2007 Indoor Football Year in Review

[njfanatic1]

Even before the 2007 indoor football season began, those who followed the sport already saw 2007 as a year in flux - teams and leagues still coming and going, management issues and the ongoing questions of whether teams were getting paid or games being played remained.
Did things get better or worse? Did the sport stabilize? To a large extent, those questions remain unanswered. All we can say is, let's see what happens in 2008.

Here is a list of OurSports Central's Top 10 Indoor Football Stories. More top storis and honorable mentions for each league appear below.

OurSports Central's Top 10 Indoor Football Stories


Demise of the NIFL
Death of Javan Camon
Sioux Falls Wins 38th Straight and UIF Championship
Port Huron Fiasco
AIFA Changes
Rise and Fall of the WIFL
Lakeland Wins AIFA championship, Doesn't Come Back
Dakota Crow Steps Down as UIF Commissioner
Fred Jackson Makes Buffalo Bills Roster
IFL Alaska Gamble Pays Off
AIFA

(5) AIFA Changes

"Active" is the best word to describe the American Indoor Football Association's 2007 off-season. All you need to know: the 2008 AIFA will feature 16 teams - with but seven returnees from the previous season. Included in the departed are defending champion Lakeland and AIFA-AIFL stalwarts Erie and Johnstown. The addition of Fayetteville and Wyoming from the NIFL and Columbus and Augusta from the WIFL offset the loss, but it will be interesting to see the makeup of the AIFA in future years.

Go West?

The addition of the Wyoming Cavalry has been both a blessing and a trial to the AIFA. Yes, the Wyoming franchise is one of the most established in the sport, but their travel bill will take a huge hit this season. That's the big question in 2008. Franchises have sprung up in Utah and Prescott, Arizona, but the AIFA West is still at least one team short of a complete division as of this writing.

(7) Lakeland wins championship, doesn't come back

The Lakeland Thunderbolts put together an impressive 12-2 regular season under head coach Teddy Keaton, downed Carolina and Mississippi with little trouble in the playoffs, and claimed the AIFA championship with a 54-49 victory over the Reading Express. In October, the chance to defend the title was gone when the team announced it wouldn't return in 2008. Disagreements among team ownership appear to be the problem, owever, the AIFA has secured the building to help ensure a return to the Florida city in 2009.


CIFL

(4) Port Huron fiasco

Port Huron was on its way to matching the UIF Sioux City Storm's quest for perfection when the bottom fell out late in the 2007 season. When attendance dipped to 1,200 despite dominating the league, the Pirates moved their Continental Indoor Football League playoff games to Flint, and both were poorly attended. Finally, the CIFL championship game was moved to Rochester, and the Raiders took advantage of familiar surroundings for a 37-27 victory. The Pirates were declared defunct, though a new team has surfaced in Flint known as the Phantoms.

Summit County and Steubenville suspend operations; Springfield replacement team

The Steubenville Stampede had a promising start in 2007 with a four-game winning streak but struggling finances resulting in a 5-7 final record. Summitt County limped to a 1-11 record and was suspended by the league. Springfield folded on June 15 with two games remaining in the regular season.

IFL

(10) Alaska gamble pays off

Skeptics scoffed when the Texas-based Intense Football League added the Anchorage-based Alaska Wild to its roster in 2007. Despite the obvious travel logistics, the IFL pulled it off. Alaska struggled on the field with four different coaches, but did well late in the season in attendance and inspired the league to add a second Alaska franchise in Fairbanks for 2008.

Lake Charles' 13-1 season includes championship

The Swashbucklers were within one game of perfection, but decided to rest everyone in a meaningless regular season finale at Odessa. Louisiana then had little trouble with Odessa and Corpus Christi to win the Intense Bowl at home before a crowd of over 5,200.

NIFL

(1) Owners stage coup; NIFL collapses

The fading National Indoor Football League may finally be in oblivion after a disastrous 2007 campaign. The league claimed 24 teams started the season, but cancellations, forfeits and unprofessional settings were the norm. Finally, a group of surviving teams led by Fayetteville Guard owner Richard King and Wyoming operators Mike and Argeri Layton staged a mini-revolt against league director of football operations Cleveland Gary and president Carolyn Shiver. The teams scheduled games only against each other, and then finally the Guard and the Wyoming Cavalry staged an unsanctioned championship game, won 48-34 by the host Guard. Fayetteville and Wyoming later joined the AIFA.


UIF

UIF Loses Five Teams

United Indoor Football had a tough offseason. The UIF lost four of its 11 franchises, with Evansville and Ohio Valley folding and Lexington and Rock River switching to af2 and the CIFL, respectively. Wichita joined the league, leaving the UIF with its "great eight" for 2008.

(8) Dakota Crow steps down, Paul Aaron new commissioner

After engineering the breakoff from the NIFL, Dakota Crow stepped down as UIF executive director following the 2007 season. After an exhaustive search, Pinnacle Sports founder Paul Aaron was named Crow's successor. He'll start in January 2008.

(3) Sioux Falls wins United Bowl and 38th straight game

In its three-year existence, the UIF has only had one champion: the Sioux Fall Storm, which extended its winning streak to 38 with a thrilling 62-59 victory over the Lexington Horsemen in United Bowl III. The Storm's last loss was in the 2005 regular season, which prompted a run to the league's inaugural championship over Sioux City.

