I’ve always admired when a city’s sports teams come together in unity. Even though they compete with each other for residents’ disposable income, city pride can bring different teams from different leagues together in mutal support. It’s a cool thing to see.

#TeamTampaBay is a strong example. We often see stars from one team attend another’s game, and official social media accounts post support or congratulations for their in-town companion’s success.

However, some other cities have something even more unique bonding their sports teams together: Their colors.

The shining example of this is Pittsburgh. The Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, and even the USL’s RiverHounds all share the same black-and-gold color scheme. The colors are derived from the city’s flag.

Another sports town who do this color unity well is Seattle, as the Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders all share varying shades of blue and green.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay sports teams are all over the map.

Tampa Bay’s Colors

The Buccaneers started with creamsicle orange and now use red and pewter. The Lightning mainly feature royal blue and white, with some black accents held over from the pre-Vinik era of the team. The Rays have gone through just about the whole rainbow, with the current set featuring navy and columbia blues and gold. The Rowdies are the only local team to stick with one color scheme throughout its existence, as green and gold have made up their iconic look during both iterations of the team.

With so much variation between the different teams, I thought it would be a cool project to imagine what the Tampa Bay teams would look like if they all stuck to a unified color scheme.

I didn’t want to draw the colors from a city flag, as choosing between Tampa and St. Petersburg’s would undoubtedly cause controversy. That, and both those flags are freaking insane.

Instead, I decided to narrow in on everyone conforming to the Rowdies’ green and gold. They were the first pro team in Tampa Bay, won the area’s first championship, and actually started the tradition of using the “Tampa Bay” moniker. Plus, the green and gold matches up with the area’s major university, USF.

So, here’s what the Bucs, Rays, and Bolts would look like Rowdy-ized.

Honestly, not bad.

The Lightning make for a natural fit, given how yellow is the color most commonly associated with lightning. The scientific accuracy is debatable, but yellow is usually how lightning is represent in clip art and cartoons and the like.

The yellow flag for the Bucs is even more appropriate, given the team’s uncanny ability to take penalties (kidding! mostly…). Realistically speaking, probably not a great idea for a football team, but the logo itself looks sharp.

The Rays already feature a similar shade of gold, so swapping the navy blue out for green makes for an easy transition. This also harks back to the team’s early-to-mid 2000s color scheme where green was also the predominant color. It’s a good look, although perhaps a bit too close to the Oakland Athletics.

So if this is what the logos look like, what about the uniforms?

LIGHTNING

Most hockey fans, especially older ones, will definitely get some Minnesota North Stars vibes from this. That’s not a bad thing, as the eventually relocated franchise had a nice look while in Minnesota that many NHL fans still clamor to bring back.

Given the Lightning’s emphasis on a simple two-toned color scheme, the dark green and bright yellow swap out well with the dark blue and bright white. Striping and accents really pop, and that lightning bolt down the pants is a brilliant look.

The added advantage of a green and gold color scheme for the Lightning would be the in-arena possibilities. I love blue, but it tends not to pop in the stands or on TV as well. But a yellow-out in the playoffs would give the same incredibly loud effect that it does in Nashville and Pittsburgh and Boston.

BUCCANEERS

You won’t have to go far for comparisons about the Bucs’ look in green and gold. One football team tenant of Raymond James Stadium already rocks this color combo: the USF Bulls. This color scheme sure would make swapping the stadium decor between Saturday and Sunday a lot easier.

The other natural comparison I get from these is Nike darling Oregon Ducks, known for their bright colors and, umm, interesting uniform designs. Nike followed a similar frame of mind when they re-did the Bucs’ jerseys a few years ago, moving from a relatively simple and classic uniform to one that has been both praised and loathed for how much it has going on.

I think it’s an interesting look, but it’s not gonna help the criticism of looking very arena-league-y.

RAYS

Now here’s a familiar look.

The Rays rocked green as a primary color for several colors, so this doesn’t feel too foreign. The yellow highlights look great, and as an added bonus, they can keep the sunburst as-is.

The one issue, as mentioned above, is the close resemblance to the Athletics. But besides the A’s, green is a pretty unique color in Major League Baseball – certainly more so than navy.

One Bay, One Color?

So what do you think? Should the Tampa Bay area teams share the same color, or do you like the variety between the different franchises?

If you liked this design project, be sure to go check out the Bay Invasion Tampa Bay sports store, with special shirt designs inspired by the Tampa Bay community and its teams.