As much as we love the fifty-yard game, but looking back at indoor and arena football history, we can all admit that most teams aren’t here for the long term. The few that make it to 10, 15, or even 20 years hold leagues together and keep diehard fans returning year after year.
The hardest thing to understand for the most casual of fans is that at the end of the day, each team is a business that happens to play Football on a fifty-yard field inside a civic center or hockey arena. In turn that leads to organizations that put out talented teams, but can’t pay their bills at the end of the day.
In the modern version of the game you almost have to have coaches like Josh Resignalo, formerly of the Wheeling Miners, who do it all. They get out, promote the team, find sponsorships, do podcasts, and try to cement the team they are a part of for the long haul. On the flip side, you have teams like Corpus Christi this past season that sunk so much of their budget into a roster that they had to release the entire roster and limp to the end of the season.
Ultimately it takes both, and this piece highlighted the teams and organizations that did it right. The groups that knew how to keep local support, maintain some success but most of all lasted at least 15 years, and fielded teams that could compete with anyone in the indoor or arena game, the following is a short history and expo on our top five decunt legacy franchises, how long they were around, and the legacy they have left on the game:
Table of Contents
1. Tampa Bay Storm
Years Active: 1991-2015
Championships: 5
Leagues: Arena Football League
If you include the years they spent as the Pittsburgh Gladiators this franchise was around from the beginning, in 1987, all the way to 2017. In their 30 years and 29 seasons, no other team was such a household name. The Legendary Head Coach Tim Marcum led this franchise for fifteen years, winning three Arena Bowls.
Not to be missed is that this team played in both eras of the AFL, surviving the collapse and continuing to be successful. Not only were they successful on the field, but just as great in the stands, according to Arenafan.com, they had an overall attendance of over 2.9 million fans, and an average of over 13,000, something that no modern team can rival.
2. Sioux Falls Storm
Years Active: 2000-2024
Championships: 12 (NIFL, UIF, IFL)
Leagues: 4 (IFL(1.0), NIFL, UIF, IFL
This franchise was a legend all on its own. Beginning in 2000 as the Cobras, they would have a fairly humble beginning, before ultimately taking over the indoor version of the fifty-yard game. After short stints in the original IFL and NIFL, they would dominate the ill-fated UIF, winning 40 straight games in three years in the league.
The following would be a string of dominance that the fifty-yard game has never seen (in a much tougher League). From 2010 to 2019 they would make every single United Bowl, winning a staggering seven of them. In that span would come two undefeated seasons, and three more with just one loss. If you consider this past season(2025), the two teams playing for the IFL National Championship have a combined total of 12 losses between them heading into the game. If there is one team on this list everyone wants to see come back it’s the Storm.
3. Orlando Predators
Years Active: 1991-2016
Championships: 2
Leagues: Arena Football League
Orlando’s rivalry with the Tampa Bay Storm was part of their success. The “War on I-4” was more than a game, it felt like the world stopped when the two came out of the Tunnel. Not all success can be attributed to the Rivarly, as the Predators came out of the gate fighting for titles, in just the second year as a team they jumped out and played to a 9-win regular season and Arena Bowl Appearance.
They would go on to appear in seven more Arena Bowls and manage to win two. Not to mention legends like Ben Bennett, Jay Gruden (Spent most of his Career with Tampa Bay), Herkie Walls, and Nick Gatto (the one-armed kicker). Overall the Predators were a team that was a staple of Arena Football and Orlando.
They are only one win shy of 250 victories as an AFL team all-time; something that only a handful of franchises from any league can say. The ties were so strong that a NAL reboot was started shortly after the original folded. Similar to the Storm they attracted well over 2.6 million fans all-time.
4. San Jose Sabercats
Years Active: 1995-2015
Championships: 5
Leagues: Arena Football League
Like most teams on this list, this is another team most people would love to see come back. San Jose was one of the few to survive the collapse of the original AFL and be successful in the second version of the AFL. They began as a middle-of-the-road franchise in 1995, only really going .500 or just above in the five seasons before the turn of the century. Things would dramatically pivot for the SaberCats heading into 2000 and beyond.
The Darren Arbet led squad wouldn’t have another season winning less than ten games (playoffs included) until after the AFL collapse and one year of dormancy ( because of league dispute and other issues) in 2011. In that span would also be the majority of their Areba Bowl Championships, in 2002, 2004, and 2007 when the AFL was at its most competitive and talented stretch. Following the break they would see limited success until 2015(also their last season) going an overall 20-1 winning the franchise’s fourth Arena Bowl. Even more staggering is the fanbase this franchise had.
They had an average attendance of over 12,000 fans per game, with over 2.1 million total attendance. Fraud leagues like the NGL try to capitalize on the brand because the fandom is still strong ten years after the team’s folding. Recent rumors in the 2025-2026 off-season have spurred a ton of buzz with fans of a comeback, and with original owners in the Fry Family that has everyone’s attention. Even if this team never walks on to the turf again they will still have been one of the best to do it, and will never be fully forgotten.
5. Philadelphia Soul
Years Active: 2004-2019
Championships: 3
Leagues: Arena Football League
Not only did the Soul begin in the sport’s heyday, but they played in Philly, having Philly owners (and rockstars) running the show. In addition to the team being successful in their fourteen seasons, they were loved by the city where they played. They had a recipe for success and were one of the few teams to ride it out until the very end in 2019.
Of course, they took a hiatus in ‘09 and ‘10, but returned with some of the same ownership, missing Bon Jovi in the return. Before the AFL collapsed, they would win their first Arena Bowl in their sixth year as a franchise, knocking off San Jose in dramatic fashion, 59-56, in front of over 17,000 fans! Like with the original version, the second version of the AFL, it would take a few seasons for them to claim another Arena Bowl.
Despite not having any serious pushes to get a title between 2011-2015, they stayed relevant making a playoff run every year from 2012 through 2015. They would reel off two straight titles in a much weaker arena football league in 2016 and 2017, winning one in the oddball aggregate playoff setups when the league dropped under 6 teams. Overall ending with an average attendance of over 11,000, 1.4 million total attendance, three Arena Bowl titles (six appearances), and eleven playoff appearances. Leaving behind a legacy that will never be matched in the city or state.
In the end, and to this day, these five teams will always have a place in the minds of long-time and new fans. They are the teams that everyone remembers and longs for a revival from. Later in the off-season we will be putting out another article on the top 5 active legacy teams still completing in the fifty-yard game! So if you enjoyed this one check back for more!
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