Green Bay Blizzard

Green Bay Blizzard
Founded	2003
League	af2 (2003-2009) IFL (2010-present)
Team history	Green Bay Blizzard (2003-present)
Arena	Resch Center
Based in	Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin
Team colors	Green, Silver, Black, White
Owner	Titletown Football Group, LLC
Head coach	Rik Richards
Championships	0
Division titles	4 (2006, 2008 - af2, 2010, 2011 - IFL)
Dancers	Freeze
Mascot	Bruiser the Yeti
Website	www.greenbayblizzard.com

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 the Great Lakes Division of the United Conference. They play their home games at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. The team's logo represents Bruiser, the team mascot. The team's drumline is known as the Frostline. The team was formerly owned by a group headed by former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brian Noble; in October 2009 it was announced that a group of local businessmen formed Titletown Football Group, LLC and had purchased the team.

History

2003, A Year of Miserable Beginnings

The Blizzard started out as an af2 expansion team in 2003 with Jose Jefferson as the teams head coach. The team finished an abysmal 2-14 good for last in the National Conference Midwest Division. They only averaged 2,957 fans a game. The Blizzard knew that they needed a new direction if the young franchise were to survive.

A New Direction in 2004

In an attempt to jump start things the Blizzard replaced Jose Jefferson with former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brian Noble. The team did make some improvements during the 2004 season, however the Blizzard finished the season 6-10 and once again failed to get out of the Midwest Division cellar. The Blizzard in better shape in terms of staying afloat, especially better than after 2003, but the team's future was far from secure.

2005, The Landsee Era Begins

2005 was to be a different story. For the start of the 2005 season the team changed from the National Conference to the American Conference. The Blizzard became a member of the American Conference's East division. The team also replaced Noble with AFL veteran coach Bob Landsee. The switch to the American Conference was the change the Blizzard needed. The team continued their trend of improvement in 2005 finishing 9-7, good for 3rd in the East Division, and reaching the postseason for the first time. Even though the Blizzard fell in the first round to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the Blizzard faithful knew that better things were yet to come.

2006, Under New Ownership

In 2006 Blizzard head coach Bob Landsee became the first coach in team history to return for their second season. The Blizzard also came under new ownership as former Blizzard Head Coach Brian Noble lead an investment group that purchased the team. Noble became the new President of the four year old franchise and began a complete revitalization of the organization. The team drastically lowered ticket prices which help the Blizzard to really boost their average game attendance. The team set a new single game attendance record of 7,184 in the season finale against Louisville. The team experienced an improvement on the field as well. The Blizzard went into the final game of the 2006 regular season tied with the Louisville Fire for first in the East Division at 9-6. This set up a showdown between the two teams at the Resch Center for the East Division title. The Blizzard did not disappoint a record crowd of 7,184 knocking off the Fire in a 54-53 thriller. The 2006 season got even better as the postseason began. The Blizzard earned a first round bye and enjoyed a week off to await their second round opponent. The Blizzard drew the 2005 Arena Cup Champion Memphis Xplorers for the franchise's first ever home playoff game. The Blizzard continued in their winning ways knocking off the defending champs 67-50. The teams first playoff victory sent them on to the American Conference Championship Game vs the Florida Firecats. Once again the Blizzard proved that they were for real winning the conference championship 60-47 sending the Blizzard on to Arena Cup 7.

Arena Cup 7

The Green Bay Blizzard as American Conference Champions would face the National Conference Champion, Spokane Shock, a 2006 expansion team. The neutral site for the game was Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. But the Blizzard's luck had finally run out as the Shock handed the Blizzard a 57-34 loss. The Blizzard's 2006 season was one for the ages, but the Blizzard faithful now knew that their team had come to stay.

