Bay Area Sports Blog

Your prayers have been answered, Bay Area indoor football fans. All the high-scoring, board-rattling, no-defense-playing action of arena football is returning to San Jose, albeit in the form of a different team in a different league. The American Indoor Football Association announced Wednesday that the expansion San Jose Wolves will begin play in 2010 as the newest member of the 14-team league. Because what the Bay Area needs more than anything right now is another football team.

Much like the United Football League’s California Redwoods, who failed to generate much interest in their inaugural season, the Wolves could wind up splitting their home games between several different venues depending on availability. The AIFA season runs from March to June. Wolves owner Ryan Petersen, the CEO of OCZ Technology Group and San Jose Sports Marketing, expects his team to tap into the local market for indoor football created by the Arena Football League’s SaberCats, who won three championships and averaged more than 10,000 fans per game while calling HP Pavilion home from 1995 until the AFL suspended operations earlier this year. The SaberCats don’t figure to resume play until 2011, if at all, leaving San Jose’s 9th Man feeling more like the Only Man.

With the exception of rebound nets in the end zones, which were apparently patented by the AFL, the AIFA’s brand of indoor football is virtually the same as the AFL’s. Yes, the nicknames and uniforms of the visiting teams will still have that “Any Given Sunday” feel. The Wolves will presumably join the league’s West Division, which includes the league runner-up Wyoming Cavalry, as well as the Ogden Knights and New Mexico Wildcats. Some of the league’s defunct teams are mentioned in the AIFA’s two amazing promotional songs — one written as a rap, the other as a country tune. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out the links below.

AIFA Rap — Featuring the line, “Welcome to the AI-FA, OK, let’s play, that’s why you came today. If you came to the game today, congratulations. This is history in the making.”

AIFA Country — Featuring the line, “Well the quarter got tossed way up in the air, and the captain said ‘Heads, boys,’ ’cause we don’t really care for tails.”

We wholeheartedly support the Wolves’ addition to the AIFA and wish them much success. We also hope someone in the league office has been in contact with E-40 or Mistah F.A.B. about producing an updated rap for 2010 in honor of the league’s expansion to the Yay Area.

  or     or  

By Scott on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 9:46 pm.