The Oldest Rivalry in af2

Originally published on ArenaFan.com

When the Green Bay Blizzard and Peoria Pirates meet on Saturday night it will be a match up of the oldest rivalry in arenafootball2.

Well kind of.

It’s not the NFL’s Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers rivalry that has gone on for almost 90 years, but it’s the closest thing to it in the af2.

The two squads have only met four previous times during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, but the history between these two cities and the 50-yard game go back to 1999, which is one year before the inaugural season of the af2 in 2000.

As you probably know there are a number of offshoot indoor football leagues that try to compete with the af2, and often they go defunct and sometimes teams from those leagues become part of the af2, like the Lexington Horsemen this year coming from the United Indoor Football league (UIF).

The first indoor league that was formed was in 1998. It was called the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL), and it had eight franchises that spanned the United States, including one in Hawaii.

But travel cost and bad ownership doomed the league and only four franchises made it to the end of the season. Two of those were located in Wisconsin and were owned by Keary Ecklund, the Green Bay Bombers and the Madison Mad Dogs.

Ecklund became disgusted during the season at how the PIFL tried to compete in big cities that had Major League Baseball franchises, and towards the end of the season announced plans to start a new league for 1999, which was called the Indoor Football League (IFL).

The concept of the IFL was to be a regional league that could provide affordable family entertainment and give local players a chance to continue their football careers, and perhaps advance to the next level.

Does that sound familiar?

In 1999 the af2 was also being discussed and designed on the same principle, but the only difference was the af2 had the backing of the Arena Football League and was being planned to have teams mainly in the southeastern part of the country, while the IFL had teams in the upper Midwest.

So, in 1999 the IFL kicked off its season with eight teams, which included the Bombers and Mad Dogs, and six expansion franchises.

The most successful franchise during the regular season was one of the expansion franchises, the Peoria Pirates, who were coached by former Mad Dogs coach Bruce Cowdrey.

Cowdrey led the Pirates to the championship game against Green Bay, and were the heavy favorites heading into the game because they beat the Bombers twice during the regular season.

The Bombers, led by quarterback Nick Browder, who would go on to have a successful AFL career, won 63-60 and a rivalry was born.

The IFL expanded to 20 franchises in 2000, and even had a weekly nationally televised game on the Midwest Sports Channel, which is something the af2 has first secured this season.

Cowdrey and the Pirates won the league’s second and last title because the league ended after the 2000 season.

The IFL didn’t go bankrupt, but was partially bought by members of the AFL’s Orlando Predators ownership group and some of the franchises, including Peoria, joined the af2 in 2001.

Green Bay was left without a franchise because there wasn’t an owner and the Brown County Arena, where the team played its home games, was old and a new facility was being built next to it.

Peoria and Cowdrey would continue to have success in the af2, winning the ArenaCup in 2002.

Green Bay was granted a franchise in 2003 after the new Resch Center was complete, and the rivalry renewed.

Peoria, like most of the af2 in 2003, beat the Green Bay Blizzard twice, but in 2004 the Blizzard beat the Pirates twice.

After losing to the Florida Firecats in the ArenaCup in 2004, the Peoria Pirates went defunct, and again the Green Bay-Peoria rivalry came to a standstill again.

Peoria would get an indoor football franchise in one of the offshoot leagues during the 2005-2006 seasons, but struggled and it was certainly a rough ride for Peoria arena football fans during that period.

This all leads to 2008. 

The Peoria Pirates are back and will renew their rivalry with a franchise from Green Bay on Saturday, but the IFL’s affect can still be seen on the Pirates, the Blizzard and the af2 today.

I’ll start with the obvious. 

Pirates coach Bruce Cowdrey is still with the team, but he’ll be going up against one of his former players on Saturday as well.

Blizzard defensive coordinator Doug Lytle played defensive tackle for the Pirates in 1999 before going on to have a successful AFL career.

“The big thing about that league is it gave me a chance,” Lytle said after a recent Blizzard practice in the Green Bay Bombers’ old home the Brown County Arena.

Most of the Blizzard coaching staff has ties to the IFL.

Head coach Bob Landsee was an assistant for the Mad Dogs in 1999 before going on to the AFL’s Milwaukee Mustangs.

Defensive backs coach Sammy Walker was part of the Bombers organization. He was supposed to play for the team during one of its seasons, but he blew out his achilles tendon and became a player consultant for the team instead.

Current Blizzard wide receiver Coco Blalock actually played for the Mad Dogs in 1999.

The IFL-af2 ties don’t end there, however, as many af2 squads probably have at least one coach who either played or coached in the league.

Troy Biladeau, head coach of the Quad City Steamwheelers, and Chris MacKeown, head coach of the Amarillo Dusters, both were head coaches in the IFL, Biladeau with the Wichita

Warlords and MacKeown with the Dayton Skyhawks.

The Dusters actually started in the IFL as well, but they played in the Intense Football League, which began play in 2004 and is not associated or should be confused with the Indoor Football League.

The most successful player to come out of the league was wide receiver Sedrick Robinson. He played for the Pirates in 1999 and is still playing today for the AFL’s Tampa Bay Storm.

But the biggest thing that came out of the IFL was the start of the Peoria-Green Bay rivalry.

That rivalry was enhanced earlier this season when wide receiver Robert Garth joined the Pirates. Garth spent four seasons with the Blizzard, and was a fan favorite.

For most af2 fans the Blizzard-Pirates game on Saturday is just another game, but to me it’s the oldest rivalry in the af2.