2007: A Year of Unexpected Changes

Coach Bob Landsee had difficulties resulting from surgery and was forced to take the 2007 off from coaching. He was replaced by Defensive Coordinator Doug Lytle. The Blizzard endured a roller coaster season going undefeated at the Resch Center during the regular season while going a miserable 1-7 on the road. (Only road win came at Cincinnati) The Blizzard did succeed at making the playoffs for the third consecutive year and surprised division rival and (Midwest) Division Champion, Quad City Steamwheelers 39-34 in the first round game. When another division rival, Louisville Fire knocked off Spokane the Blizzard earned the right to host a second round playoff game against the Fire. The Blizzard carried over their success at home from the regular season by knocking off Louisville 37-27 and advancing to take on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in their second consecutive American Conference Championship Game. However this Cinderella story went no further as the Blizzard lost a close one to the Pioneers 46-43, ending the Blizzard's 2007 campaign.

2008, Landsee Returns

Coach Bob Landsee returned to the helm in 2008 and the Blizzard continued on their winning ways amassing a 11-5 record and capturing the Midwest Division crown. The Blizzard set a single game record in attendance vs Lexington with 7,258 and had the largest average attendance in team history with an average of 6,125 fans per game. In the first round of the playoffs the Blizzard really redeemed themselves by knocking off Lexington 65-37 who had beaten the Blizzard twice in the regular season in nail-bitters. (49-48 in Green Bay with a last second score and two point conversion and 55-54 in Overtime in Lexington.) The Blizzard then hosted Manchester in a second round game after the Wolves knocked off South Georgia. In what must have seemed like Deja Vu for the Blizzard, the Wolves scored in the final seconds and took the lead and the game 55-54 with a two point conversion, ending the Blizzard's season.

2009: A Year of Missed Opportunities

The Blizzard started the season off with a bang at the Resch Center knocking off the defending Arena Cup Champion, Tennessee Valley Vipers 53-40. The Blizzard were then solidly beaten the next week by Manchester by the score of 53-28 at the Resch Center. The Blizzard then hit the road for the first time of the season and defeated the Quad City Steamwheelers 65-52 to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Blizzard then returned home to the Resch Center to face the Arkansas Twisters. Arkansas jumped out to an early 21-0 lead which the Blizzard could not overcome, eventually falling 62-47. The Blizzard then began a new rivalry the next week when they traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Milwaukee Iron. The Blizzard handled the Iron fairly easily knocking them off 56-28. After this the Blizzard returned home for a two game home stand. In the first game the Blizzard missed an opportunity to take the Midwest Division lead by falling to Iowa 46-41 and falling to 3-3 a half game behind the 4-3 Barnstormers. The Blizzard then continued the roller coaster type season by defeating the Peoria Pirates 55-34 to tie Iowa, who was idle, at the top of the Midwest Division at 4-3. That was short lived however as the Blizzard traveled to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania the next week and were hammered by Pioneers 69-19. This pushed the Blizzard a game back in the division standings and dropped their record to 4-4 on the year. The Blizzard then returned home to the Resch Center and knocked off Quad City in overtime 52-49. and improved to 5-4. The Blizzard improved to 6-4 the following week by escaping Peoria with a 49-47 win over the Pirates. The Blizzard then continued on their winning ways by heading into Des Moines and knocking off the Barnstormers 71-65 in overtime to pull into a tie for the Midwest Division lead. This tie however was once again short lived as the Barnstormers knocked off Amarillo the next week 55-54 and the Blizzard missed many opportunities to beat the Tulsa Talons falling 66-54. The Blizzard rebounded the next week by thumping the Milwaukee Iron 86-42 remaining one game back in the division standings at 8-5. The following week the Blizzard's division title hopes took a major hit as they fell to the Quad City Steamwheelers 62-44 and fell to two games back of the Barnstormers. The Blizzard then finished off the 3 game season series sweep of Milwaukee with a 60-20 victory at the Resch Center yet Iowa defeated Quad City to clinch the Midwest Division crown. The Blizzard then finished the regular season on the road knocking off the Mahoning Valley Thunder 63-43 to finish the season at 10-6 and earning the # 6 seed in the 2009 af2 Playoffs.

