The Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade) were a professional

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

team that played in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL). The team was founded before the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

season. Former

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

strong safety Kevin Porter served as head coach. The team's new head coach in 2011 was Danton Barto; he also coached the AFL's

Las Vegas Gladiators {{Cat main, Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wikipedia categories named after buildings and structures in the United States Wikipedia categories named after sports venues ...

, af2's

Memphis Xplorers The Memphis Xplorers were a professional arena football team. They were a 2001 expansion member of the af2. They played their home games at DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi (a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee). The team's logo featu ...

and

Manchester Wolves The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league. They played in the East Division of the ...

, and the IFL's Arkansas Diamonds. The team played at

Kemper Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and later moved to the

Sprint Center T-Mobile Center (formerly Sprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It is located at the intersection of 14th Street and Grand Boulevard on the east side of the Power & Light District. It has effectively become ...

downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

for the 2008 AFL season. The team was owned by a Kansas City local, Chris Likens. One of the most notable co-owners is former

star Neil Smith. ''Captain Max Runway'' was named the mascot of the team in June 2007.

History

After the announcement that the New Orleans VooDoo would suspend operations for the 2006 AFL season due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, the AFL awarded an expansion franchise to Kansas City, containing most of the VooDoo's players. On November 21, 2005, the AFL announced that the team would be called the Kansas City Brigade. A stealth bomber, modeled after the

B-2 Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

s stationed at nearby

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attack ...

, would represent the team for its logo. Kevin Porter was named the team's first head coach. They would be placed in the National Conference Southern Division, where they would take New Orleans' spot for the year.

2006 season

On February 19, 2006, after losing the first three games of their inaugural season, the Brigade finally had their first victory 45–24 at home against the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fol ...

. On April 9, 2006, after losing six-straight games, the Brigade finally managed their second win, defeating the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

62–45 at home. On April 22, 2006, the Brigade recorded their first road win in franchise history against the

Nashville Kats The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...

, winning 58–52. By the end of the 2006 season, the Brigade finished with a record of 3–13, placing them fifth in the National Conference Southern Division.

2007 season

With the New Orleans VooDoo returning to the league's National Conference Southern in 2007, the Brigade switched conferences and divisions, as they moved to the American Conference

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. On March 4, 2007, in their home opener, the Brigade defeated the defending Arena Bowl champion Chicago Rush 54–41. The game was broadcast nationally on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Brigade were above .500 for the season. On June 8, the Brigade clinched their first-ever playoff berth with a 47–34 victory over the

. The Brigade finished the regular season with a 10–6 record. While earning the American Conference's #3 seed, the Brigade hosted their first playoff game on June 30, a wild-card matchup, with the American Conference's #6 seed, the

Colorado Crush The Colorado Crush were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. They began play as a 2003 Arena Football League expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspen ...

. Unfortunately for the Brigade, they were plagued by injuries and the Crush won 49–42, despite Colorado coming into the game with a four-game losing streak.

2008 season

The 2008 season saw the longest field goal in franchise history (58 yards by Peter Martinez). Former

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Quincy Carter LaVonya Quintelle "Quincy" Carter (born October 13, 1977) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Georgia and for the National Football League teams Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets. Outside the NFL, he also was ...

was named the starter on June 3, 2008. Carter lost all three of his starts. Quarterback D. Bryant was named to the AFL's 2008 All-Rookie Team. The Brigade suspended football operations following the 2008 season.

2011 season

Kansas City returned for the 2011 AFL season and was renamed the Kansas City Command. The logo and color scheme remained the same and home games were still played at the

in the heart of Kansas City. The Command went 0–3 to start the 2011 AFL season but bounced back with a win in their first home game against National Conference Central Division rival Iowa Barnstormers.

2012 season

The Command played the 2012 AFL season finishing 4th in the Central division at 3-15. On August 23, the team announced that they were shutting down operations and would not be returning to the AFL for the 2013 season.

Coaches

Season-by-season

Notable players

Final roster

Individual award

All-Arena players

The following Brigade/Command players were named to All-Arena Teams: * OL

Rich Ranglin Richard Ranglin (born September 27, 1984) is a former American football offensive lineman. He was signed out of the Arena Football League in May 2012 by the Kansas City Chiefs. College career Ranglin was a four-year letterman at Central Connecti ...

(1)

All-Ironman players

The following Brigade/Command players were named to All-Ironman Teams: * WR/KR

Jackie Chambers Jackie Chambers (born September 8, 1984 in Miami, Florida) is a professional Arena football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Stampeders as a street free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Lane Dr ...

(1)

All-Rookie players

The following Brigade/Command players were named to All-Rookie Teams: * QB D. Bryant * WR/LB

Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player ...

* WR Charles Frederick

Retired numbers

* #90 Neil Smith, team co-owner and former NFL

Defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Notes

External links

Kansas City Brigade at ArenaFan.com
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises 2011 establishments in Missouri 2012 disestablishments in Missouri Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area