THE OFFICIAL INTERNET SITE OF THE BIG DADDY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Inside

The BDFL

The Column

of Fame

Bonnets: The headgear worn in the BDFL

The History

Behind The Helms

Each BDFL helmet was personally designed by Iron Hand, The Commissioner of the BDFL, with a distinct look just for the BDFL. Here's just a brief insight into each team's nickname, logo theme, color scheme, and "bonnet" design...

Magic City Mayors - Sweet Home Alabama blue comes from the Lynyrd Skynyrd ballad where the skies are so blue and black is from the coal in the region. The Mayors head gear logo is a "M" shaped crown modeled after the dashboard crowns of the early '90s and it represents royalty.

Fairfield PowerSleds - The Sleds purple comes from Fairfield Highand gold comes from the semi-pro Fairfield Steelers. The lightning bolts coming from the back of the helmet forward represents the sonic boom of Ronnie James Dio's Power Sled Tour of the early '80s.

Riverchase Cheetahs - Burnt orange and white comes from Hoover Metro teams of the '70s and the overall look is patterned after the Texas Longhorns. The black is from the spots on a cheetah's hide and the cheetah mark in full sprinters flight is for the speed in which Cheetahs run.

Cool Springs Grenadiers - Army green and agent orange from Vietnam are where the Grenadiers trace their color scheme. The fulled loaded grenade logo on the helmet is representative of Jerry Glanville's famous Hand Grenade Football: "Being aggressive on offense and defense".
 

Gulf Coast Gamblers - The red and black come from face cards used in poker and the old Houston Gamblers of the USFL. The gold can be traced to the gold of the Green Bay Packers. The "black jack" 21 hand logo is in the shape the of the Gulf Coast states, Mississippi and Alabama.

Benton Bullets - Colors black and blue comes from the old NFL's Black & Blue Division of the 70s. The silver comes from Coor's Silver Bullets and the gold is a play on Skynyrd's Mr.Saturday Night Special "Got a barrel that's blue and cold (gold)". The big "B" logo also shows two gold bullets flying.

North Canton Bootleggers - Gold comes from the color of good quality corn-made white lightning. Black is from the top soil of the Appalachian Mountains running through Bristol, TN. The skull and cross bones are from the near by ETSU Buccaneers and the X's signify the moonshine's potency.

Smoke Rise Woosiers - The lore of the Woosiers is found in ancient Chinese military history dating to samurai warrior, Cyrus Woo, of the early 1200s. Red comes from nobility and the blood of battle. Black and gray are used as colors of armour. A samurai in front of a big red "W" is the logo.

Brookside Dogs - Named after the Brookside Junior High Bulldogs and "Bird Dog", the Dogs got their crimson from the Tide and pewter from the flint colored arrowheads found along the banks of the Five Mile Creek. Since Dog loved Elvis, the Dogs logo was borrowed from the CFL's Memphis Mad Dogs.

Jugtown Juggernauts - Garden-dale was originally called Jugtown because of a big jug factory there. A juggernaut is a massive relentless force crushing anything is in its path. However, the BDFL uses "naut" as "nautical" thus Jason and the Argonauts quest for the Golden Fleece is used as the team's theme and color scheme.

Rocky Ridge Wildcats - The Wildcats nickname comes from the Libertyville (IL) Wildcats where the James Gang lived during their formidable years. The Tennessee Volunteers orange comes from the similarity between Rocky Top and Rocky Ridge. The black comes from the black stripes of a wildcat. The screaming wildcat on the helmet with the fiery red eyes represents the attacking nature of the wildcat (Felis silvestris).

More history behind the BDFL helms

Druid City Blitz - The Blitz has their roots in Germany, Pittsburgh and Druid City (modern day - Tuscaloosa, AL). Named to rhyme with Fritz, the “Blitz” nickname has its roots in German military conquests dating back to the Teutonic Knights and including the heroic flights of the bloody Red Baron. The team’s logo is the Iron Cross synonymous with German military excellence. Colors red, black and gold come from Germany’s flag.

Pasco County Wizards - Dark purple and old gold are traditional colors for most wizards dating back to medieval times and represent nobility, wealth and knowledge. In the Wizards logo, white is used for the Wizard's mane and beard as a sign of wisdom. The half moon and star in the background are traditional wizard symbols depicting the wizard's role as a prophet, visionary and master of nature’s elements.

Silver Lakes Sloth Monsters - Blue is used as the color of water of Lake Cyrus, Silver Lakes and Loch Ness bodies of water where Sloth Monsters have been known to roam. Green is used to represent the foliage and natural habitat of the tree hanging three-toed sloth. Sloths also often appear green due to algae that grows on them. The footprint logo shows their large curved claws used to keep a strong grip on tree branches.

Black Creek Wooden Warriors - The Wooden Warriors name comes from Kawliga, the wooden Indian with a heart of knotty pine who falls in love with an Indian maiden over in the antique store, written and sung by Hank Williams in 1952. Burgundy and gold comes from the Florida State Seminoles because of Bobby Bowden and the similarity of their shortened nicknames, (Totem) 'Poles and the 'Noles. Black comes from the song "the Indian maiden with the coal black hair" and the color of Black Creek which runs through North Jefferson County near Fultondale, AL. Black Creek is also the location of the oldest known Creek Indian Reservation still in existence with a world-class USSSA sanctioned softball facility.

Helena Fighting Slovaks - The Fighting Slovaks derived their nickname from Slovakia and Brookside, AL. The "fight" comes from thousands of years struggling for independence in their native land and from their early "fights" in America to work in the mining industry. Team colors of red, white and blue and the double cross shield logo, are straight from the Slovak Republic flag. The copper colored helmets are a tribute to the Slovaks copper mining heritage from the old country.

The Grand Daddy - Silver was chosen in honor of the NFL's Lombardi Trophy and the NHL's Stanley Cup (plus there was a can of it lying around Bullet's Benton homestead). It's also close to the GHS gray helms of the 1970's, the era that the helmet is from. Black was used for the stencil, BDFL, on the sides because it really stands out and pays tribute to the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's and all-time football classic heroes such as Kenny "Snake" Stabler, "Old Man" Willie Brown, "The Stork" Ted Hendricks, Fred Bilitnikoff, Marve Hubbard, "The Ghost" Dave Casper, #41 Phil Villapiano, Pete Banazak, Cliff Branch, "Tooz" John Matuzack, Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Jim Otto, "The Assassin" Jack Tatum, Lester Hayes, and John Madden. The cage facemask is also from the 'throwback' days and in honor of Oakland, worthy, and bitter rival, the Hank Stram-led Kansas City Chiefs (and Birmingham's Buch Buchanan). The championship logos on the back pay tribute to GHS' 'skull-and-crossbones' and 'stars' and to college football teams that carry out this tradition.

The BDFL | Mayors | Grenades | Cheetahs | PowerSleds | Bullets | Gamblers | Bootleggers | Woosiers

Wildcats | Juggernauts | Dogs | Blitz | Wooden Warriors | Wizards | Sloth Monsters | Fighting Slovaks

Concept, names, logos and designs are registered trademarks and intellectual property of The BDFL ©