League Championships: None (PASL Eastern Winners in '12 & '13, Arena Open Cup '13)
Arena: Dort Federal Credit Union Events Center (Flint, MI)
History:
Detroit was once somewhat of a Mecca of indoor soccer. In the 1990's it was a year round attraction, boasting competitive teams in both the Detroit Rockers in the winter NPSL, and the Detroit Neon (later Safari) in the summer CISL. Led by former Chicago Sting legends Pato "Magic Man" Margetic of Argentina and the sweat-band wearing, chrome-domed Yugoslavian Drago Dumbovic (like many soccer icons, he became known by just one name: Drago), the Rockers reached the summit of indoor soccer by winning the 1991-92 NPSL Championship. Their successes both at the gate and on the field had convinced the power couple Michael and Marian Ilitch (founders of Lil' Caesars Pizza and owner of both the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers) to buy the Rockers and share Joe Louis Arena with his Red Wings.
When the 1994 World Cup was set to come to the USA, it was only appropriate that Detroit would showcase the world's greatest sporting event indoors, where the indoor game was most thriving. Shortly after it was announced that the Silverdome would become the first domed stadium to host a World Cup match, the Detroit was awarded a franchise in the one year old CISL. The CISL was formed by a group of owners in the NBA and NHL looking to add soccer tenants to their arenas in the summer months and capitalize on the soccer boom from World Cup 1994. The Palace Sports and Entertainment Group (owners of the Pistons) brought the franchise to play at The Palace of Auburn Hills. They lured Rockers stars Drago and Andy Chapman away from the Rockers with higher salaries, while Chrysler paid for the team to take on a Chrysler model as its name: the Detroit Neon. The Neon were a success at the gate, and narrowly missed the playoffs in their debut season. However, only 1996 saw the Neon make the playoffs (giving eventual champion Monterrey fits before bowing late in the final game of their series).
The CISL was no more by the late 1990's due to owner differences, while the NPSL did not last long into the next decade either. In their place came the newly reformed MISL and the Detroit Ignition. The Ignition took up residence at the sparkling, suburban Compuware Arena and became an elite organization for a city whose economy was being battered. Despite crowds nearly half of those for the organizations that preceded them, in an arena a fourth as large, the Ignition thrived on the field. They reached the title game in their first season of 2007 and won a championship in their final season, 2009.
Today:
Detroit Waza Flo (aka Detroit Waza or Detroit Flo) was formed by veteran players, and former Detroit Rockers, the Scicluna brothers in the lower league PASL and moved up to the MASL in the indoor league merger of 2014. They had a rough season in the step up, however they pulled off some surprises on some established powers and were rarely outclassed under head coach and former champion Rocker, Costea Decu. This year they become a part of the downtown Flint renaissance and have moved into the mutli-million dollar renovated Dort Events Center. While their attendance plummeted after their first season as their home city hemorrhaged residents, they have grown in popularity three straight years to crowds occasionally eclipsing a thousand. Despite becoming essentially a small market team, the Waza have lived up to their nickname "Waza": both the Japanese version of the word meaning "good technique" and the Swahili version of the word meaning to "think clearly". Their technique and smart business acumen have allowed the organization to survive and look to hone that technique into a playoff position.
Notable Players/Coaches:
Dominic Scicluna - Back after a mid-season trade to Las Vegas last year, player/assistant coach/co-owner "Dom Waza", as he is affectionately known, is a Detroit soccer icon. Scicluna was the hungry rookie on that 1992 Rockers championship team, and is now the veteran with a deft and sometimes dazzling touch on the ball. A natural showman and tireless promoter, the long-locked Scicluna often displays his notable freestyle skills, such as in this Ford commercial on Michigan TV...
Worteh Sampson - A former champion with the Ignition, Sampson has been terrorizing indoor defenses for years, playing in three indoor finals (in '07, '09, and '11).
One small correction to your article: the 1991-92 "summit of indoor soccer" was in San Diego where the Sockers won the Major (Indoor) Soccer League championship. The NPSL was still a minor league in 1991-92. They did not become the de facto Division 1 until the following season.
ReplyDeleteGood point. The NPSL got a lot of attention as the best organizatioms in the midwest (Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis all winning titles in the early to mid '90s), but you are right that San Diego Sockers were an unstoppable dynasty at that point.
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ReplyDeleteThe Detroit Waza Flo gave the St. Louis Ambush the cold sweats in two closely contested games last season. The Ambush won both games by slim margins in the final minutes. Detroit would often dispatch different players to road games than at home, due to work schedules of some players. The team is well organized and coached, despite being in a small/mid market. Expect any games to be hard fought - this is no Pennsylvania Roar/Massachusetts Twisters type of team. The Waza were a better team than their record showed last season. While it is certainly great to point out the successes of the Detroit indoor teams of the 1990's, the word 'mecca' is a bit hyperbolic. Enthusiasm for soccer was and is in Detroit, but it is not the first city that most indoor fans recall when thinking of the sport's history. Thanks for the information! I actually have a Rockers program from a game they played with the Ambush.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I think "meccas" I think of Chicago at the dawn of the MISL, St. Louis by the mid '80s, and Detroit in the '90s. Mainly Detroit then because of the ability to support TWO teams, these teams being quite successful at the gate, and the plethora of indoor soccer playing opportunities . Now, note that I may be a bit biased as I lived in Michigan at this time, but indoor soccer definitely had a foothold there I haven't seen anywhere since. But the two deep-pocketed ownership groups put out high quality, exciting teams that you could watch on TV regularly.
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