Best Sports Leagues Nobody Knows About

As you can see, I have an interest in Obscure Sports games and leagues.  It all started with the World Football League (WFL), World Hockey Association (WHA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) in the 70s.  Of course, none of those leagues lasted but they created a niche in sports history.   Today there are many sports leagues which most people don't know about outside of the current major leagues.  Here is a list of leagues that are some of the best ones that nobody knows about:

Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA)

The league was founded in 2010 and currently has 24 teams in the United States and Canada.  The league was formerly known as the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) but recently changed to the Ultimate Frisbee Association.  Ultimate Frisbee is an entertaining and exciting sport to watch.  I had the opportunity to watch when Nashville had a team in the league a few years ago.  There is a lot of scoring and some very good athletes.  The league is gradually gaining popularity, but some still see it as a recreational sport.  The UFA continues to make strides to build the sport and we may see Ultimate Frisbee as an Olympic sport sometime in the near future.

Founded:  2010
Number of teams:  24
Teams:  Atlanta Hustle, Austin Sol, Carolina Flyers, Dallas Legion, Houston Havoc, Chicago Union, Detroit Mechanix, Indianapolis AlleyCats, Madison Radicals, Minnesota Windchill, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, Boston Glory, DC Breeze, Montreal Royal, New York Empire, Philadelphia Phoenix, Toronto Rush, Colorado Summit, Los Angeles Aviators, Oakland Spiders, Portland Nitro, Salt Lake Shred, San Diego Growlers, Seattle Cascades
Best Teams:  New York Empire, Carolina Flyers, DC Breeze
Best Players:  Jeff Babbitt, Ben Jagt, Ryan Osgar
League website:  https://watchufa.com/

Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)

Indoor soccer has been around since the 70s when the first league - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) - was formed.  There have been many versions of the league which eventually evolved into the current Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) which was created in 2008.  The league currently has 13 teams in the United States and Mexico.  The sport is a condensed version of soccer which is played on artificial turf inside a hockey rink.  Shots and passes can be rebounded off the dasher boards which can lead to higher scores than the outdoor version of the sport.  The sport has never been able to fully break into the national scene.  Competition from basketball and hockey typically crowd out the MASL.  

Founded:  2008
Number of Teams:  13
Teams: Baltimore Blast, Harrisburg Heat, Kansas City Comets, Milwaukee Wave, St. Louis Ambush, Utica City FC, Chihuahua Savage, Dallas Sidekicks, Empire Strykers, Texas Outlaws, Monterrey Flash, San Diego Sockers, Tacoma Stars
Best Teams:  San Diego Sockers, Baltimore Blast, Chihuahua Savage
Best Players:  Franck Tayou, Nick Perera, Boris Pardo

League website:  https://www.maslsoccer.com/

National Lacrosse League (NLL)

The sport which is known as "the fastest game on two feet" is even faster with the indoor version known as the National Lacrosse League (NLL).  The league was first introduced as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) and has been through many changes since it was originally formed in 1986.  Today the league has 15 teams in the United States and Canada.  The indoor game which is traditionally known as "box lacrosse" is played on artificial turf in hockey rinks.  It is a very exciting game to watch but faces difficult competition from hockey and basketball.

Founded:  1986
Number of Teams:  15
Teams:  Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Georgia Swarm, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, Vancouver Warriors.
Best Teams:  Buffalo Bandits, Toronto Rock, Colorado Mammoth
Best Players:  Lyle Thompson, Jeff Teat, Doug Jamieson
League website:  https://www.nll.com/

Indoor Football League (IFL)

The sport of arena/indoor football has survived many changes over the years with various teams and leagues.  The Indoor Football League (IFL) has been pretty consistent among indoor leagues since it was formed in 2008.  Today the IFL has 16 teams, many of which have defected from other leagues.  Arena/indoor football is played on artificial turf on a condensed field sized to a hockey rink.  This leads to higher scoring games with no punting and mostly passing.  

Founded:  2008
Number of Teams:  16
Teams:  Frisco Fighters, Green Bay Blizzard, Iowa Barnstormers, Jacksonville Sharks, Massachusetts Pirates, Quad City Steamwheelers, Sioux Falls Storm, Tulsa Oilers, Arizona Rattlers, Bay Area Panthers, Duke City Gladiators, Northern Arizona Wranglers, San Antonio Gunslingers, San Diego Strike Force, Tucson Sugar Skulls, Vegas Knight Hawks.
Best Teams:  Bay Area Panthers, Arizona Rattlers, Northern Arizona Wranglers
Best Players:  Jimmy Smith, Nate Davis, Kentrez Bell, Jordan Jones
League website:  http://goifl.com/ 

If I had a couple of honorable mentions to add to this list, it would be the United Football League (UFL) which is a merger of the XFL and USFL set to kick off in March.  The two spring football leagues have been strong and should be stronger in the new merged league.  Spring football has attempted to catch on with football fans since the original United States Football League in 1983.  The other league is the new rebirth of the Arena Football League (AFL). This league has been around since the mid-80s but has had some financial setbacks which have plagued the league.  The revived AFL will kick off this spring with 16 teams.  Many teams in locations which previously had teams.   These two leagues have a potential for success, but we will have to wait and see what happens.