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Post by Banana Cat on Dec 27, 2013 18:52:33 GMT -5
Which teams were sold from the old IFL to Orlando? You may be right on the Cobras, Attack and Casper. I'll update the list to show them as starting in 2001 if that's the case.
I also noticed that the Texas Revolution and Amarillo Venom probably need to be updated as well since further research seems to indicate those teams didn't buy the name from the AF2 when they left, hence the name changes. Whereas I know for sure that Tri-Cities and Green Bay did buy their naming rights from the AF2.
Thanks for helping me clean up the chart. I thought I was pretty thorough, but it seems I did miss a few things.
That means Omaha is the longest continuously running franchise in indoor/arena football at 15 consecutive years. Sioux Falls, Sioux City, and Wyoming would be next at 14 consecutive years.
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Post by 50 Yard Fan on Dec 28, 2013 0:00:26 GMT -5
The whole league was sold to Orlando, all the teams were owned by Kerry Ecklund, except the Lincoln Lightning.
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Post by Banana Cat on Dec 28, 2013 15:33:48 GMT -5
Thanks. I thought that there were some that weren't, but couldn't recall which.
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Post by TitanStorm on Dec 29, 2013 21:26:01 GMT -5
They basically wanted Peoria so bad they bought the whole league. Back then, that market was a goldmine. Too bad things dropped off after joining the af2. Would love to see the Pirates come back.
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Post by TitanStorm on Dec 29, 2013 21:29:19 GMT -5
As for Lincoln, I'm surprised they agreed to join the af2. There was no way they could make it. I believe you needed around 6000 fans to make it in the deuce. The arena only held a bit over 4000. Another great market that dwindled after joining the af2. They used to pack the arena in the IFL
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Post by Banana Cat on Dec 29, 2013 22:06:42 GMT -5
When Orlando bought the original IFL they also did it to get rid of the competition. The AFL didn't like (and still doesn't) the indoor leagues competing with their league and used to burn a lot of markets by wowing stadiums with AF2 deals that never panned out and owners skipping town with massive debts.
Peoria's been tried many times since the original IFL days, but they haven't supported any of the recent teams there. It's been a few years though, so maybe one day someone will try again.
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Post by exit322 on Jan 4, 2014 23:56:38 GMT -5
It's more that they "effectively" are the same franchise. I think in a technical sense, when it went from Shiver's Landsharks to the Swashbucklers, it was basically two separate franchises, but they always seemed to operate as one. Much the same vein as the 2000 IFL teams that are on your list. I do see exit322's point here. The old IFL teams were all sold to the Orlando Predators, were they not? So the Bandits, Storm and Wyoming Cavalry were new franchises. That is how I see it anyway. Yes, and they're all considered to have been the same general franchise (heck, most kept the same coaching staffs and rosters). If they still played, I would consider the Swashbucklers the same franchise in such a chart as the '98 Bayou Beast. Alas, they aren't still playing. So it doesn't matter.
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Post by Banana Cat on Jan 5, 2014 1:45:00 GMT -5
I agree that they're considered the same franchise in spirit and that all the people who keep them alive in that fashion should be commended, but I created the list above for the legal/business sense of the word (the owner of the property ... and unfortunately nearly every team has suffered through terrible ownership along the way that has caused many franchises to legally end).
Once the UIFL finalizes their 2014 lineup, then I'll update the list with the changes of the remaining 2000 IFL teams actually beginning in 2001 and the two aforementioned former AF2'ers being separate franchises as well. If I've missed anything else, kindly point it out to me, thanks.
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Post by 50 Yard Fan on Jan 5, 2014 15:23:40 GMT -5
I see the Sioux Falls Storm are advertising the teams 15th year and I know the Wyoming Cavalry said 2009 was the teams 10th season. But as you say the new owners came in after IFL sale and just kept things going. I am sure they didn't purchase the franchises from the Predators. I was surprised that the AFL/Predators did not take legal action when the Cavalry team kept the same nickname and just changed to Wyoming from Casper.
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Post by Banana Cat on Jan 5, 2014 17:40:48 GMT -5
The UIFA also put that the Wichita Wild had been around for longer than they were on an old UIFA promotional document that was given to media once, using Wichita's history of their original IFL team (Warlords), AF2 team (Stealth), and APFL team (Aviators). The AF2 still owns the rights to the Wichita Warlords and Wichita Stealth names, and Ralph Adams owned the APFL team. So leagues and teams advertising those sort of things isn't new, but doesn't make it true.
