History of Arena Football (AFL & af2)

THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE, EVOLUTION OF A FAN FRIENDLY SPORT
On February 11, 1981, while watching the Major Indoor Soccer League all-star game at Madison Square Garden, James Foster drew the outline of a miniature football field over a hockey rink on a manila envelope and penciled in notes on what would evolve into a curiously new and exciting adaptation of America's favorite team sport. The NFL marketing veteran had created a unique new game of "indoor" professional football that was quite distinct from the established outdoor game. He began with a proven sport - American football - and knowing that there was no room for competition with the NFL, he decided to create an indoor, summer "hybrid." In doing so, he applied the best of the outdoor game with innovative twists: 50-yard fields, eight-player single-platoon system, drop kicks and rebound nets.

FASCINATING, COMPLEX NEW GAME PIQUES FANS' INTEREST
In 1985, after the rise and fall of the USFL, Foster began to further develop the game. To measure public response, he conducted a "test game" in Rockford, Ill., on April 26, 1986. The response led to a "showcase game" Feb. 26, 1987, at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago. The game was greeted enthusiastically by 8,200 fans and set the stage for the national debut of the Arena Football League in June 1987. The AFL fielded four teams for the inaugural 1987 season: Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite, Pittsburgh Gladiators and Washington Commandos. The Dynamite, led by quarterback Whit Taylor, defeated the Gladiators, 45-16, to become champions of Arena Bowl I before 13,232 fans in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena and a live ESPN audience. The average attendance in that inaugural season was 11,279.

FIREBIRDS SWOOP, INDOOR WAR BECOMES RIVAL-FREE
A new era of "The 50-Yard Indoor War" unfolded in 1990. Foster and partners at Gridiron Enterprises, Inc., made the decision to sell licenses to investors in major markets, thereby enabling private ownership of teams. On March 27, 1990, the U.S. Patent Office issued patent No. 4,911,443 for the Arena Football Game System, making it the only sports league in history able to play a patented, rival-free game. The 1990 season also marked the first of 11 seasons that the Albany Firebirds spent in New York's capitol.

STORM WARNING LOOMS, LEAGUE-WIDE ATTENDANCE SKYROCKETS
Following the 1990 season, the league made its second venture onto foreign "turf." The Detroit Drive, a team comprised of eight current members of the Arena Football Hall of Fame that accumulated four championships from 1988 to 1993, collided with the Dallas Texans before 14,257 fans in Paris, France. Back in the U.S., the league expanded from six to eight teams in 1991, including the debut of the Orlando Predators. Further south, the Tampa Bay Storm (formerly Pittsburgh Gladiators) established a single game attendance record with 24,445 fans versus Denver - that record, however, was broken one year later by the same team. The league averaged an all-time high of 12,813 fans per game.

THE SNAKEPIT COMES TO LIFE, WAGNER, ERR, "SUPERMAN" STEPS OUT ON STAGE
The four-time winner of the NBA's Executive of the Year award, Jerry Colangelo, brought Arena Football to Phoenix in 1992. The Rattlers were, and still are, coached by former Dallas Cowboy great Danny White and averaged 15,505 fans in America West Arena (The Snakepit). The league introduced divisional play for the first time while ESPN returned as its television network following a one-year hiatus. On the field, the Predators "unleashed" Barry Wagner, who claimed the first of six consecutive Ironman of the Year awards. In 1993, both the Rattlers and Predators sold out each home game. While at the Thunderdome in Tampa, the defending champions shattered their own attendance record for a regular season game (28,746 vs. Orlando) and playoff contest (21,111 vs. Albany).

RATTLERS STUN PREDATORS, MILWAUKEE WELCOMES ARENABALL
The 1994 season was highlighted by great team accomplishment. Only a 40-39 loss to Tampa Bay in the final game of the season kept the Predators from becoming the seventh team in the history of professional football to go undefeated and untied in a regular season. Arizona became the lowest seed ever to win the league title, climbing from the third seed to upset Orlando, 36-31, in Arena Bowl VIII. The true meaning of fan support was demonstrated in Milwaukee as 14,232 fans per game struggled along with the expansion Mustangs through a 0-12 season. In 1995, the expansion Iowa Barnstormers, quarterbacked by future NFL and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, fell eight points short of an Arena Bowl IX appearance.

