The Alabama Steeldogs, originally known as the Birmingham Steeldogs, were incorporated in 2000 as one of the charter teams in the AF2, the developmental league of the Arena Football League. Entering their eighth season as of 2007, they were the longest running of many professional football franchises in the city of Birmingham. Management announced that it would not field a team in 2008 but had hopes of returning in 2009. But the team's front office has since been dissolved, and with no announcements of further plans, the team is defunct. The team's first head coach was former University of Alabama standout Bobby Humphrey. In October 2005, Ron Selesky, formerly of the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers, Carolina Cobras and Tampa Bay Storm, as well as the AF2's Albany Conquest and Louisville Fire, was hired as the team's second coach. The team played its home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in downtown Birmingham. The arena was the site of the first AF2 game in 2000, between the Steeldogs and the Tennessee Valley Vipers, based in Huntsville, Alabama. The team's colors were black, orange, and white. The team's name — unique in all of sports — paid tribute to Birmingham's steel industry. The team's logo, depicting a dog with a spiked collar and metal lower jaw, represents "Rusty", the team's mascot. The team's cheerleaders were known as the "Showsteelers." Team history Beginnings On April 20, 1999, Birmingham's franchise was one of the charter teams in the Xtreme Football League, which soon brokered a deal with the more-established Arena Football League to form the latter's second tier. Christened "Arena Football 2" or "AF2" for short, the new league would play by the same rules patented by its parent organization. After a contest, the team became the "Steeldogs", paying homage to the steel industry that helped grow the city into an industrial giant during the early 20th century. At a press conference on August 12, 1999, the team's name, logo, colors and head coach were all introduced. Humphrey, the University of Alabama's second all-time leading rusher, would be the team's first coach. The first Steeldogs ownership group, consisting of Charles Felix, David Berkman and Bruce Burge, also owned the Birmingham Bulls hockey franchise. Both teams were to compete and be headquartered at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in downtown Birmingham. On January 11, 2000, the Commissioner of the AF2, Mary Ellen