eBay Today #2 - A Phantom Arena Teams Merchandise
Dave Carlson
Tuesday November 29, 2016
We are back again with more "off the wall" AFL finds on Ebay. This time, we've uncovered some phantom Arena Football merchandise. No, not the old Toronto Phantoms, although you can find some old Phantom mascot bobbleheads and other items pop up from time to time. But, this week we'll be pointing out some actual products that were made for an af2 team that never even hit the field!
You can find a number of T-shirts for the proposed af2 Toledo Bullfrogs popping up on eBay... some with the "af2" tag still attached. The Bullfrogs were launched in 2008 by the owners of the Mudhens (baseball) and Walleye (hockey) teams in Toledo, and were planning on playing their first season at Lucas County Arena in 2010. Of course, the AFL folded and went dark in 2009, and the af2 then shut down after 2009 with only a few teams going along for the ride in the AFL "2.0" in 2010, and the Bullfrogs were not one of them.
Why the Bullfrogs? The name was chosen as an homage to the city sitting on what was formerly the Great Black Swamp, so, when the city was founded, there was a frog infestation. The Lucas County Courthouse and Jail also pays homage, with frogs depicted in the floor mosaic.
The team might have never gotten off the ground, but, you can find more than one design for t-shirts on ebay.
