Calgary Owls

The Owls were the dream of a rich soccer fan in Calgary. He attempted to lure a team there, mostly for his own satisfaction. When Real Salt Lake was in trouble, he started a movement to buy the team, and move them up north. He released an identity for the team, named the Owls (the provincial bird of Alberta), with an Owl sitting ontop of a ball like his favorite EPL side Tottenham. He even had the plans for a 20,000 seat stadium to be built, nicknamed the Bird House. RSL was saved, and remained in the beehive state. But two struggling USL franchises were his next target. Tulsa and Colorado Springs began play in 2015. Both teams were on the verge of folding in 2019, when he bought Colorado Springs, and moved them to Alberta. The stadium plans were released, and construction on the privately funded 15,000 seat stadium started. 

They started playing in McMahan Stadium for the first two seasons. Attendance was mediocre, and the Calgary press called the team a bust. The highest attendance was from a friendly against Edmonton, the first game in the history of the Alberta Challenge. He was a firm believer in the club, saying how they’re going to be built for the MLS. The academy was set up, and the team claimed to be set for the future. The first big signings were in 2020. Former Whitecaps Corey Hertzog and Bryce Alderson came to the Rockies to play for the Owls. This sparked some interest, two former MLS players came to the team to help them grow. The team made a run for the 2021 championship, before being knocked out by Dayton as they won 3 straight cups. The Owls got national attention for a fight that broke out between fans of Edmonton and fans of Calgary. The Calgary fans claim something was said involving a cow. Calgary’s supporters are known as goons by the rest of the Canadian soccer community. After this incident, the supporters went by the moniker “The Whooligans” When the tier announcement was made, the Owl’s owner might’ve been the most excited. Finally, a chance to jump up to the MLS. He vowed to make the team competitive by 2030. The team has had a few youth players go up through the system and play first team. One midfielder in particular earned a USL best starting XI in 2025. He was sold to Houston in time for the 2027 campaign. They bought two players with the money from that deal, both from NASL sides. The Owls can definitely compete for promotion, but League Two is very competitive. They’re gonna have to get by teams like Dayton, Hearts, and ATX before they can make League One. They do have the support for a team that could play in the MLS one day.

I had this logo drawn way back before I even did West Texas. The idea was simple, but I couldn’t get it right. I decided it needed to be simple, and have no detail on the bird, just to make it easier on myself, and your eyes. The logo was inspired by Tottenham obviously. I actually really liked how it turned out. The uniforms are pretty damn basic, but that was from me wanting a simple identity that would look like it has existed for years.