(9) Jackson on Buffalo Bills' Roster

What Kurt Warner did for the Arena Football League, Fred Jackson may be doing for United Indoor Football. The former Sioux City Bandits running back has been a regular contributor for the Bills this season. Through seven games, Jackson has rushed for nearly 300 yards and has caught 16 passes for 166 yards.

WIFL

(2) Death of Javan Camon

The entire indoor football community was shaken when Daytona Beach Thunder defensive back died from injuries sustained in a February 28 game with the Columbus Lions. Cavon took a helmet-to-helmet hit and sustained a broken neck. The WIFL named its MVP award for the former USF captain, who was enjoying one of the best game of his brief professional career (two interceptions) at the time of the tragedy.

(6) Rise and Fall of the WIFL

When teams led by Rome's Harry Pierce and Daytona Beach's Zack McDonald broke away from the AIFL and NIFL, this start-up league had high hopes from fans and participants alike. And even though the WIFL was a highly competitive league that played all its games, made all its player payrolls and staged an exciting championship game won by Augusta over Columbus with 18 seconds remaining, the WIFL finished as a one-and-done league in August. Pierce pulled his two teams, leaving the WIFL with the stigma of a four-team "league" it could never overcome despite a solid front office. Osceola and Tallahassee folded, Columbus and Augusta went to the AIFA and Daytona Beach to af2.

Barry Wagner signs with Daytona Beach

The WIFL did stage a minor public relations coup when Arena Football legend Barry Wagner agreed to play with the Daytona Beach Thunder in March. Wagner may have been past his prime, but his presence rejuvenated a Thunder team still reeling from Javan Camon's death. Daytona Beach won its first game with Wagner in the line-up, and his first catch went for a touchdown.

OTHER

Silliest Silly Season

Indoor football enthusiasts enjoy the off-season as much as actual play to see what teams stay, move to other leagues or fold. 2007 may have been the most active off-season yet. The AIFA gained and lost as it fought turf wars with the WIFL, UIF and even the CIFL as it tried to go national. The WIFL gained Tallahassee from the AIFA, but then faded into oblivion. The CIFL made modest games after its 2007 overexpansion, while UIF finished with a net loss of three. The quietest league was the Intense League, which didn't lose a 2007 team and gained a second Alaska franchise in Fairbanks.

[Banana Cat]

How do most people on this board think the AIFA will do this year? I'm curious to hear responses. Thanks.

[Gene]

bananacat said:

How do most people on this board think the AIFA will do this year? I'm curious to hear responses. Thanks.

We've kept our more solid markets from last year and added some new ones with the western expansion which is always a risk. Wyoming is the more established team of that division. I like that we added Fayetteville, Columbus & Augusta which seem to be solid teams. Overall i think we'll be ok this season but i am more concerned with the season after. How many teams, if any, will we lose? This season i want to see stats kept up to date, better officiating, all games played and the TV and cell phone deal work with little to no issues. Give me those few things and i'll be happy......

[Sykotyk]

I think the AIFA has a solid core (Canton, Reading, Fayetteville, Augusta, Columbus), but it's the fringe that's the issue. Losing Erie is bad as the market was good, and it's good they may be getting a team again, although the timing and logic are a little disconcerting. Hauser appears to have no qualms moving his team from his 'area' when things don't go well, who's to say he won't pull a Norager and bail if things aren't going well.

The West is a huge white elephant in the room when it comes to the AIFA, and the only hope is that the teams don't suffer from it, namely, Wyoming, who had major issues with the NIFL doing basically the same thing last year.

Only thing about the AIFA expansion is that they are in no new markets. Every AIFA market in '08 had a team in '08, whether it was AIFA or not. That's a good thing, in that you're not forcing the sport onto new markets where it may flop and be blamed for the league and not the team; BUT it also means you have little recourse if your current teams do badly as you don't have fresh blood in the league, either. Erie, Baltimore, Wyoming, Fayetteville, Columbus, Augusta, Florida, etc have all had negative issues in the past and even little slip-ups can turn off the casual fan.

Solidify the west, play every game, have competitive games, and no Springfield/Steubenville situations, and no Gulf Coast-like fillins, either.

Sykotyk

[theherohimself]

Huntington seems solid IMO. I don't know about Fayetteville, Augusta, and Columbus being the aifa's "core" though as this is their first season in the league. the markets out west I just don't know about other than Wyoming, which is supposed to be the best. There were a few teams I would have liked to seen join the league (rochester raiders, marion mayem just two name a couple). I would have loved to seen the demo make a comeback too, but maybe in 09?

We'll see, but I think this is going to be a solid year if the west holds up.

[Canton Cougar Fan]

We're getting into that part of the pre-season where teams are going to be forced to spend money to gear up for the season. We'll see how they fare.

[mississippimudcat1]

Well, I can say that I hope along with everyone here that the West does well. I also would like to see how this MeTV thing works out. I'm really hoping the Mudcats can stay stable because the AIFA is an amazing league and I'm glad a team in Tupelo can be in it.
:smileymudcats: :smileymudcats: :smileymudcats: