The OklahomIraqis League: Born in Baghdad; Resurrected in Oklahoma
The OIL was founded in Baghdad, Iraq by U.S. soldiers from Oklahoma in 2006. Since then, managers have competed during subsequent deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. It's provided distraction during those tours. And it's provided camaraderie the men have missed when they're States-side, keeping the brothers-in-arms connected over a decade later.
Photo: Baghdad, Iraq overlooking the Tigris River
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The OIL is comprised of 42 teams across three conferences. All 42 are U.S. Army veterans. Their team names and logos are unique. Rate the logo on each franchise page, because these team identities remain unchanged year-over-year. These aren't teams; they're franchises. Find your favorite now.
The OIL: 42 franchises; 42 stadiums. View them all.
Put names with logos. See the guys in their natural habitats. Check out photos from previous draft parties, and scroll through photos of their tours in Iraq.
Admire our traveling trophies and learn about the men they honor.
View our permanent prizes: custom helmets and jerseys.
Browse over a decade of OIL images.
On NPR's Weekend Edition, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay called the Book of OIL the most comprehensive oral history of a single unit's tour of Iraq he'd read. Learn who these men were, why they joined the military, where they were on 9/11, how they found out they were going to Iraq, and what they experienced over the course of a year in the middle of Iraq's sectarian civil war.
The OIL has been featured on Yahoo!, Fox News, USA Today, and the Fantasyland podcast:
And Rolling Stone spent a week with the 1st Battalion 158th FA regiment during their tour of Iraq: