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GeorgiaForcegif
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National
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Southern
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2001
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Philips Arena
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Atlanta, Georgia
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1:<br>2003
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1:<br>2005
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1:<br>2005
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The is in no way related to the San Antonio Force , which was an Arena Football League team that played only in the 1992 season before disbanding.
The is an
Arena Football League team based in
Atlanta that plays in the Southern Division of the National Conference.
The team began as the first
Nashville Kats team from
1997 to
2001 . The original Kats played in the
Gaylord Entertainment Center in downtown Nashville and were initially coached by Eddie Khayat in 1997 and 1998, who was succeeded by Pat Sperduto for the balance of the team's time in Nashville. The Kats were the league's Organization of the Year for their inaugural year of 1997, and were in the playoffs for every season of their relatively brief existence, even playing in the
ArenaBowl each of their final two seasons, albeit losing both times they reached the AFL's championship game.
Virgil Williams , an Atlanta businessman, purchased the franchise for nearly $10 million (
US ) in December of 2001, and moved the team to Atlanta after the team's previous owners failed to negotiate a favorable lease with the arena's primary tenant and manager, the
National Hockey League 's
Nashville Predators .
The rechristened Force initially played in Atlanta's downtown
Philips Arena , home of the
National Basketball Association 's
Atlanta Hawks and NHL
Atlanta Thrashers , prior to relocating to suburban Duluth and playing in the
Arena At Gwinnett Center for the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Under Williams' three-year tenure as owner, the team made the playoffs one time in 2003. Upon selling the team to
Atlanta Falcons owner
Arthur Blank in September of 2004, it was announced that the franchise would return to the downtown Philips Arena for the 2005 season in response to fan desires as expressed in a
Poll . The 2005 season was, by far, the most successful in team history with highlights including a conference-best 11-5 record, and undefeated home record (8-0), a National Conference Championship, and a trip to
ArenaBowl XIX .
The Force's official mascot used to be a high-tech runner named , but now, their current mascot is a blue, cuddly monster named '''Blu'''
{Link without Title} .
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/San_Jose_SaberCats" class="copylinks">San Jose SaberCats )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/ArenaBowl" class="copylinks">ArenaBowl XIX ( Colorado Crush )
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