The History of Indoor Football in San Diego

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. ​