It is curious how the AF2 didn't take legal action against the Cavalry for that. I guess we can chalk it up to them not being as aggressive with that kind of stuff back then, whereas years later they were threatening legal action against any similarities. The most ridiculous being the AFL's Arizona Rattlers threatening the Laredo Rattlers with legal action for using the same nickname. The teams were in different states and the logos totally different. Laredo likely would've won if it had went to court, but who wants to pay courts costs so they changed it to Rattlesnakes.
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Post by 50 Yard Fan on Jan 5, 2014 17:59:15 GMT -5
Yes, I remember that one and karma came back to get the Rattlers as they lost the Arena Bowl to Jacksonville that year.
Do you remember Jerry Jones not letting the new Arena league use the Desperados name when the league tried to put a team back in Dallas?
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Post by Banana Cat on Jan 5, 2014 21:31:04 GMT -5
Yes. The league owned the Desperados name as well I believe, but didn't want to face off against Jerry Jones' legal team (who would, lol).
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Post by thedude on Jan 7, 2014 16:33:43 GMT -5
The Warlords/Stealth were the same franchise, they were rebranded after the sale to Orlando. The Predators later sold the Stealth to a local businessman, whose main business went belly up. When that happened, the league took back the Stealth and operated it for the final season. The league tried to sell the franchise, but at the time, there was uncertainty about the venue. There was a ballot issue for a sales tax for a new arena, which if passed (which it did) would lead to the downtown Intrust Bank Arena. Had the issue failed, the county was going to close the Kansas Coliseum for more than a year for renovations. No prospective owner wanted the uncertainty and the league folded the franchise (but used the logo for the Kansas City AFL team). When the Stealth folded, Ralph Adams stepped in and started the Aviators. That team played a year at the Kansas Coliseum and a year at Ice Sports Wichita (a 1,000 seat ice rink). The Avs won the regular season league title its second year, but Mr. Adams wanted the championship game in Topeka, where he also owned the Koyotes. The Avs players and coaches boycotted the game. The team was in financial disarray as well and folded. Then came the Wild, owned by local businessman Wink Hartman. They played a year as an independent team (basically to get their feet on the ground and because they came around too late to join a league), then joined the UIF-IFL. Wink build his own arena (instead of paying rent for the 10,000-seat Intrust Bank Arena), which seats around 5,000 for indoor football. That team jumped to the CPIFL last season. So basically, there have been three different franchises, but indoor football in the Cowtown area has been played continuously since 2000.
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Post by Banana Cat on Jan 8, 2014 2:59:38 GMT -5
The Warlords/Stealth were the same franchise, they were rebranded after the sale to Orlando. The Predators later sold the Stealth to a local businessman, whose main business went belly up. When that happened, the league took back the Stealth and operated it for the final season. The league tried to sell the franchise, but at the time, there was uncertainty about the venue. There was a ballot issue for a sales tax for a new arena, which if passed (which it did) would lead to the downtown Intrust Bank Arena. Had the issue failed, the county was going to close the Kansas Coliseum for more than a year for renovations. No prospective owner wanted the uncertainty and the league folded the franchise (but used the logo for the Kansas City AFL team). When the Stealth folded, Ralph Adams stepped in and started the Aviators. That team played a year at the Kansas Coliseum and a year at Ice Sports Wichita (a 1,000 seat ice rink). The Avs won the regular season league title its second year, but Mr. Adams wanted the championship game in Topeka, where he also owned the Koyotes. The Avs players and coaches boycotted the game. The team was in financial disarray as well and folded. Then came the Wild, owned by local businessman Wink Hartman. They played a year as an independent team (basically to get their feet on the ground and because they came around too late to join a league), then joined the UIF-IFL. Wink build his own arena (instead of paying rent for the 10,000-seat Intrust Bank Arena), which seats around 5,000 for indoor football. That team jumped to the CPIFL last season. So basically, there have been three different franchises, but indoor football in the Cowtown area has been played continuously since 2000. Some good info, thanks. It makes sense that the Warlords/Stealth are the same since they were bought by Orlando for the AF2. I guess they didn't care for the Warlords name ... which when you think about it is kind of a weird name for a football team ... not exactly a name that the average person can really identify with. LOL, not that any of the names are that great and all, but Warlords seems better suited to a pulp story. Adams definitely played favorites with his Koyotes back in '06. A perfect example of why you should never have a league owner who also has a team in the league, much less two teams in the league. Aviators were the champions in my book. I agree, 15 years of indoor/arena football in Wichita is a great accomplishment.
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