New York CityHawks
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The New York CityHawks were a short-lived Arena football team.
Ignoring the history of the ill-fated New York Knights several years earlier, the Arena Football League decided once again to make an effort to establish a team in the nation's largest media market, granting a franchise to the New York CityHawks prior to the 1997 Arena season. The team played poorly and drew fans even more poorly, as New York's sporting public stayed away from Madison Square Garden in droves, with the acquiescence of the New York media, which provided scant (by New York standards) and largely derisive (by any standards) coverage. Despite this near-disaster, the league's desire to be in the New York market resulted in the franchise being continued in 1998 under conditions that had resulted in teams being discontinued in other cities, but the CityHawks fared no better and were relocated after the 1998 campaign to Connecticut, where they were to compete for two more seasons as the New England Sea Wolves. Following the 2000 season, the franchise was relocated to Toronto, Ontario and played as the Toronto Phantoms before disbanding after the 2002 season.