Sports Flags |
Once again we find ourselves in the catagory "Too Much Time On My Hands". Everyone has to have a hobby. As an amatuer artist, vexilollogist, and sports fanatic, I found a way to combine all three! I design sports flags in my spare time. Some flags I have actually made, some have been made for me, most others never get past the computer screen. It all started early in 1996. I had made a small flag out of bandanas and paint for the local hockey franchise at the time, the San Antonio Dragons. A group of fans known as the "Gargoyles" had their own flags and I didn't want to feel left out! The flag was nice, but I felt that I needed something bigger. I decided to go out and buy enough material to make a large 3'x4 1/2' Dragons flag. I decided to keep the lovely Texas flag pattern after toying with different ideas. This time the flag was large enough that I could paint the team logo in the oddly shaped white star. A freind of mine liked my flags so much, he wanted me to make a small flag for him. I went back to the bandana method and stiched together a tricolor in the Mexican flag pattern. It was a hit. The team went defunct and the previous team, the San Antonio Iguanas returned. So I had no use for my flags. However, some people liked my flags so much, they wanted me to make some for them. Fans of the nearby Austin IceBats ordere a total of three flags that I had designed for the team. Like the above flags, they were all hand made, so it was a real pain to make them. It was more of a labor of love rather than a profit making venture. Again, I kept the Texas flag motiff, but patterned it after the first flag that I made. Each flag being 3'x4 1/2' - the proper proportions of the Texas flag. Another fan wanted something a little different for his IceBats flag. He wanted a skeletal bat, so I bought some black material and lots of white paint. Despite the lack of stiching required for this flag, alot of layers of paint were needed to penetrate the black cloth. In the end it turned out to be a very nice flag! I finally decided to make my own Iguanas flag. This time I broke away from the pattern of Texas flags and opted instead for the flag of the City of San Antonio pattern. The city flag is blue, white, and red with the Alamo inside the star. I made my flag purple, white, and orange with the Iguanas' logo inside the star. This flag was manufactured at Dixie Flag in San Antonio. I painted the logo inside the star myself. Well, with the demise of the Iguanas, I decided that Flagman needed to continue. My choice of venues? Austin and Corpus Christi. For both of these I took a short cut. I used comercially available flags. For Austin's, I used the Romanian flag on which I painted an IceBat. For Corpus christi I used a plain blue flag on which i painted stars and an IceRay in the pattern of the Corpus Christi city flag. After being seen acting like a clown in Corpus Christi and Austin, representatives of the new Laredo Bucks asked me to come on down and get the fans going down there! Sadly, I did not have time to create a flag, so I just used a regular Texas flag. While I may not be the only person every to have made or designed a sports flag, I may be the most prolific and creative. I will allow you to be the judge. |
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