A Super New Logo

YES!!!

A terrible field. A stalled second-half offense. An almost-comeback that made the game far too close, but at the final whistle none of that matters as the Packers triumph over the Bears at Soldier Field, 21-14.

And so the Packers are moving on, heading to Dallas and Super Bowl XLV. One more game stands between the Green and Gold and their thirteenth world championship.

A lot has changed in the thirteen years since the Packers last played for all the marbles. Not the least of which is the big game's logo.

Last February, the NFL unveiled a new "logo system" for the postseason, from Wild Card Weekend all the way through the Super Bowl (the new conference championship trophies were part of that rebrand). In past seasons, every Super Bowl has had its own distinct logo:

Some have been bad, some have been great, some lie in the middle, but each has had its own story to tell, reflecting the personality of the host city (or state) and the style of its day.

All of that has been discarded in favor of a "one size fits all" approach. The new logo features a large Lombardi Trophy looming over silver roman numerals. All future Super Bowl logos will have the same basic layout, with only the numbers changing. Well, at least until the NFL changes its mind.

There is also a "regional version" of the logo, incorporating the facade of the new Texas Stadium:

This version is intended to be used primarily in "North Texas" (as they have branded it). Future versions will of course incorporate the host stadium.

The gradient-heavy logo is awfully busy to my eye. It's too complicated for some applications such as embroidery, so the designers have provided progressively simplified versions.

The one on the right (without the NFL logo) will be featured on game balls:

There's an even simpler version for engraving:

Stripped down to its essentials, without all the gradients and frou-frou, I rather like it.

No word yet on what the Super Bowl jersey patch will look like. The NFL online shop indicates a logo with "NORTH TEXAS 2011" but without the other Texas Stadium regional details, although that could well change.

I can't wait to find out.