Syracuse Blitz
Encyclopedia
The Syracuse Blitz was a Professional Indoor Football League
Professional Indoor Football League
The Professional Indoor Football League was the second league to successfully play indoor football as a paid pro-league sport, after the Arena Football League. Since the AFL had a patent given in 1990 on the gameplay of "Arena Football" , the PIFL played with mostly the same rules, but without the...
(PIFL) team that played one exhibition game in 1998 and was going to join the league officially in 1999.
The franchise was originally awarded to Buffalo, NY as the Buffalo Blitz on June 16, 1997. The move was part of a rush brought on by the threat of the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' lease expiration, which had led to speculation that the Bills would leave Buffalo (speculation that turned out to be unfounded as an extension was reached). The Blitz was owned by Don Angelo, Bryan Perry, and a group of area investors. At that time, they were negotiating with the University of Buffalo & Buffalo State College
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
for playing sites for the upcoming PIFL season. In September of '97, the Arena Football League announced their next franchise would be in Buffalo also, later on known as the Buffalo Destroyers. This forced the move of the PIFL "Blitz" to Syracuse, NY.
After one scheduled tryout (Feb. 21, 1998), the Syracuse Blitz did not come together in time for the 1998 PIFL season, so the team had changed their plans to enter the league in 1999. The "Blitz" in fact did play one exhibition game against the Louisiana Bayou Beast
Louisiana Bayou Beast
The Louisiana Bayou Beast was a team in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, in the Indoor Professional Football League in 1999, and reincarated in 2001 in the National Indoor Football League . The Bayou Beast franchise was owned by James and Carolyn Shiver, who currently own and...
at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,472-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It is home to the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers basketball teams. It was originally known as the LSU Assembly Center, but was renamed in memory of Pete...
on the Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
campus in Baton Rouge, LA on July 4, 1998. The Beast won the exhibition game 39-18. The "Blitz" wore all black uniforms with all black helmets (no logos used).
The Syracuse Blitz never did take to the field in the 1999 regular season, as the league changed its name to the Indoor Professional Football League
Indoor Professional Football League
The Indoor Professional Football League was the new incarnation of the Professional Indoor Football League , which started in 1998. Two of its teams left the league and their owner, Kerry Ecklund, founded the Indoor Football League in 1999...
that season.