Arena and Indoor Football is one of the most unique and fun sports to follow. The games and players of the former teams is even more fun to rediscover. We set out to find the most remote and off-the-wall teams and leagues, and of course non non-Lower 48 and international were at the top of the list! The following is a little look into each team that took to the field, but not on the US mainland!
Table of Contents
Alaska:
Alaska Wild (2007-2010)
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Home Arena: Sullivan Arena
League (s): IFL(Intense), Indoor Football League
Rule Type: Indoor
Overall Record: 9-48 (Including FF)
Championships: None
The Wild would be the first, but not the only team to play the Indoor game in the state of Alaska. Despite being a plane flight away from literally every single opponent (except Fairbanks) they managed to keep butts in seats and a team on the field for four seasons.
With a healthy mix of local, and lower 48 talent they made for a below average franchise, with the biggest advantage being Jet Lag in an IFL that was at the time a third tier to the AFL and af2. This team struggled its entire existence, never getting above 5 wins. The only season of Note was a 5-9 effort while still in the Intense Football League in 2008, in which they made the playoffs (almost by default)
Fairbanks Grizzlies(2008-2011)
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Home Arena: Carlson Center
League (s): IFL(Intense), Indoor Football League
Rule Type: Indoor
Overall Record:30-30
Championships: None
They weren’t the first in Alaska, but they were the northernmost to ever play any type of pro football. When they began play in 2008 they had one of the nicest set-ups an ownership group in such a remote location could ask for:
A local playing partner, plenty of funding, and awesome local support. Unlike their Borealis Cup rivals in Anchorage, they would see solid on-field play after the first season, going just 3-11 that first year. The following three would see .500 or winning seasons and a Playoff victory every year after, even capturing a 10-4 finish in 2011.
After the 2011 season, lawsuits would haunt the team from unpaid bills, ultimately ending what still is the best pro football team to ever take the field in the largest state in the country!
Hawaii
Hawaiian Islanders (2002-2004)
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Home Arena: Neal S. Blaisdell Center
League (s): af2
Rule Type: Arena
Overall Record:24-26
Championships: None
Outside of the CAFL AFL All-Star games being held in the same arena, this was the last Attempt at Arena or Indoor Football in Hawaii. Established in 2001, they would begin play in 2002. The 2002 season would be less than stellar, seeing them to just 5 wins. 2003 would be the best season, and the only playoff year.
The ‘03 would see them win the National Conference Western division and even knock off the Wichita Stealth in the first round. The ‘04 season was just an 8-8 effort, and the last. Like others on this list, travel would be a bit much. The travel wouldn’t be the only issue with the islanders. They averaged under 3500 fans a game and never got the footing they needed to truly be successful in the af2.
Honolulu Hurricanes 1998
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Home Arena: Neal S. Blaisdell Center
League (s): PIFL
Rule Type: PIFL(Pre-Modern Indoor)
Overall Record:6-8
Championships: None
The Hurricanes were the first Attempt at Indoor or Arena Football in the state, and it showed. Like others that fielded teams, they would make many trips to the lower 48 in search of wins, but would only claim six in total.
For a franchise that fielded almost exclusively current high school and college players you have to respect the fact that they won as often as they did( though at least two wins were forfeited). Through the rocky 6-8 season there were obvious improvements on the field but behind the scenes things weren’t great and at the end of the season they would be sold and rebranded.
Hawaii Hammerheads 1999
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Home Arena: Neal S. Blaisdell Center
League (s): IPFL
Rule Type: Indoor
Overall Record:11-7
Championships: 1999 IPFL Champions
The Hammerheads are by far the most successful on-field team on this list, despite only ever playing one season. They took the field in 1999, just two years into the Indoor version of the game. They would take home the state of Hawaii’s only professional football championship to this day in the lone ‘99 season.
