Colorado Crush

Colorado Crush
Established 2003
Folded 2008
Played in Ball Arena
in Denver, Colorado
League/conference affiliations
Arena Football League (20032008)
  • American Conference (2003–2008)
Current uniform
Team colorsNavy, burnt orange, beige
     
MascotCrusher
Personnel
Owner(s)John Elway
Pat Bowlen
Stan Kroenke
General managerJohn Elway
Head coachMike Dailey
Team history
  • Colorado Crush (2003–2008)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games
Division championships (2)
Playoff appearances (5)
Home arena(s)

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 suspended operations in 2009. They were last coached by Mike Dailey and owned by a coalition of Denver sports figures led by John Elway.

Negotiations with a Denver ownership group were underway for a future AFL expansion franchise in Denver, but it was unclear whether or not it will use the Crush branding or that of the Denver Dynamite, an earlier AFL team. Like the Dallas Desperados, the Crush's branding is partially based on NFL teams (the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams, though to a much lesser degree), which would have given the late Pat Bowlen or Stan Kroenke a potential veto over any usage of the Colorado Crush branding. On July 15, 2015, the Crush name was acquired by the Indoor Football League franchise formerly known as the Colorado Ice as the trademark for the name expired in 2014 according to their ownership.[1]

  1. ^ Introducing the Colorado Crush Archived 2015-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, goifl.com, July 15, 2015