Af2
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Like most other minor sports leagues, the af2 exists to develop football players, and also to help players adapt to the style and pace of arena football. In addition, the af2 is similar to other minor leagues because af2 teams play in smaller cities and smaller venues. While the AFL is played in larger cities like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago, the af2 fields teams in cities such as Oklahoma City, Anchorage, Bakersfield, and Spokane.
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game, held each August (results are below). For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, as their parent league, the AFL, has changed, the af2 has changed too. The 2005 Arena Cup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana.For the 2000 and 2001 Arena Cups, the game was televised nationally by TNN (now Spike TV), who carried AFL games on Sunday afternoons at the time. However, when the AFL announced their televised games would be shown on NBC rather than TNN, the ArenaCup telecast was lost. The 2002 ArenaCup was televised by the Vision Network, and the 2003 game was televised by KWHB, a local station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After having no television coverage in 2004, the game was telecast nationally by Fox Sports Net in 2005.
Baker's Vision
In a June 2003 interview with Sports Illustrated, AFL commissioner David Baker briefly mentioned the af2, saying how one day, he envisions the league growing to 100 teams. As of 2006, this vision seems rather unlikely. The af2 is fielding 23 teams for 2006, and fielded twenty teams in 2005, down from twenty-five in 2004. In fact, the league saw declines in the number of teams every year since the 2002 season, when they fielded thirty-four teams, until the 2006 season saw the addition of three teams into the fold. This is possibly due to the fact that the league grew too quickly (the league saw thirteen new teams in 2001, and ten in 2002), since historically, massive expansions have little success (the National Indoor Football League, a rival indoor league, has seen large amounts of expansion teams since they began in 2001 but many struggle financially). Three new expansion teams were approved for 2006 in the af2: the Stockton Lightning (California), the Everett Hawks, and the Spokane Shock (both of Washington state). In addition, the Tennessee Valley Vipers returned to af2 after a one-year stint in United Indoor Football as the Tennessee Valley Raptors. Despite new ownership, the 2006-forward team maintains the records and history of the original franchise. The Mississippi Headhunters of Biloxi, Mississippi were originally going to play in the 2006 season, but because of Hurricane Katrina the team had been given a grace period to start play in the 2007 season, but the owner chose to instead pursue relocating them to Jackson, Mississippi Also, the league is going to add the Mahoning Valley Thunder (based in Youngstown, Ohio) and teams in Boise, Idaho, and Anchorage, Alaska that season.Current af2 teams
Eastern Division
- Albany Conquest
- Green Bay Blizzard
- Louisville Fire
- Manchester Wolves - formerly the Mohegan Wolves
- Quad City Steamwheelers
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
Southern Division
- Birmingham Steeldogs
- Florida Firecats
- Macon Knights
- Memphis Xplorers
- South Georgia Wildcats - formerly the Cape Fear Wildcats
- Tennessee Valley Vipers
Midwest Division
- Amarillo Dusters
- Arkansas Twisters
- Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings - formerly the Bossier City Battle Wings
- Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Rio Grande Valley Dorados
- Tulsa Talons
Western Division
- Bakersfield Blitz
- Central Valley Coyotes - formerly the first Bakersfield Blitz
- Everett Hawks
- Spokane Shock
- Stockton Lightning
Scheduled to begin play in 2007
- Alaska Wild - will play in Anchorage, Alaska
- Idaho af2 (Boise) [link]
- Mahoning Valley Thunder - will play in Youngstown, Ohio
Inactive Markets/Possible Expansion
- Biloxi, Mississippi-moving to Jackson, Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina damaging arena in Biloxi
- Conway, South Carolina
- Iowa Barnstormers
- Jackson, Mississippi-relocated Mississippi Headhunters, formerly Columbus Wardogs
- Reno, Nevada
- Rio Rancho, New Mexico
- San Diego Riptide
- Sarasota, Florida
Arena Cup Results
- 2000: Quad City Steamwheelers 68-59 Tennessee Valley Vipers
- 2001: Quad City Steamwheelers 55-51 Richmond Speed
- 2002: Peoria Pirates 65-47 Florida Firecats
- 2003: Tulsa Talons 58-40 Macon Knights
- 2004: Florida Firecats 39-26 Peoria Pirates
- 2005: Memphis Xplorers 63-41 Louisville Fire
See also
External links
- [arenafootball2]
- [ArenaFan Online's af2 Home]
- [ArenaFan Online's af2 Historical Franchise Chart]
- [ArenaFan Online's ArenaCup History page]
Sources
- http://www.af2.com
| af2 |
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| AMERICAN CONFERENCE | |||||
| SOUTHERN DIVISION Birmingham Steeldogs Florida Firecats Macon Knights Memphis Xplorers South Georgia Wildcats Tennessee Valley Vipers | EASTERN DIVISION Albany Conquest Green Bay Blizzard Louisville Fire Manchester Wolves Quad City Steamwheelers Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers | ||||
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| NATIONAL CONFERENCE | |||||
| WESTERN DIVISION Bakersfield Blitz Central Valley Coyotes Everett Hawks Spokane Shock Stockton Lightning | MIDWESTERN DIVISION Amarillo Dusters Arkansas Twisters Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Rio Grande Valley Dorados Tulsa Talons | ||||
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