Arena League Football
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The Arena Football League (AFL) was founded in 1987 as an indoor American football league by Jim Foster. It was played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League and the National Football League.
The AFL would play 22 seasons from 1987 to 2008 before large debts forced the league to suspend operations in search of a more profitable business model. In December 2008 the league's owners canceled the 2009 season to begin work on developing a long-term plan to improve its economic model.
Unable to agree upon a viable economic plan for the future of the league, the AFL suspended operations indefinitely on August 4, 2009, with Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation likely. On September 28, 2009, the Arena Football 1 league was formed, containing multiple former AFL and af2 teams including the Orlando Predators Cleveland Gladiators, Utah Blaze and the Arizona Rattlers, as well as a possibility for the Tampa Bay Storm and San Jose Sabercats to join by October 9, 2009. Additionally, new teams were formed in former AFL markets Salt Lake City and Chicago.
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• Arizona Rattlers (AFL) - Phoenix
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• Carolina Cobras (AFL) - Durham
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• Columbus Destroyers (AFL) - Buffalo
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• Detroit Fury (AFL) - Detroit
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• Florida Bobcats (AFL) Website - Plantation
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• Grand Rapids Rampage (AFL) - Grand Rapids
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• Houston ThunderBears (AFL) - Houston
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• Indiana Firebirds (AFL) - Indianapolis
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• Iowa Barnstormers (AFL) - Des Moines
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• Milwaukee Iron (AFL)
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| • Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL) - Milwaukee • The Milwaukee Mustangs were an Arena Football League team. They played from 1994 to 2001, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Bradley Center. |
• Nashville Kats (AFL) - Nashville
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• Purchase New England Seawolves Merchandise
The New England Sea Wolves were in Hartford for two seasons, and were coached by Mike Hohensee, the former Albany Firebirds coach who has been the head coach of the Chicago Rush since that team's inception in 2001. • New England Seawolves (AFL) - Hartford
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• New York Dragons (AFL) - Long Island
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• Oklahoma Wranglers (AFL) - Oklahoma City
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• Orlando Predators (AFL) Website - Orlando
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• Portland Forest Dragons (AFL) - Portland
• Portland Forest Dragons (1997-1999)- After a winless 1996 season, the team relocated to Portland, Oregon where they played for three seasons. In years of 1997, 1998, and 1999, the Forest Dragons complied records of 2-12, 4-10, and 7-7, never making the playoffs while in Portland. During the 1998 season the team featured receiver Oronde Gadsden, who won the league's Rookie Of The Year award, and went on to sign with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. |
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• San Jose SaberCats (AFL) Website - San Jose
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• Tampa Bay Storm (AFL) Website - Tampa Bay
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• Washington Mystics (WNBA) - District of Columbia
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Arena Football League Merchandise • Amazon
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AFL Arena Football League