Move over Tornado, there's a new Warrior on the block
Now American foosers can have both their Fords and Chevrolets

For the past several decades, North America foosball players were as proud of and dedicated to the American-made Tornado table soccer playing table as they have been towards their American-made automobiles and American football. All through the partying night clubs and game rooms of the 70s and 80s, and the dark ages of the 90s, it seems that the Tornado table had stood the test of time. And while other earlier tables like Dynamo and Tournament Soccer have faded into memory, Tornado has become North America’s favorite and most popular table among foosers and tournament competition.

But now, thanks to the brain child of professional fooser and businessman Brendan Flaherty, the days of dominating in North America may be over for the Tornado table. Brendan, a longtime Californian foosball enthusiast, not only wants to introduce to the foosball world a new tournament-style table, he also wants to revive what seems like the forgotten sport of table soccer and take it to a whole new level. And Brendan plans to use his creation, the “Warrior” foosball table made by the company Warrior Table Soccer, to spearhead his dream.

Brendan’s innovative approach towards implementing his plan is quite ambitious and has had quite an effect on the foosball world since the introduction of the Warrior table at the 2008 Kentucky State Foosball Championships. The new Warrior table has even become the official table of Independent Foosball Promotions (IFP) professional tour. Brendan has teamed up with the likes of two-time world champion and Hall of Fame player Johnny Lott to promote Warrior Table Soccer, as well as to bring the sport of table soccer to new heights worldwide. In addition, Warrior Table Soccer is pushing to get major sponsors, big money and TV exposure in an effort to draw world-class players, which in return will bring more popularity to the sport of table soccer. All of these efforts just might be what it takes to someday getting the sport of table soccer into the Olympics, which has been a long-time dream of Flaherty and many other foosball enthusiasts around the world.

Warrior Table Soccer has given attention towards the marketing and sales of the Warrior table. At a price of $749 for a new table, the cost for a Warrior table is well below the average price of $1,000 for a new tournament-style foosball table currently on the market. In spite of the low price, the quality standards are as good as, if not better than, those of the Tornado table, which makes the Warrior table very appealing and marketable.

But how does the Warrior stack up to the Tornado playing wise? Both tables look very similar in appearance at first glance. Both have that strong, sturdy, durable body-frame. The playing surface on both tables look almost identical. Even the men look the same in some ways. But that’s where the similarities end. With the Warrior comes a faster playing surface, smaller goals, and men wearing sunglasses. It appears that the concept behind the design of the Warrior tables is to create a more challenging table to raise the skill level of the individual who plays on a regular basis.

With so many dedicated Tornado foosers, many of whom own their own table, what will the transition be like going from playing on a Tornado table to playing on a Warrior table? Well, it should be the same as for adjusting to any other unfamiliar table. As least, from a psychological perspective. Still, it appears that the transition from a Tornado to a Warrior isn’t that big of a deal for most Tornado foosers. One could say the change will seem less drastic than adjusting to a Bonzini or a Roberto table. Although, the playing surface of the Warrior is faster than the Tornado table, there is still a good amount of ball control. This is one important aspect that should make for a smoother transition.

With perhaps little differences and an easy transition process between the Tornado and Warrior table, there should be a peaceful co-existence between the two tables among foosers. Kind of like the way Ford and Chevrolet car owners co-exist in America today. Sure, there will be those who argue theirs is better than the other, but when it comes right down to it, both tables are well made and will serve the players well. Now that the Warrior table has arrived on the scene, things should be changing for the better. The world-renowned Tornado table, with its huge loyal following, now knows that there’s a very competitive new kid on the scene. And this new kid has come out of the gate firing on all cylinders. The demand for Warrior tables is up, not only in the U.S. but also worldwide. Tornado will no doubt have to re-think how they are doing things, as well as come up with innovative ways to stay competitive. But whatever happens to either table in the future, what is happening now should have a positive effect on foosball enthusiasts.