See Part I and Part II of this series.
Super Bowl XI: Basically, a reprise of the Super Bowl VIII logo, only with red, white, and blue colors. I guess because this was the year AFTER the bicentennial and this game was held at the Rose Bowl instead of the South. Oh, and it’s also cramped even though the Roman numeral theoretically takes up less space. All told, this version probably wasn’t quite worth the lack of effort. Grade: C.
Super Bowl XII: Ooh, now they’re really getting fancy! See how it looks like the Roman numeral was signed? This may well be the first Super Bowl logo in the “modern” sense. Now to nitpick: I’m not feeling the font or colors, and the “signed” Roman numeral is painfully 70s and cheezy – and for that matter, hard to read, since it kind of looks like it says “X-11”. Points for effort, and this isn’t a complete embarrassment, but the Super Bowl logos still don’t have a good track record when they try. Grade: C-.
Super Bowl XIII: Simple and generic, but effective. I especially like the dots that form the Roman numeral like it was displayed on a scoreboard, which actually doesn’t lose its legibility close up. The red and blue motif returns as well. My one complaint, if it is a complaint, is the blocky lettering used for the words “Super Bowl”. All in all, however, the best Super Bowl logo done with any effort yet. Grade: B+.
Super Bowl XIV: Well, instead of signing the Roman numeral, they decided to sign “Super Bowl” itself and put the Roman numeral in fat block letters. It actually vaguely looks like the front grille of a Cadillac. “Yeah, I drive a Super Bowl XIV. What’s yours?” This logo doesn’t quite get me ready for some football, but the cursive here isn’t as much of a crime as that from two years ago, even if it is still cheezy and hard to read. Grade: C+.
Super Bowl XV: Went back to the generic route for this one, although the colors are aligned with those of the Saints. This logo is so painfully generic there isn’t much to say about it, neither offensive nor outstanding. I waffled between B- and C+ for this one, and if it didn’t immediately follow the XIV logo it might get a C+. Grade: B-.