Florida Firecats
Encyclopedia
The Florida Firecats are a professional arena football
team. They are a 2001 expansion member of the af2
. They play their home games at Germain Arena
in Estero, Florida
, which is halfway between Naples, Florida
and Fort Myers, Florida
.
|2001 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 5th AC Southeast || --
|-
|2002 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Won AC Round 1 (Tallahassee
43-31)
Won AC Semifinal (Macon
44-28)
Won AC Championship (Cape Fear
43-23)
Lost ArenaCup
III (Peoria
65-47)
|-
|2003 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Lost AC Round 1 (Macon
42-16)
|-
|2004 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Won AC Round 1 (Memphis
35-33)
Won AC Semifinal (Tennessee Valley
62-58)
Won AC Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
41-31)
Won ArenaCup
V (Peoria
39-26)
|-
|2005 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st AC South || Won AC Semifinal (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
59-45)
Lost AC Championship (Louisville
70-40)
|-
|2006 || 13 || 3 || 0 || 1st AC South || Won AC Semifinal (Manchester
40-39)
Lost AC Championship (Green Bay
60-47)
|-
|2007 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st NC South || Lost AC Round 1 (South Georgia
59-50)
|-
|2008 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Lost AC Round 1 (Tennessee Valley
48-33)
|-
|2009 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th AC South || --
|-
!Totals || 100 || 59 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
* = Current Standing
teams have confirmed that they will be joining a new arena football league, Arena Football 1. The Florida Firecats are not one of those teams, and it is unclear whether they will continue to play in the af2, seek another arena football league, or suspend operations.
The Firecats do not seem interested in joining AF1 and may be trying to join another indoor football league instead. Commissioner Jerry Kurz says the Firecats have yet to apply, and team president Chris Vallozzi was quoted as calling AF1 "an upstart league" without the AFL's 20 years of prior history, also saying they'd "keep all options open with all leagues."
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
team. They are a 2001 expansion member of the af2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
. They play their home games at Germain Arena
Germain Arena
Germain Arena is a 7,128-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, United States.The arena was first named Everblades Arena in 1998 after the hockey team that played there. TECO Energy was the first company to obtain the naming rights to the building, changing the name to TECO Arena. In 2004,...
in Estero, Florida
Estero, Florida
Estero is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 18,176. It is the home of Germain Arena, which hosts the home games for the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team and the Florida Firecats af2 arena football team...
, which is halfway between Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
and Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
.
Season-by-season
|-|2001 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 5th AC Southeast || --
|-
|2002 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Won AC Round 1 (Tallahassee
Tallahassee Thunder
The Tallahassee Thunder is a now-defunct charter member af2 arena football team from Tallahassee, Florida. The Thunder played from 2000 until 2002, playing their home games at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee...
43-31)
Won AC Semifinal (Macon
Macon Knights
The Macon Knights were a professional arena football team, playing in the af2 league. They were a 2001 expansion member of af2. They played their home games at Macon Coliseum. The Knights were owned and operated by Beverly Olson. The Knights were formerly coached by Derek Stingley, who was a...
44-28)
Won AC Championship (Cape Fear
South Georgia Wildcats
The South Georgia Wildcats were a professional arena football team. They were a 2002 expansion member of af2, the minor league for the Arena Football League...
43-23)
Lost ArenaCup
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San...
III (Peoria
Peoria Pirates
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee...
65-47)
|-
|2003 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Lost AC Round 1 (Macon
Macon Knights
The Macon Knights were a professional arena football team, playing in the af2 league. They were a 2001 expansion member of af2. They played their home games at Macon Coliseum. The Knights were owned and operated by Beverly Olson. The Knights were formerly coached by Derek Stingley, who was a...
42-16)
|-
|2004 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Won AC Round 1 (Memphis
Memphis Xplorers
The Memphis Xplorers were a professional arena football team. They were a 2001 expansion member of the af2. They played their home games at DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi ....
35-33)
Won AC Semifinal (Tennessee Valley
Tennessee Valley Vipers
The Alabama Vipers was a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original AFL, where they won the 2008 ArenaCup championship. They play...
62-58)
Won AC Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runner-ups in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.-2001:The...
41-31)
Won ArenaCup
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San...
V (Peoria
Peoria Pirates
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee...
39-26)
|-
|2005 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st AC South || Won AC Semifinal (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runner-ups in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.-2001:The...
59-45)
Lost AC Championship (Louisville
Louisville Fire
The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisville native Will Wolford. The team was somewhat...
70-40)
|-
|2006 || 13 || 3 || 0 || 1st AC South || Won AC Semifinal (Manchester
Manchester Wolves
The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league...
40-39)
Lost AC Championship (Green Bay
Green Bay Blizzard
The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team, which was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, in the now defunct the minor league of the Arena Football League. The Blizzard play in...
60-47)
|-
|2007 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st NC South || Lost AC Round 1 (South Georgia
South Georgia Wildcats
The South Georgia Wildcats were a professional arena football team. They were a 2002 expansion member of af2, the minor league for the Arena Football League...
59-50)
|-
|2008 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC South || Lost AC Round 1 (Tennessee Valley
Tennessee Valley Vipers
The Alabama Vipers was a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original AFL, where they won the 2008 ArenaCup championship. They play...
48-33)
|-
|2009 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th AC South || --
|-
!Totals || 100 || 59 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
Uncertain Future
The cancellation of the Arena Football League's 2009 season has left the future of many af2 teams up in the air. 11 of the 25 af2Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
teams have confirmed that they will be joining a new arena football league, Arena Football 1. The Florida Firecats are not one of those teams, and it is unclear whether they will continue to play in the af2, seek another arena football league, or suspend operations.
The Firecats do not seem interested in joining AF1 and may be trying to join another indoor football league instead. Commissioner Jerry Kurz says the Firecats have yet to apply, and team president Chris Vallozzi was quoted as calling AF1 "an upstart league" without the AFL's 20 years of prior history, also saying they'd "keep all options open with all leagues."