2009 af2 Playoffs

The # 6 seeded Blizzard opened the American Conference playoffs with a game at the # 3 seeded South Division Champion Tennessee Valley Vipers. The Blizzard knocked off the Vipers 60-56 and advanced to the American Conference Semi-Finals to take on the # 2 seeded Iowa Barnstormers The Blizzard blew into Des Moines and defeated the Barnstormers 51-46 to advance to their third American Conference Championship game to take on the # 1 seeded Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. The game was much closer than the regular season meeting however the Blizzard fell to the Pioneers 72-67 thus ending the Blizzard's 2009 campaign.

2010, "New League, New Rivals, Same Affordable Family Fun"

Financial Troubles and New Ownership

In October 2009 the team announced that unless the team found additional investors that they would be forced to cease operations. The Blizzard found new investors in an ownership group of local businessmen and in late October it was announced that Titletown Football Group, LLC had purchased the Blizzard from the ownership group which was headed by Brian Noble.

League and Coaching Change

In November 2009, the team announced that they would play the 2010 season in the Indoor Football League At a team open house on November 17, 2009 the Blizzard announced their new head coach would be Rik Richards.

Possible Name Change

On December 5, 2009 the Blizzard announced the "Name the Team" contest. The Blizzard name and intellectual property was held by the defunct Arena Football League, which was the parent of the Blizzard's former league, af2. The assets of the former Arena Football League were purchased by the newly formed Arena Football 1. The team ownership group is still attempting to purchase the rights to the Blizzard name. The team has decided to continue with the name the team contest in case the Blizzard name is not able to be purchased.

2010 season

On December 15, 2009 the IFL announced the divisional alignment and schedule for the 2010 season. The Blizzard will compete in the United Conference Central North Division with the La Crosse Spartans, Chicago Slaughter, and Bloomington Extreme. The Blizzard won the Central North Division, but lost their First Round playoff game against the Chicago Slaughter.

Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Green Bay Blizzard (af2)
2003	2	14	0	5th NC Midwest	--
2004	6	10	0	4th NC Midwest	--
2005	9	7	0	3rd AC East	Lost AC Round 1 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 48-41)
2006	10	6	0	1st AC East	Won AC Semifinal (Memphis 67-50) Won AC Championship (Florida 60-47) Lost ArenaCup VII (Spokane 57-34)
2007	9	7	0	2nd AC Midwest	Won AC Round 1 (Quad City 39-34) Won AC Semifinals (Louisville 37-27) Lost AC Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 46-43)
2008	11	5	0	1st AC Midwest	Won AC Round 1 (Lexington 65-37) Lost AC Semifinals (Manchester 55-54)
2009	10	6	0	2nd AC Midwest	Won AC Round 1 (Tennessee Valley 60-56) Won AC Semifinals (Iowa 51-46) Lost AC Championship (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 72-67)
Green Bay Blizzard (IFL)
2010	10	4	0	1st Central North	Lost Round 1 (Chicago)
2011*	0	0	0	--	--
Totals	67	60	0	(not including playoffs)

* = Current Standing

2011 Season Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results
				Final Score	Team Record
	TBD	TBD	TBD
	TBD	TBD	TBD

Regular Season

Week	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results
				Final Score	Team Record
1	Bye
2	March 5 (Sat)	7:05pm	@Bloomington Extreme
3	March 12 (Sat)	7:05pm	@Wichita Wild
4	March 18 (Fri)	7:30pm	Bloomington Extreme
5	March 27 (Sun)	4:00pm	@Nebraska Danger
6	April 1 (Fri)	7:30pm	Richmond Revolution
7	Bye
8	April 15 (Fri)	7:30pm	Reading Express
9	April 22 (Fri)	7:05pm (9:05 Central)	@Wenatchee Valley Venom
10	April 29 (Fri)	7:35pm	@Chicago Slaughter
11	May 7 (Sat)	7:30pm	La Crosse Spartans
12	May 15 (Sun)	2:05pm	@Sioux Falls Storm
13	May 21 (Sat)	7:30pm	Reading Express
14	May 27 (Fri)	7:00pm	@La Crosse Spartans
15	June 4 (Sat)	7:30pm	Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
16	June 10 (Fri)	7:30pm	Chicago Slaughter

