Buffalo Storm

The North American Soccer League was in significant decline following the "boom years" of the late 1970s, undone by a period of over-expansion and overspending that created an unstable environment in which teams were constantly folding or moving to new cities.

Their vision was a stable league in which teams could operate within their means and take a more "grass roots" approach to building a fan base in their communities.

Year-round operation (with an indoor season in the winter), a strict salary cap, a focus on American players and a mostly regional schedule to reduce travel costs were all pillars on which this new league was to be founded.

The new Buffalo team was led by two men whose history together dated back to the defunct Rochester Lancers of the NASL.

Rochester and New York would both post worse records, though, and the Storm ended up qualifying for the playoffs as division winners, earning them a best-of-three semifinals matchup with the Fort Lauderdale Sun.

The first was that they only had about six weeks in between announcing their existence and the beginning of league play, leaving little time to drum up sponsors, investors or fans.

Shortly after discussions for a USL/NASL merger fell apart in March 1985, Buffalo failed to meet the USL's financial requirements and dropped out along with other members of the Northern Division, Rochester and New York.