TEN YEARS LATER, FAN TOTAL REACHES ONE MILLION FOR SEASON
The league's 10th Anniversary season in 1996 proved to be record setting. More than one million fans attended games for the first time in history. Additionally, the viewership of ESPN's broadcast of Arena Bowl X between the Storm and Iowa Barnstormers, quarterbacked by Warner, surpassed one million households. On the field, Storm quarterback Jay Gruden, became the league's first 15,000-yard career passer.

FOUR TEAMS MAKE DEBUT, RATTLERS CLAIM TITLE BEFORE RECORD 17,436 FANS
The 1997 season marked C. David Baker's first as league commissioner, and what followed was a "high-scorin', heart-stoppin', helmet-poppin'" experience. The Rattlers, who led the 14-team circuit with nearly 16,000 fans per game, claimed their second title in Arena Bowl XI against the Barnstormers before 17,436 fans, a team record. During that week, the AFL Board of Directors awarded an expansion team for 1999 to Buffalo, N.Y., and the Arena Football Hall of Fame inducted its first class of enshrinees. Four expansion teams joined in 1997, including the Nashville Kats, New Jersey Red Dogs, New York CityHawks and Portland Forest Dragons. On the year, five clubs averaged more than 50 points per game - the league's per game combined point total reached an all-time high 91 points per game. The Red Dogs set a pro football record with 91 points versus the Texas Terror on June 20, 1997.

PREDATORS CLAIM FIRST TITLE BEFORE ABC AUDIENCE, NFL-AFL ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE, LEAGUE UNVEILS FANS' BILL OF RIGHTS
The Arena Football League began its 13th season having eclipsed the one million-attendance mark in three straight seasons. Arena Bowl XII, won 62-31 by the Predators over the Storm on Aug. 23, 1998, made its network debut on ABC and was viewed by more than two million fans. Former Storm QB, Jay Gruden, coached the Predators. In 1998, the Rattlers again led the circuit in average attendance, with 15,785 fans per game. Albany's Chad Dukes snapped Wagner's streak and won the Ironman of the Year trophy. The league also shattered the previous mark of 91.6 combined points per game, scoring a whopping 97.4 in 1998, including a record 111.1 in Week 13. According to a 1998 ESPN Chilton Sports poll, Arena Football was named as one of the "hottest new sports" that has emerged in the United States over the last 10 years. On Feb. 8, 1999, the NFL agreed to purchase an exclusive option to acquire an equity interest in the AFL. The option could be exercised over the next 18 months and would give the NFL a minority ownership interest (up to 49.9%) in the AFL and a voice in the operation of the league (subject to approval of NFL owners). The alliance between the NFL and the AFL began on June 3, 1998, when the AFL Board of Directors approved the application of New Orleans Saints' owner Tom Benson to place a team in New Orleans. NFL bylaws previously prohibited NFL owners from investing in other football leagues or teams, but an amendment to NFL rules was adopted on May 22, 1998, allowing an exception for AFL teams in an NFL club's own market. In April 1999, the AFL unveiled its Fans' Bill of Rights.

af2 KICKS OFF, FIREBIRDS CELEBRATE 10 SEASONS WITH ARENA BOWL TRIUMPH
On August 24, 1999, the AFL Board of Directors approved the final four applications for arenafootball2 - the AFL's developmental league - to begin play in April 2000. The original 15 teams consisted mostly of midsize cities in the southeast and midwest, operating in arenas with capacity of 6,000 to 12,000. The 1999 season included the addition of the expansion Destroyers. The Firebirds, celebrating 10 years in Albany, won Arena Bowl XIII over defending champion Predators, 59-48. For the second consecutive season, ABC televised the title game to more than two million fans. Albany's Eddie Brown won a record third Offensive Player of the Year award, while Arizona's Hunkie Cooper garnered his first Ironman of the Year trophy. The year also saw the league eclipse the one million-attendance mark for the fourth straight season. A record 17 teams competed in 2000, including the Los Angeles Avengers and Carolina Cobras. The Detroit Fury, owned in partnership by The Palace Sports & Entertainment group and William Ford Jr. of the Detroit Lions, chose to compete in 2001. The AFL also granted an expansion team to a group backed by Peter and Alan Levin and the late Walter Payton - the Chicago Rush - that would begin play in 2001.

