af2
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| Af2 | |
|---|---|
| Current season or competition: 2008 af2 season |
|
 |
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| Sport | Arena Football |
| Founded | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 29 |
| Country(ies) |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Tulsa Talons |
| Official website | www.af2.com |
af2 (short for arenafootball2) is the name of the Arena Football League's minor league, which started play in 2000. The rules are the same as for the parent league. af2 plays its season from April to July.
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 cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Chicago, the af2 fields teams in cities such as Bossier City, Louisiana, North Little Rock, Green Bay, Huntsville, Manchester, Boise, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Louisville, Austin and, Tulsa. Players also earn less in the af2, with each player making $250 per game.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] History
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. Currently, this vision seems rather unlikely, as there has not been consistent expansion of the league. The af2 started off with 15 teams in 2000, then expanded to 28 teams in 2001, and finally 34 in 2002. The number of teams the league fielded dropped every year from there on after, until the 2006 season. 27 teams were fielded in 2003, 25 in 2004, and 20 in 2005. Finally, in 2006, the af2 saw its first expansion in 4 years, fielding 23 teams, and continued that into 2007 with 30 teams.
The drop in teams between 2002 and 2006 can be partially attributed to the league expanding too rapidly in its first 3 seasons. Many teams were financially unstable and folded. This can be due to higher expenses compared to similar leagues. Franchise fees in the league range from $600,000 to $1 million.[3] Historically, massive expansions have had little success. For instance, 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.
Nine new expansion teams were approved for 2007 in the af2: the Boise Burn, the Cincinnati Jungle Kats, the Fort Wayne Fusion, the Laredo Lobos, the Lubbock Renegades, the Mahoning Valley Thunder, the Texas Copperheads, the Tri-Cities Fever, and the Corpus Christi Sharks. The Texas, Laredo, and Tri-Cities teams moved to the af2 from other indoor football leagues. For the 2007 season the league fielded 30 teams. After the 2007 season three of those teams folded. They were the Fort Wayne Fusion, the Cincinnati Jungle Kats, and the Laredo Lobos Also the Everett Hawks, Alabama Steeldogs, and the Bakersfield Blitz ceased operations. For 2008 the league fielded one less team at 29. Two teams the Iowa Barnstormers and the Peoria Pirates were reactivated, and the league admitted three new teams that were transferring from other leagues. The Lexington Horsemen came from the UIF, the Daytona Beach ThunderBirds from the WIFL and the Austin Wranglers moved down from the AFL.
[edit] Merge with Xtreme Football League
The Xtreme Football League was a proposed indoor football league that was formed in early 1999, with the intent to begin play in 2000. The cities that were to take part in the league were: Birmingham, Greenville, Huntsville (Tennessee Valley), Jacksonville, Norfolk, Pensacola, Richmond, Roanoke and Tallahassee. Although a logo was developed and venues had begun to be lined up, the league merged with the af2 on July 29, 1999, one year before either league took the field. (This league is not to be confused with the XFL, an outdoor league which occasionally used the "Xtreme Football League" name in its earliest stages.)
[edit] ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game, held each August. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, as their parent league has changed, the af2 has changed too. The 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan[4] and returned to Bossier City in 2007. Citing lower attendances at the neutral site ArenaCup games, the league returned to the prior arena arrangement for the 2008 season.[5]
For the 2000 and 2001 ArenaCups, 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 and Comcast Sports Net in 2006 and 2007.
Television rights to af2 are currently held by Fanz TV, a syndication service, although they have suspended the airing of first-run games and are currently only airing reruns.
[edit] Past ArenaCup results
| Date Played | Winning Team | Losing Team | Site | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10, 2000 | Quad City Steamwheelers | 68 | Tennessee Valley Vipers | 59 | Moline, Illinois |
| August 10, 2001 | Quad City Steamwheelers | 55 | Richmond Speed | 51 | Moline, Illinois |
| August 23, 2002 | Peoria Pirates | 65 | Florida Firecats | 47 | Peoria, Illinois |
| August 23, 2003 | Tulsa Talons | 58 | Macon Knights | 40 | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| August 27, 2004 | Florida Firecats | 39 | Peoria Pirates | 26 | Estero, Florida |
| August 27, 2005 | Memphis Xplorers | 63 | Louisville Fire | 41 | Bossier City, Louisiana |
| August 26, 2006 | Spokane Shock | 57 | Green Bay Blizzard | 34 | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| August 25, 2007 | Tulsa Talons | 73 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers | 66 | Bossier City, Louisiana |
[edit] Teams
[edit] Future Teams
- Albuquerque, New Mexico - expected to begin play in Albuquerque in 2009 at the Tingley Coliseum [6]
- Mississippi Headhunters - expected to begin play at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi
- Milwaukee Iron - expected to begin play in 2009 at the Bradley Center [7]
- Buffalo, New York - expected to begin play in 2009 at HSBC Arena [8]
[edit] Potential Expansion
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - would begin play in 2009 at Credit Union Centre [9]
- Yakima, Washington - would begin play in 2009 at Yakima SunDome [10]
[edit] References
- ^ ArenaFan Online : AFL ArenaFan Originals
- ^ [1]
- ^ Lowe, Mike. "Arena football discussed", Portland Press Herald, 2006-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
- ^ 2006 ArenaCup to be played in Puerto Rico. Af2 (2006-07-21). Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
- ^ 2008 ArenaCup returns to highest seed format. Af2 (2008-03-20). Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ "Brian Urlacher Joins Group Bringing Arena Football to Albuquerque".
- ^ "New team has lease agreement".
- ^ "Buffalo gets AF2 franchise".
- ^ "Arena football looks Saskatoon's way".
- ^ "Finding a home in the Dome".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| American Conference | Eastern Division | Albany Conquest · Mahoning Valley Thunder · Manchester Wolves · Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers |
| Midwestern Division | Green Bay Blizzard · Iowa Barnstormers · Lexington Horsemen · Louisville Fire · Quad City Steamwheelers · Peoria Pirates | |
| Southern Division | Daytona Beach ThunderBirds · Florida Firecats · South Georgia Wildcats · Tennessee Valley Vipers | |
| National Conference | Central Division | Amarillo Dusters · Arkansas Twisters · Lubbock Renegades · Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz · Tulsa Talons |
| Southwestern Division | Austin Wranglers · Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings · Corpus Christi Sharks · Rio Grande Valley Dorados · Texas Copperheads | |
| Western Division | Boise Burn · Central Valley Coyotes · Spokane Shock · Stockton Lightning · Tri-Cities Fever | |
| Related articles: Arena Football League · af2 · Arena football · Indoor football | ||
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