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The History of Indoor Football in San Diego

11/19/2018

1 Comment

 
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By RJ Ciancio

With the San Diego Strike Force going the Indoor Football League for the 2019 campaign, Arena Football Talk thought it would be a good time to look at the history of arena/indoor football in the city.


San Diego got its first taste of arena football back in 2001 in Arena Football 2 (Af2) with the San Diego Riptide. The team’s first season ended in by falling to the Peoria Pirates in the Northern Conference Semifinals after a 7-9 season. The team took a bit of a dive in the 2002 season missing the playoffs with a 6-10 record. By 2003 the Riptide achieved their best record with an 8-8 campaign. However, San Diego still missed the playoffs. The 2005 season was rock bottom for the team as they went 5-11, missing the playoffs and never played again.


America’s Finest City got an expansion team with the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) putting the Shockwave in town. The Shockwave went 10-1 winning the NIFL championship. The team folded in the offseason, going out on top.


With over a decade of waiting, San Diego finally has a team to call their own. With the Chargers bolting to Los Angeles and the Fleet coming to town in the Alliance of American Football, the Strike Force are filling a football void left by the Spanos family. ​

1 Comment
Marc link
11/19/2018 02:28:25 pm

The Shockwave's lone season in town was marred by controversy with the league's other members. The team were declared champions by the NIFL in 2007 without having to play anyone in the title game. This was the result of several franchises leaving the league during the season due to scheduling conflicts. Two of those teams, Wyoming and Fayetteville, played an unsanctioned championship game and left the Shockwave without an opponent.

Shockwave GM Jeff Sprowls angered and bittered over the decision felt as if he was stabbed in the back and felt that a championship game should have been staged at its home Cox Arena where the averaged attendance hovered near 3,000 a game.

Oddly, both Wyoming and Fayetteville were expelled from the league for hosting such a game and San Diego opted to remain in the league. Sadly, both the NIFL and Shockwave ceased operations after the season.

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