Division Standings

2011 Great Lakes Division
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	GB	STK
y Green Bay Blizzard	11	3	0	0.786	764	508	4-2	---	W4
x Bloomington Extreme	9	5	0	0.643	561	473	4-2	2.0	L1
x Chicago Slaughter	8	6	0	0.571	624	627	4-2	3.0	L3
La Crosse Spartans	5	9	0	0.357	495	633	0-6	6.0	W1

Roster

Green Bay Blizzard roster
Quarterback -- Dennis Brown -- Jake Phillips -- Justin Willis Running Back -- Randy Bell Wide Receiver -- Scott Burnoski -- Derek Deardorff -- Ariadnus Hood -- Daniel Robinson -- Phillip Brock -- Patrick Rouzard -- Josh Smith		Offensive Linemen -- Raymond Harrison -- LeRoy Auguste -- Ryan Cue -- Corey Drake -- Tim Mueller Defensive Linemen -- Jacob Killeen -- Mike Heard -- James McClinton -- Andrew Powell -- Bryan Tinker Linebacker/Fullback -- Tommy Phelps -- Maurice Simpkins -- Adrian McLeod		Defensive Back -- Carlton Bailey -- B. J. Hill -- Ellis Powers -- Melvin Rice -- Arkeith Brown -- Josh Jones -- Kendale Rayford -- Corey Roberson -- LaRon Ragsdale Kicker -- Tino Amancio Multiple Positions		Injured Reserve Currently vacant Exempt List Currently vacant Practice Squad Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster updated February 3, 2010 13 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS → More rosters

Overall Records

Location	Wins	Losses	Ties
Home	42	26	0
Away	32	38	0
Neutral Site	0	1	0
Playoffs	7	6	0
Overtime	2	3	0

Attendance Statistics

Season By Season Average Attendance

Year	Average Attendance
2003	2,957
2004	3,683
2005	3,532
2006	5,836
2007	5,629
2008	6,125*
2009	6,093
2010	3,778
Overall	4,704
* =	Excludes 1 Playoff Game with missing data

Past Seasons

2010 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 21	La Crosse Spartans	Away (EXHIB.)	Won 14-11
February 28	BYE WEEK
March 6	Sioux City Bandits	Away	Won 69-61
March 13	Bloomington Extreme	Away	Lost 20-24
March 19	La Crosse Spartans	Home	Won 48-12
March 26	Bloomington Extreme	Home	Won 35-21
April 3	Maryland Maniacs	Away	Won 46-41
April 11	La Crosse Spartans	Away	Won 43-30
April 17	West Michigan ThunderHawks	Away	Won 72-69
April 24	Omaha Beef	Home	Won 50-49
May 1	BYE WEEK
May 8	Chicago Slaughter	Home	Lost 43-46
May 15	BYE WEEK
May 22	Chicago Slaughter	Away	Lost 47-50
May 29	Richmond Revolution	Away	Lost 44-54
June 5	Wichita Wild	Home	Won 40-38
June 12	West Michigan ThunderHawks	Home	Won 74-9
June 19	Chicago Slaughter	Home	Won 55-30
June 26	Chicago Slaughter (Playoffs)	Home	Lost 39-46

2010 Central North Division
	W	L	T	PCT	GB	DIV	PF	PA	STK
y-Green Bay Blizzard	10	4	0	0.714	---	4-3	686	538	W3
x-Bloomington Extreme	9	5	0	0.643	1.0	6-2	497	435	W6
x-Chicago Slaughter	6	8	0	0.429	4.0	3-5	577	543	L3
La Crosse Spartans	3	11	0	0.214	7.0	2-5	355	565	L1

Staff

• Chielf Operating Officer-Art Clarkson
• General Manager-Jeremy Hinde
• Director of Football Operations-Rik Richards
• Director of Operations-Chris Rhode
• Director of Group Sales-Mac Shumann

External links

• Official Web-Site
• FrostBite - Weekly Podcast