The Philadelphia Soul can refer to one of two successive professional arena football teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They both have competed in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Soul made six ArenaBowl appearances, winning their first appearance and losing their next two appearances. The Soul won in their fourth appearance, against the Rattlers in 2016, winning 56–42. They also won in their fifth appearance in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Storm, winning 44–40 before losing in their sixth appearance in 2019 to the Albany Empire 45-27.
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 ; and until 2015, they belonged to the AFL's National Conference. Over nineteen seasons of play, the SaberCats emerged as one of the Arena Football League's most successful franchises; at the conclusion of the 2015 season, the SaberCats boasted a lifetime regular season record of 198–98. Moreover, the SaberCats had won a total of four AFL Championships. Their lifetime postseason record stood at 19–12.
The 2006 Arena Football League season was the 20th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Chicago Rush, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX.
The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25. The league broke its regular-season total attendance record of 1,887,054.
The 2005 Arena Football League season was the 19th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Colorado Crush, who defeated the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX. The AFL changed its playoff format to allow the top four teams per conference to make the playoffs. Previously, the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs, regardless of their conference. Also, there was no inter-conference play in the playoffs until the Arena Bowl starting in 2005. The division champions also received an automatic playoff berth. This was probably brought on by the fact that the year before the Eastern Division champion New York Dragons missed the playoffs.
The 2004 Arena Football League season was the 18th season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 2005. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVIII. The AFL reduced its playoff teams from the top 12 teams in the league making the playoffs to the top eight teams in the league making the playoffs.
The 2002 Arena Football League season was the 16th season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 2003. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI. In the process the SaberCats came closer to a perfect season than any other team in the history of the league, winning sixteen of seventeen games.
ArenaBowl XXII was played on July 27, 2008 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the 22nd and final championship game in the history of the original Arena Football League. This was the fourth neutral site ArenaBowl in AFL history and the second ArenaBowl in the state of Louisiana. It was the last ArenaBowl before the AFL's economic suspension, until 2010 when the AFL was reformed, continuing on with ArenaBowl XXIII.
The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs.
The 2012 Arena Football League season was the 25th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 9, 2012 with a game between the Pittsburgh Power and the Orlando Predators and ended on July 22, 2012 with a game between the Utah Blaze and Philadelphia Soul. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 72–54 score in ArenaBowl XXV on August 10, 2012 to conclude the playoffs.
The 2013 Arena Football League season was the 26th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 23, 2013, with a five-game slate, the first of which to kick off being between the Utah Blaze and the Pittsburgh Power, and ended on July 27, 2013, with the Utah Blaze and Cleveland Gladiators as the last game to kick off. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 48–39 score in ArenaBowl XXVI to conclude the league's playoffs.
The 2013 Orlando Predators season was the 22nd season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Doug Plank and played their home games at Amway Center. Despite losing their first five games, the Predators recovered enough to qualify for the playoffs. However, they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 59–55 in the conference semifinals.
The 2013 San Jose SaberCats season was the 17th season for the franchise Arena Football League (AFL). The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at the SAP Center at San Jose. The SaberCats qualified for the playoffs with a 13–5 record, but were eliminated by the top seeded Arizona Rattlers in the conference semifinals by a 59–49 score.
The 2014 Arena Football League season was the 27th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 14, 2014 and ended on July 26, 2014.
The 2014 Philadelphia Soul season was the ninth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Clint Dolezel and played their home games at the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul finished the regular season 9–9, which was good enough for a playoff berth. However, they were eliminated in the first round by the Cleveland Gladiators on a field goal as time expired, losing by a score of 39–37.
The 2014 Pittsburgh Power season was the fourth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. They played their home games at the Consol Energy Center. The 2014 season marked the franchise's first-ever winning season, after the Power victory over the Philadelphia Soul, 57-56, on June 14. A week later on June 20, the Power clinched their first-ever playoff berth with a 57–27 win over the Iowa Barnstormers. The Power finished the regular season 15–3, but lost in their first-ever playoff game to the Orlando Predators in the conference semifinals by a 56–48 score.
ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference champion Cleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 2014 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Gladiators.
The 2015 Arena Football League season was the 28th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 27, 2015 and ended on August 8, 2015.
ArenaBowl XXVIII was the championship game of the 2015 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks and the National Conference Champion San Jose SaberCats. The game was played at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.
The 2016 Arena Football League season was the 29th season in the history of the Arena Football League. Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to eight teams. The 16-game regular season then began on April 1, 2016 and ended on August 1, 2016. The league, however, kept its eight-team playoff format, which meant that every club qualified for the postseason.
