Stadium: Soul Harvester Field/The Masoleum
Opened: 2007 (60,000)
Cost: $ 447,750,000
Roof: Retractable (open/closed casket)
Surface: Natural
Team Colors: Black and Grey-blue
Owner: Coughlin Brothers Mortuary
President/GM: Jeff Cheng
Ring of Honor: 21 Sean Taylor
Franchise Record: 29-35 (.453)
Home Record: 8-8 (.500) (Chicago)
League Championships: 0
Division Titles: 1 (2008)
Franchise Championships: 0
Playoff Appearances: 2
Balance: $737,423,877
BALTIMORE L 230-222
@ Northampton W 258-229
@ New York L 303-253
LAS VEGAS L 320-310
PITTSBURGH W 254-228
@ Indianapolis W 364-226
@ New England W 293-226
NEW YORK L 258-221
NORTHAMPTON W 282-241
@ Baltimore W 270-250
NEW ENGLAND W 261-260
@ Pittsburgh W 291-250
INDIANAPOLIS L 253-221
@ Las Vegas L 288-212
The Soul Reapers began play in the CFFL as the Kansas City Goatcheese, a franchise that was almost doomed to failure from the start. The team failed to send a representative to the 2005 CFFL Draft, so the league stepped in and drafted for them. Then, the financing on their stadium fell through in the middle of construction, causing a work stoppage on the facility that led to Kansas City playing all of their games at different facilities throughout the season (although 5 of their 7 home games were played at Faurot Field at the University of Missouri). On top of that was an error which caused owner Chris Sedlock to fail to submit a lineup of scoring-eligible players in Week 8 against Baltimore, resulting in a humiliating 105-10 defeat. The team somehow managed to finish the season at 8-8.
Kansas City looked to have a good season in 2006, and while they almost did make the playoffs, that was due more to the weakness of their division. The Goatcheese missed the playoffs by only a game, but struggled all season long and finished with a 5-11 record.
The highlight of their season might have been finally moving into their stadium. After the opening was delayed for a year by financing problems, Meunster Field opened in September. The natural grass, open-air stadium seats 60,000 people. However, it didn't help the Goatcheese in their first season there, as they finished with a 2-5 record at home.
Off-the-field problems continued to plague the franchise however, with Sedlock's inattentive ownership finally going too far. On July 15, 2007, the league, after repeated warnings, stepped in and took control of the franchise back from Sedlock. A few days later, Jeff Cheng was named the new owner of the franchise, which he relocated to Chicago. The team name was changed to the Soul Reapers. Their home games are played at Holocaust Memorial Park, which has already been nicknamed The Masoleum and Soul Harvester Field. With the retractable roof, games are played with either an open or closed casket. The team also plays a home game on Halloween weekend every year, joining the Tigers in that tradition.
The move to Chicago proved to be great for the Soul Reapers, as they made the first playoff appearance in franchise history. The team was struck by tragedy, however, as DB Sean Taylor was murdered during a robbery. The team rallied to make the playoffs, but lost their divisional playoff game to Indianapolis by 1.5 points.
The Soul Reapers continued to improve during the 2008 season. They started 8-4 and clinched the division title, and advanced to their first CFFL Championship Game by beating Pittsburgh in the divisional playoffs. They lost to Baltimore in the Championship Game, however, ending their title hopes. One highlight of the season was inducting DB Sean Taylor into their Ring of Honor, retiring his number 21 a few days after the one year anniversary of his murder.
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