berlin Fire Salamanders As of this writing Berlin doesn’t have an official logo that they’ve introduced. The announcement stated they have a couple designs ready but are also holding a logo competition which I really love. I hope they get some great logo submissions that use their mascot and put their color scheme to good use. Grade: Incomplete New York Silverbacks They knocked it out of the park with this logo. The Silverback looks intimidating and the blend of skyscraper-esque buildings and early cinema font is beautiful. This already is towards the top of logos in the league. Grade: A Verdict Overall, I have to say New York comes out on top of the newest expansion teams. Their concept and all around branding are much better than Berlin’s. I wish it was an international location, but their announcement really sold me on their idea. I hope Berlin can bounce back a bit with a logo announcement and a jersey reveal. *formatting edit