MILLENNIUM SEASON INCLUDES 32 MARKETS PLAYING ARENA FOOTBALL
For the AFL, the 2000 season was, to say the least, yet another moment of history in the making. With new NFL owners signing on, including the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, plans for future All-Star and international exhibition games and increasing resolution to the labor dispute, the AFL continued its climb to the next tier of major professional sports. Nearly 80 regular season records were matched or broken in 2000, including Aaron Garcia's 92 passing touchdowns and Mike Horacek's 46 touchdown receptions for the Barnstormers. Horacek also broke a 13-year-old record for receiving yards, gathering 285 in Iowa's 77-76 win over the Firebirds. The New England Sea Wolves and San Jose SaberCats combined to score 161 points, setting the standard for most combined points in a single game. In that game, rookie Anthony Derricks of the Sea Wolves returned five kicks for touchdowns, a league record. More than two million fans attended regular season Arena Football games in the 32 markets competing in both the AFL and af2, the highest total attendance ever. It was the fifth consecutive year that the AFL surpassed one million fans. In their inaugural season, 15 af2 teams drew almost one million fans.

af2 LAUNCHES INTO STARDOM WITH INAUGURAL "KICKOFF 2000" GAME
After more than a year of planning and organizing, af2 becomes a reality on March 31, 2000, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center as the Tennessee Valley Vipers (Huntsville, AL) take on the homestanding Birmingham Steeldogs in front of a frantic 14,831 fans on opening night. The game, which was televised regionally on Comcast Sports, was a huge success both on and off the field. OL/DL Heath Springer of Tennessee Valley scored the first-ever points in af2 history on a safety in the first quarter, sparking the visiting Tennessee Valley Vipers to victory, 58-19.

af2 BECOMES A LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ITS PLAYERS, COACHES AND OFFICIALS
The initial movement of af2 players to other leagues began on April 19, 2000, and finally ended on January 5, 2001, when a total of 70 af2 players moved up to the AFL, CFL or NFL throughout the inaugural season. Tulsa Talons' lineman David Camacho started the first wave of player movement when he was signed by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, showing that the af2 is a "league of opportunity" for its players. Almost 20 percent of af2 players on rosters for the 2000 season moved up to another league. Two af2 head coaches also got opportunities at the next level as Tulsa Talons' head coach Jon Norris signed on to be an assistant with the AFL's Oklahoma Wranglers and Augusta Stallions' Coach of the Year Mike Neu became an assistant, and eventually the head coach, with the Carolina Cobras. In addition, 11 af2 moved up to officiate in the AFL for the 2001 season. The growth of af2 spawned a new generation of athletes, coaches and officials.

af2 PROVES TO BE A "HIT" AT THE TURNSTILES
Through a vigorous 120-game, 18-week schedule, af2 fans across the league turned out in bunches to cheer on their respective teams. The Arkansas Twisters proved to everyone that the game of Arena Football can work in mid-sized communities. The Twisters led af2 in attendance in 2000 with an average of 13,766 fans per game, including two games with more than 16,000 fans. In total, arenafootball2 averaged 7,239 fans per game and more than 900,000 fans walked through turnstiles in af2 venues throughout the regular season and playoffs. Besides the NFL, NHL, and NBA, af2 was the only other professional sports league to fill its buildings to over 70% capacity in 2000 (af2 was at 72%).

NATIONAL TELEVISION AUDIENCE WITNESSES ARENACUP 2000 ON TNN
The stage was set as the undefeated Quad City Steamwheelers looked to finish off a historic first season in Arena Cup 2000 against the hungry Tennessee Valley Vipers. In front of a sellout crowd of 9,201 fans at The Mark in Moline, Ill., and a national television audience on TNN, the two teams played the most exciting game of 2000. Back and forth they went until Quad City finally pulled ahead for a 68-59 victory and a record-setting unblemished 19-0 championship season. More than 300,000 fans tuned in to the TNN broadcast by Eli Gold, Mark May and Jill Arrington, providing the perfect end to a historic season. Players, who played for the love of the game and to keep their dream alive, as well as coaches, officials and especially the fans worked together to make af2's first season an overwhelming success.

