History
The Fayetteville Guard, began play in 2003 as the Myrtle Beach Stingrays' of the National Indoor Football League in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, compiling a 6-8 record in their inaugural season.
At the beginning of the 2004 season, the NIFL pulled the team out of Myrtle Beach, and the team almost folded. However, some local investors saved the team, playing as the Carolina Stingrays in the Florence Civic Center. They managed to finish 3-6 in their shortened season.
The following year, the team was purchased again and moved to Fayetteville to replace af2's Cape Fear Wildcats, who had moved to Albany, Georgia and are currently playing as the South Georgia Wildcats. The new team had originally been called the Fayetteville Heat, but later on changed their name to the Fayetteville Guard. The team started their season 0-5, but went 7-2 in their final nine regular season games, thus earning them a 7-7 record and a playoff berth. The team defeated the Dayton Warbirds in the first round, but lost to the Cincinnati Marshals in the divisional round.
The Guard did even better in 2006, posting a 13-1 record in the regular season, then defeating the Lakeland Thunderbolts and River City Rage en route to Indoor Bowl VI, where they would lose to the Billings Outlaws. The best player ever for the Fayetteville Guard was former Hawaii QB-K Shawn-Ke'ali'i Withy-Allen, 6'5", 234 lbs.
In August 2006, it was reported that the Guard were moving to the World Indoor Football League. However, the Guard denied these rumors by announcing that they were staying in the NIFL in a press conference two months later.
With to the merger of the AIFA and SIFL, a new Fayetteville based sports marketing group claimed the right to field a SIFL team from the Fayetteville market. The Guard did not return for the 2011 season, but a new team not affiliated with the Guard or its owners, called the Fayetteville Force, now represents the Cape Fear area. After a 3-0 start, the team collapsed and was sold to the remains of the AIFA, who put together a new team from scratch under the "Fayetteville Force" name. The "new" Fayetteville Force has yet to win a game and has the dubious distinction of having the most points scored on them in indoor football history and the worst margin of defeat for a professional football team in over 100 years, losing 138-0 to the Erie Explosion.
For the 2012 season, the assets of the Force were rebranded as the Cape Fear Heroes.
| Fayetteville Guard | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| League |
AIFA (2008-2010) NIFL/Independent (2003-2007) |
| Team history |
Fayetteville Guard (2005-2010) Myrtle Beach/Carolina Stingrays (2003-2004) |
| Arena | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum |
| Based in | Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| Team colors | Black, Green, Brown, White |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 2 |
Read more about this topic: Fayetteville Force (SIFL)
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