What's In A Word? 'Storm' Removed from Tampa Bay Helmet
Adam J Locascio
Sunday January 6, 2008
Well, from their helmets, anyway.
The Tampa Bay Storm will sport a slightly new look when they take the field March 1 in Kansas City to take on the Brigade. Gone from their helmets will be the familiar “Tampa Bay Storm” text logo with the familiar hurricane swirl replacing the “O” in Storm.
 New Tampa Bay Storm Helmet Image courtesy of AFL |
The change was confirmed by Storm Public Relations Director Jim Robinson.
According to Robinson, team color and logo changes must be submitted to the league with 18 months notice in order to give marketing ample time to adjust the templates needed to produce t-shirts, hats, and other fan memorabilia.
The Storm was purchased by local Tampa surgeon Dr. Robert Nucci on December 8, 2007. The logo change was not related to the change in ownership.
The Storm and the Nashville Kats were the last two teams to incorporate actual text in the logo on their helmets. With the Kats’ franchise’s dissolution and the change to the Storm’s helmets, the AFL’s helmets are now text-free.
As far as merchandise is concerned, there shouldn’t be any major changes to the design of Storm gear; however, there should be a greater selection of items simply because Russell Athletic’s contract with the AFL has been in place for a year.
“There should be more options this year,” said Robinson.
This will be the fourth change of the Storm’s helmet since their inception in 1990. The Storm’s helmet started off as a lighter shade of blue and the “swirl” was originally an “O” with a lightning bolt through the middle. The helmet then changed to silver before moving to its more familiar gold color.
The Storm have yet to receive their new helmets.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
