Major Indoor Soccer League (1979-1990) Major Soccer League (1990-1992) National Professional Soccer League (1992-2001) Born: August 21, 1979 – MISL expansion franchise Folded: May 18,
The Edmonton Drillers indoor soccer team of the late 1990’s was a brand revival of the original Edmonton Drillers (1979-1982) of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The NASL Drillers competed year-round, playing outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium and Clarke Stadium in the spring and summer and indoors at the Northlands Coliseum during the wintertime. The new Drillers competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), playing a winter-only indoor season at the Coliseum. The team disbanded due to financial problems one month into its fifth season in November 2000.
The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team that earned a modest following in the Motor City during the 1990’s. The Rockers won the championship of the National Professional Soccer League during their second season in the winter of 1991-92. Fan favorites included forward Andy Chapman, player-coach Pato Margetic, forward Drago Dumbovic, and long-time goalkeeper Bryan Finnerty.
The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer club formed in 1988. The Power were a lower-budget successor to the Chicago Sting, the city’s popular and long-running pro side that went out of business in July of that same year. Several weeks after the Sting closed their doors, a former Sting investor named Lou Weisbach purchased an expansion franchise in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). Karl-Heinz Granitza, Pato Margetic, Batata, Bret Hall, and other former Sting stars suited up for the Power over the years, who played mostly at the suburban Rosemont Horizon. The franchise moved to Edmonton in 1996 after years of behind-the-scenes turmoil.
The Buffalo Blizzard were a long-running indoor soccer franchise that enjoyed a degree of popularity in Western New York during the early 1990’s. The Blizzard’s finest season came during the expansion year of 1992-93. The team posted an all-time best mark of 23-17 but lost in the playoff quarterfinals to the Cleveland Crunch. Just about every Blizzard season to follow more or less followed the same plot. The team had only two losing seasons in nine years, but never won a playoff series. The Crunch eliminated the Blizzard in the first round four times.
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