Thursday, November 18, 2010

Add Another Team to the Tucson Pro Sports Scrapheap

Posted By on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 2:39 PM

It was a nice idea while it lasted, but Tucson won't be getting indoor football next year, according to KVOA:

The Tucson Thunderkats, a local indoor football club, is suspending operations indefinitely.

Mario Wiggins, chairman and owner of the team, estimates that he has lost over $100,000 during the startup of the franchise. Head coach Floyd Johnson was recently let go.

The Thunderkats were supposed to begin regular season play in February 2011, but now that's not going to happen. Wiggins says the suspension is indefinite, but will go on while the team goes "through a restructuring process."

I'm not entirely sure how Mr. Wiggins managed to spend $100,000, although it certainly wouldn't be on publicity. I heard about the team when it was announced, and I think I had one conversation about them since, but I wasn't even aware they had a website until today. Best of luck with the "restructuring process," Thunderkats.

The Thunderkats accomplished something in the history of Tucson professional sports by collapsing before playing a game, but they're part of a proud history of sports teams that had their moment in the Tucson athletic spotlight, including the Arizona Heat, the Tucson Amigos, the Tucson Fireballs, the Gila Monsters (my personal favorite), the Tucson Mirage, the Tucson Tiberons and the Tucson Tilt (winner of the most-plagiarized-logo contest), among others.

Someday, Tucson, someday.

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