13 EXPANSION TEAMS ADDED FOR THE 2001 SEASON
There was no rest for the weary in af2 as 13 new expansion teams were added for the 2001 season. Baton Rouge, La.; Bossier City, La.; Columbus, Ga.; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Lincoln, Neb.; Louisville, Ky.; Lafayette, La.; Memphis, Tenn.; Macon, Ga.; Des Moines, Iowa; Peoria, Ill.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Wichita, Kansas, all tried to lay claim to the Arena Cup trophy. The list included five owners of AFL teams and eight new teams. The league announced a new two-conference, four-division alignment, with each division comprised of seven teams. The 2001 schedule included a record 224-game, 17-week schedule, with the Arena Cup again televised on TNN.

ONE MILLIONTH FAN, STEAMWHEELERS REPEAT, SWINTON FINDS SUCCESS IN THE NFL
At Pensacola's home game against Rochester on July 13, 12-year-old Brian Martin became af2's one millionth fan. The af2 became the first current professional football league to reach the one million mark in just its second season. On August 10, 2001, the Quad City Steamwheelers slipped past the Richmond Speed 55-51 to become two-time Arena Cup champions. Neither team recorded back-to-back scores in a game that featured 16 lead changes, including WR/LB Scott Hvistendahl's 3-yard championship-winning touchdown catch from QB Jay McDonagh with 10 seconds left to play. After lighting up the af2 in 2001, former Arkansas Twister Reggie Swinton went on to play his first NFL season. Playing in all 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys, Swinton returned 56 kickoffs for 1,327 yards (5th in NFL) and took back 31 punts for 414 yards (5th in NFL), including one for TD. He averaged 23.7 yards per kickoff return (5th in NFL, minimum 50 returns) and 13.4 yards per punt return (3rd in NFL, minimum 25 returns). Swinton also caught seven passes for 117 yards and one TD.

10 TEAMS ADDED FOR 2002 SEASON, WESTERN DIVISION LAUNCHED, PIRATES CLAIM ARENACUP
af2 continued to grow in 2002, as 10 expansion teams were added. Albany, N.Y.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Cape Fear (Fayetteville), N.C.; Fresno, Calif.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Mobile, Ala.; Mohegan (Uncasville) Conn.; New Haven, Conn.; San Diego, Calif.; and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., all competed in 2002. af2 shattered attendance records, as over 1.3 million fans attended games. Over 30% of regular season games were decided by seven points or less and four of the eight division titles were up for grabs heading into the final weekend of play. When the dust settled, the Peoria Pirates came out on top as they scored 29 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to run away from the Florida Firecats and win ArenaCup 2002, 65-47, in front of 7,552 fans at the Peoria Civic Center. Several single season records went by the boards, highlighted by Cape Fear's E.J. Burt who recorded 27.5 sacks on the season. Albany's Corey Hill eclipsed the professional football record for receptions in a season with 161 and Tennessee Valley's Kelly Snell set a new af2 benchmark with 15 interceptions on the season.

GREEN BAY AND CINCINNATI JOIN THE FRAY, DIVISIONS RE-ALIGNED, MORE af2 ALUMS HEAD UP
The Green Bay Blizzard and Cincinnati Swarm represent the 2003 af2 expansion class and set their sights on the Midwest Division. Both team's nicknames were chosen by fans through contests in the community. Division re-alignment places Wichita out West and sends Tennessee Valley and Birmingham to the American Conference as the league adopts a six-division format split into two conferences. The number of af2 players moving up to the AFL continues to multiply as over 50 players from the 2002 af2 season land on a final roster, practice squad or reserve list of an AFL team for the 2003 campaign. It marks the first time in af2 history that every AFL team has at least one former af2 player on its roster.