The Ottawa Rebel was a team in the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

based in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

until

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. They initially played at the Corel Centre (now called the

Canadian Tire Centre Canadian Tire Centre () is a multi-purpose arena in the suburb of Kanata in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in January 1996 as the Palladium and was also known as Corel Centre () from 1996 to 2006 and Scotiabank Place () from 2006 to 2013. ...

), but part-way through the 2002 season moved to the smaller, but centrally located,

Ottawa Civic Centre TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The arena has hos ...

. From

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

until

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

the team was located in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

and was called the Syracuse Smash. The Rebel was owned by the Brad Watters group which also brought lacrosse to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In their first season in Ottawa, the Rebel had one win and thirteen losses and finished last of nine teams. Their second season was slightly better, with four wins and twelve losses, but due to tie breakers they finished fourth in the Northern Division and thirteenth overall behind the

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at Scotiabank Saddledome. The team name is derived from the roughne ...

, who also finished with a 4–12 record. In their third and final year in Ottawa they again had four wins and twelve losses, placing them fourth in the Northern Division again but tenth out of twelve in the overall league standings. As the Syracuse Smash they were last overall all three years prompting the move to the Canadian capital. The franchise became inactive after the 2003 season. In 2005, it was purchased by Bruce Urban and moved to

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, becoming the

Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from the 2006 to 2015 NLL seasons. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2 ...

. In 2024, it was announced that the National Lacrosse League would return to Ottawa as the

Ottawa Black Bears The Ottawa Black Bears are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in the Ottawa that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at Canadian Tire Centre, which is also the home arena of the Ottawa Sen ...

All time Record

2000-01 schedule

2001-02 schedule

2002-03 schedule

References

{{Defunct NLL Defunct National Lacrosse League teams Reb Lacrosse clubs established in 2001 Lacrosse clubs disestablished in 2003 2001 establishments in Ontario 2003 disestablishments in Ontario