View source for Lincoln Capitols

{{short description|American indoor football team}}
{{Infobox indoor American football team
| name = Lincoln Capitols
| current = 
| logo =
| helmet = Lincoln Capitols Helmet Logo.png
| founded = 1998
| folded = 2006
| city = [[Lincoln, Nebraska]]<br>at the [[Pershing Center]]
| misc = 
| uniform =
| colors = Red, White, Blue<br>{{colorbox|red}} {{colorbox|white}} {{colorbox|blue}}
| coach = Chris Simpson, Mike Dixon, Nate Jacks (Jack Jax), Ty Goode
| owner = Bruce Bailey
| chairman =
| president = 
| general manager = 
| mascot = 
| nicknames =
| league =
[[Indoor Football League (1999-2000)|Original Indoor Football League]] (1999-2000)<br>
[[af2]] (2001)<br>
[[National Indoor Football League]] (2002-2006)
| team_history =
*Lincoln Lightning (1999-2001)
*'''Lincoln Capitols''' (2002–2006)
| no_league_champs = 0
| no_conf_champs = 2
| no_div_champs = 0
| league_champs =
| conf_champs = 1999 ([[Indoor Football League (1999-2000)|IFL]]), 2002 ([[NIFL]])
| div_champs =
| playoff_appearances = 1999 ([[Indoor Football League (1999-2000)|IFL]]), 2000 ([[Indoor Football League (1999-2000)|IFL]]), 2002 ([[NIFL]])
| no_playoff_appearances = 3
| arena_years =
* [[Pershing Center]] (1999-2006)
}}

The '''Lincoln Capitols''' were a professional [[indoor American football|indoor football]] team that played their home games at [[Pershing Center|Pershing Auditorium]] in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], United States.  They originally planned on becoming the '''Nebraska Knockout''', but the name was scrapped.  From 1999 to 2000, they were the '''Lincoln Lightning''' of the original [[Indoor Football League (1999-2000)|Indoor Football League]] before the IFL was bought out.  The Lightning then played in the [[af2|Arena Football's]] farm league during the 2001 season,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/af2-adds-six-expansion-teams/n-2707771 |title=af2 adds six expansion teams |date=October 30, 2000 |publisher=OurSports Central |work=www.oursportscentral.com |accessdate=July 19, 2017}}</ref> before leaving the league<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/lightning-will-not-play-in-02/n-2708817|title=Lightning will not play in '02 |date=February 8, 2002 |publisher=OurSports Central |work=www.oursportscentral.com |accessdate=July 20, 2017}}</ref> and joining the [[National Indoor Football League]] as the Capitols. During their four-year run, the franchise's most prominent player was a former [[Nebraska Cornhuskers|Nebraska Cornhusker]] running back named Damon Benning and the franchise's owner was Andrew Cheesman. In 2005 through 2006 they had 2 standout players, [[Nate Jacks]] from Atlanta, Ga, a graduate from Clinton High School and Mike Carrawell from St. Louis, MO. The two was a combo with Coach Chris Simpson, who brought the two kick returners in to play two roles. Mike was an All-American slot receiver from Quincy University and Nate was a shutdown corner back from KU.{{cite needed|date=July 2019}}

This team in Lincoln has been a pushover for most of the team's history, despite being successful in the regular season. They are the only team to lose in two shutouts, a rarity in the NIFL.{{cite needed|date=July 2019}}

The league, hoping to kill off their APFL competition and make the Capitols better, talked with the [[St. Joseph Explorers]] of the [[American Professional Football League|APFL]] and interested them in merging with the Lincoln Capitols and becoming the St. Joseph Storm. The team was still bad and was later bought by the league and made a traveling team.  The end result was prospective owners saw [[NIFL]] as a league to avoid which was a major factor in the league's problems in 2007.

== Season-By-Season ==
{{Start NFL SBS}}
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Lincoln Lightning (IFL)'''
|-
|1999 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 1st Southern || Lost Semifinal ([[Green Bay Bombers|Green Bay]])
|-
|2000 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 2nd Southern || Lost Round 1 ([[Sioux City Attack|Sioux City]])
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Lincoln Lightning (af2)'''
|-
|2001 || 6 || 10 || 0 || 7th NC Midwestern || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Lincoln Capitols (NIFL)'''
|-
|2002 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st Pacific Northern || Lost Round 1 ([[Billings Outlaws|Billings]] 54, Lincoln 51)
|-
|2003 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 2nd Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2004 || 3 || 11 || 0 || 4th Pacific Northern || --
|-
|2005 || 1 || 13 || 0 || 5th Pacific Western || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Lincoln Capitols/St. Joseph Explorers'''
|-
|2006 || 0 || 14 || 0 || 3rd Pacific Western || --
|-
!Totals || 46 || 69 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=76&year=2001 Lincoln Lightning on ArenaFan.com]

{{Af2 Defunct}}

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182802/http://www.wyomingcavalry.com/stats/WYO623.HTM
* http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3159363

[[Category:Sports in Lincoln, Nebraska]]
[[Category:Indoor Football League (1999–2000) teams]]
[[Category:National Indoor Football League teams]]
[[Category:Defunct af2 teams]]
[[Category:Sports clubs established in 1998]]
[[Category:Sports clubs disestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:American football teams in Nebraska]]


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