Garling announced the league would kick off its inaugural season at the BJCC Arena on March 31, 2000. The Steeldogs first opponent would be the Tennessee Valley Vipers, Birmingham's neighbor 100 miles to the north in Huntsville. First season (2000) The inaugural game was played before 14,831 fans and a regional television audience in the BJCC Arena on March 31, 2000. The game was a tremendous hit and is ranked 3rd in the league's largest regular season crowds. The scoreboard, as is typical in arena football, got quite a workout. Tennessee Valley won the first game in the series, 59-18. Birmingham's first win came one week later at the BJCC, as the Steeldogs shut down the Greensboro Prowlers 18-7 in one of the lowest scoring games in the history of Arena Football. Birmingham would finish the year with a 7-9 final record. In addition to the win over the Prowlers, Birmingham racked up victories over Roanoke (twice), Richmond, Tallahassee, Arkansas and Tulsa. The Steeldogs’ win over Tallahassee, an 86-74 barnburner, still ranks as the fourth-highest scoring game in AF2 history. By the end of the first season, 71,402 fans had crossed the turnstiles. Second season (2001) The second season of Steeldogs football brought the team's second ownership group. Steve and Kathryn Umberger purchased the team on December 13, 2000. The couple also purchased the AF2's Jacksonville Tomcats in the same year, but he decided that Birmingham would be his more "hands-on" investment. Humphrey was retained as the team's head coach for a second season. The league expanded nearly twofold in 2001 as 28 teams took the field in 2001. Birmingham opened their season at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La., against the expansion Bossier City BattleWings. Birmingham won a thrilling overtime affair, 63-57. It was the first of three consecutive wins to open the 2001 season. The Steeldogs finished the regular-season 12-4, earning them their first postseason trip. Birmingham traveled to Richmond, Virginia to face the Richmond Speed on July 21, 2001. Despite reaching the 60-point plateau, a feat that Coach Humphrey stressed in every game, the Steeldogs collapsed in the fourth quarter and fell 67-60. 2002 was the beginning of years of stability in the executive office. The Umbergers sold the franchise to two local men, both of whom were well-acquainted with Birmingham's professional sports history. Buddy King and Scott Myers became the majority and minority owners of