Pass or Fail: Florida Panthers new jersey and logo

In order to fully understand the meaning behind the core values that inspired the Panthers’ new look, you will need to go all the way back to the Battle of the Bulge, which took place from Dec. 16, 1944 until Jan. 25, 1945 in the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II.

A turning point in the war, this last-ditch effort by the Germans to turn the tides of the battle was met with unrelenting courage and sacrifice from the United States, which incurred its greatest causalities of the war during that particular campaign. As a former member of the 101st Airborne Division, Vinnie Viola wanted to pay homage to the selfless actions of those soldiers, choosing a crest inspired by the division’s “Screaming Eagle” patch as the centerpiece of the Panthers’ new uniform. Although the battle has long since ended, the actions of those involved exemplified the lasting idea of what it means to truly give everything for a cause you believe in.

“The big focus for us was trying to, first and foremost, tie together what does the old look say about the identity of the team and what are we trying to evolve. I think, in 1993, to be a new franchise in an era of colorful and maybe overly detailed artwork, the idea that you had this leaping cat showing its teeth made sense because you have to leap onto the scene and you are the new kid on the block and you’ve got to sort of fight on the playground to make your bones and let ever body know that you’re here and you’re ready to go.”

“We’re 22 years old now. I think we see ourselves as a franchise on the rise and a franchise that is stable and moving towards a really strong future, so we wanted a logo that reflected that maturity and that gravity. I think this cat, when you look at him, he may not have his teeth showing and he may not look aggressive, but when you look at that eye and you look at that posture, you know that you don’t want to mess with this cat. That’s our franchise. We don’t have to go out and yell to make people fear us… We do that on the ice.”