The travel for this squad was absolute insanity, going as far south as Louisiana, and playing the IPFL Championship in Biloxi, Mississippi against the Firedogs. There wasn’t much local talent on this team but quite a few players would wind up on the field for AFL and af2 squads. In the end, this team was essentially a rebrand of the previous team on this list, but under better Ownership, with real talent, but just like the Islanders and Hammerheads, travel cost would spell their demise.
International:
Toronto Phantoms(2001-2002)
Location: Toronto, Canada
Home Arena: Air Canada Centre
League (s): Arena Football League
Rule Type: Arena
Overall Record:14-16
Championships: None
Though this is still considered International, it was in reality the third leg of a franchise that never really got its footing anywhere it played, previously playing as the NY City Hawks and the New England Sea Wolves. As the Phantoms they would only find success in 2001, sneaking into the playoffs with an 8-6 record, recording a playoff win over their previous location, in New York, before losing a dog fight against the original Nashville Kats.
The 2002 season wasn’t really much of one, only winning five games before they folded. All in all, the 14th-ranked attendance in the league paired with years of volatility would see the franchise more remembered for stellar branding (and not on-field performance) fold after the 2002 season.
Mexico:
Monterey Steel (2017)
Location: Monterrey, Nuevo León
Home Arena: Arena Monterey
League (s): NAL
Rule Type: Mostly Arena
Overall Record:7-5
Championships: None
Monterey was the first and only team so far to play and be from Mexico. The Fernando Von Rosum-owned squad was a charter member of the NAL in 2017. Though the run was short they definitely left a mark and hunger for the fifty-yard game south of the border. So much so, that the AF1 is attempting to put a team in the same arena the Steel played in.
Most expansion teams in any league go through a rough patch, but Monterrey didn’t, they would run through a loaded NAL schedule, even being the only team to be the Jacksonville Sharks that year, ultimately losing to said team in round one of the playoffs. The ownership claims that a local earthquake was why they didn’t return, but I’m reality it was only part of it.. with few local playing partners it was truthfully a mix of finances and lack of hardcore local support.
China Arena Football
League (2016;2019)
This Attempt at Arena Football was one of the most unique, and even with two attempts wasn’t able to gain the backing it needed to survive, mostly because the company that was financing the league collapsed due to government regulation on debt.
Outside of the Business side it was one of the coolest ideas to actually take flight in the fifty-yard game. Just like the origins of the Arena Football League back in the 1980s the teams would travel from city to city as a traveling exhibition league in 2016, also known as the “Super Series”.Each of 6 teams would play five regular-season games, followed by a playoff and finally the “China Bowl”.
One of the most unique sets of rules to grace the league was the way rosters were constructed. A draft was set up with American and Chinese players, each team having to basically split the roster between them. At all times four of the eight players on the field had to be Chinese, and four import players. Many high-profile AFL players even took the field in the CAFL.
The 2019 season was cancelled for a variety of reasons and ultimately resulted in more of a tournament, two regular-season games, and a “playoff” between the four teams participating. All the games were played in November, even the third-place games and the championship game.The following are the teams that participated. If you ever want to look into the league and which AFL stars played in the CAFL:
2019
Beijing Lions
Shanghai Legend
Shenyang Rhinos
Wuhan Gators
2016
Beijing Lions
Shanghai Skywalkers
Shenzhen Naja
Guangzhou Power
Qingdao Clipper
Dalian Dragon Kings
Also the still active YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/@caflfootball?si=dOb4GqC8xLH7Gzz4
All in all, the CAFL could have taken off, but the nuance of the game, and a certain international event that affected the entire world spelled the end of the effort. It did however serve as a good way to scout talent in the country and grow the sport.
What makes these teams truly astonishing is the effort it took to make them a reality and keep them going! In the modern landscape of indoor and arena football (and all sports), I don’t think we will ever see these teams revived, but boy is the film and stories associated with them something any fan of the game can enjoy! Check in over the off-season for more looks into the history of both versions of the game!
If you use TikTok the Indoor and Arena Football page has a ton of content on former Arena and Indoor greats!
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