New York Dragons

The New York Dragons are an Arena Football League team.

History

They are based in suburban Uniondale, New York at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, also home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.

Iowa Barnstormers (1995-2000)

They had been based in Des Moines, Iowa from 1995 to 2000, as the Iowa Barnstormers. The team had been successful in Iowa, having reached the ArenaBowl in 1996 and 1997, but the need for a more modern venue as well as the league's desire for a larger market led to the move despite two failed past attempts in New York, the New York Knights (1988) and the New York CityHawks (1997-1998), both of which played at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The team was purchased by Charles Wang, who is also the Islanders' majority owner.

The Arena Football organization did award an af2 franchise to Iowa for the 2001 season also called the Barnstormers, but that team folded after that season. The Barnstormers were noted for their unique uniforms, which in keeping with the aviation theme included the depiction of goggles on the helmets, wings on the shoulders of the jerseys, and propellers on the pants legs. The primary figure in the original Iowa organization was Jim Foster, the inventor of Arena Football.

Aside from the league's desire to re-enter the New York market, another major reason cited for the team's relocation was the inadequacy of their Des Moines venue, the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium, also known as "The Barn". All seating in this venue was located directly along the sidelines as is typical of high school sports venues. The Barnstormers organization constantly lobbied for the construction of a better facility during their time in Des Moines, to no avail.

In 2005, the Wells Fargo Arena opened in Des Moines, directly across from what the locals call "Vets", as part of the Iowa Events Center. It was built too late to keep the Barnstormers, but could lure an Arena Football team to Des Moines in the future.

New York Dragons (2001-present)

Nassau Coliseum, where the franchise relocated, is generally regarded as one of the most marginal venues currently used in major American professional sports, and is often proposed for replacement, so the improvement of the situation with regards to a venue has been fairly minimal to this point. In late September of 2004, Islanders' ownership announced an ambitious project to renovate the Coliseum, surrounding it with housing units and construction of an adjacent tower, resembling a lighthouse, at a total cost of over ^*]200 million (US). Since the lighthouse has been taken out of the design plan.

The New York Dragons currently compete in the Eastern Division of the National Conference. They are coached by former Barnstormer defensive back Weylan Harding. In the 2006 season Weylan Harding became the most winningest Arena Football league coach in his first two seasons as a coach, winning twenty games throughout the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The Dragons have one of the biggest stars in Arena Football today, Aaron Garcia. Garcia, a quarterback, has the honor of most touchdown passes in a game (11), and most touchdown passes in a season (104, set in 2001). Through his 10 year career, he has thrown over 750 touchdown passes.

The Dragons set the league record for most points in a game, scoring 99 against the Carolina Cobras on July 7, 2001, surpassing the previous record of 91, which had been set by the New Jersey Red Dogs in 1997 against the Texas Terror. It also set a record for the most points scored in one game (167).

On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Dragons won against the expansion team Utah Blaze 84-81 on the road and they made AFL history for the second-most points scored in one game with 165.

The Dragons official mascot is a dragon named Sparky^*, who is also the same mascot of the NHL's New York Islanders.

^Despite winning their division in 2004, the Dragons failed to make the playoffs.

Season-by-season

Iowa Barnstormers 1995 7 5 0 2nd AC Central Lost Week 2 (Arizona Rattlers) 1996 12 2 0 1st AC Central Lost ArenaBowl X (Tampa Bay Storm) 1997 11 3 0 1st AC Central Lost ArenaBowl XI (Arizona Rattlers) 1998 5 9 0 3rd AC Central -- 1999 11 3 0 1st AC Central Lost Week 2 (Orlando Predators) 2000 9 5 0 1st AC Central Lost Week 2 (Nashville Kats) New York Dragons 2001 8 6 0 2nd NC Eastern Lost Week 1(Toronto Phantoms) 2002 3 11 0 4th NC Eastern -- 2003 8 8 0 1st NC Eastern Lost Week 2 (Orlando Predators) 2004 9 7 0 1st NC Eastern -- 2005 10 6 0 1st NC Eastern Lost Week 1 (Orlando Predators) 2006 10 6 0 2nd NC Eastern Lost Week 1 (Georgia Force) Totals 110 80 0 (including playoffs)

Head Coaches

1995-2003: John Gregory, 66-48
2003-2004: Todd Shell, 17-15
2005-: Weylan Harding, 20-12

Notable players

External links

Arena Football League teams | Sports in Long Island | 1995 establishments