New York Lightning

Team 11/32 of #TheUFLProject – the New York Lightning.

The New York Lightning football franchise is inspired by the ventures of electrical engineer Nikola Tesla in the late 1800s and early 1900s in New York laboratories. Tesla would conduct various experiments in the likes of wireless communication, x-ray imaging, electrical power distribution, and the modern alternating current technology.

One of his most obscure experiments was the Wardenclyffe Tower project in Shoreham, Long Island, New York. Built 187 feet tall with highly conductive metals and rooted deep into the Earth, the tower was designed to be able to transmit messages and signals through worldwide wireless transmission of electric energy, and even potentially control the weather. In theory, this would be achieved by pumping electricity into the Earth as it meshes with the planet’s natural currents, and at the same time the tower would fire colossal bolts of raw lightning skyward into the ionosphere 50 miles up. Users would be able to tap into this energy with a buried ground connection and an antenna to draw power from the network. The Wardenclyffe tower was built in 1901 and was demolished in 1917 due to financial shortcomings.

The New York Lightning branding is early 1900s-esque, with an elegant off-black and metallic gold color scheme. The primary “NY” monogram features a jagged lightning bolt within, and the “Tesla Tower” secondary has a football-style take that is featured on the shoulders of each uniform. The typeface is a modified version of Friz Quadrata STD.