Wow! We're finally here - Opening Week! The Jaguars open the first NAFL season this Friday night in Fresno, California. What are we doing to finish getting ready?
Unbelievable! In less than 96 hours, the Jaguars will face off against the Fresno Force at The Big Fresno Fair in the inaugural game of the North American Floorball League.
How did we get here?
Two years ago, NAFL Commissioner Ryan Connor approached me and told me about the first ever professional floorball league in North America. My wife and I decided to purchase a franchise! Our dream was to begin the process to build the US version of the F-League (Finland) or Swedish Superliga (SSL - Sweden). We had four teams and a lot of optimism that COVID would allow us to play in 2021. It didn't, and we lost two teams (Cleveland and Texas), gained two more (Orlando and Utah), and now we sit here, with players arriving all over the country. We will gather this weekend in Fresno to face off in the first of four weekends of high-end floorball - the best floorball the United States has EVER seen (until the World Games play in Birmingham during our off week).
Along the way, I was fortunate to interview a number of head coaching candidates that signed up. We selected Joel Ekroos of the Westend Indians in the Finnish F-Liiga, the top league in Finland. What a great choice - Joel and I have been able to collaborate to build what we think is one of the best young teams in North America! Featuring 6 players from his Under-21 Men's team in Espoo, we have added 6 great Americans, three more Finns, and a strong Czech player to round out our squad. We're very proud and very excited about our chances this season to win the inaugural Troy Cup!
Throughout the next five weeks, I will try to show you all the joys and pain that comes with ownership of a nascent sports franchise. After all, the NFL started from humble beginnings as well - a used car lot in Canton, Ohio! Think anyone today, nearly 100 years later, would say that was a bad investment?
Our players are here. Our sport is ready. You can buy tickets for our home weekend July 22-24 at our venue, Nytex Sports Center in North Richland Hills, TX. You can also buy our streaming package (which supports ALL our teams) at SolidSport, the top European streaming site for floorball.
The players are here. The teams are ready. The venues are ready. All we need are our fans. Will YOU join us? We can't wait to show you the excitement of the fastest game you've ever seen - FLOORBALL! Get your tickets and streaming packages today.
GO JAGS!!!