2014 Arena Football League season | |
---|---|
League | Arena Football League |
Sport | Arena football |
Duration | March 14, 2014 – August 23, 2014 |
Regular season | |
Season champions | Cleveland Gladiators |
Season MVP | Nick Davila, ARZ |
League postseason | |
American Conference champions | Cleveland Gladiators |
American Conference runners-up | Orlando Predators |
National Conference champions | Arizona Rattlers |
National Conference runners-up | San Jose SaberCats |
ArenaBowl XXVII | |
Champions | Arizona Rattlers |
Runners-up | Cleveland Gladiators |
Finals MVP | Nick Davila, ARZ |
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 city of Anaheim, California was awarded an expansion team on August 15, 2013. The team, named the Los Angeles Kiss, was the first AFL team to call Los Angeles home since the Los Angeles Avengers in 2008. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, members of the rock band Kiss, were the owners of the expansion franchise. [1]
Two teams that competed in 2013 suspended operations, (Chicago Rush & Utah Blaze) and their rosters were dispersed throughout the league during a dispersal draft on September 6, 2013. [2]
The Milwaukee Mustangs sold their league membership to Terry Emmert, who then started a new franchise in Portland, Oregon named the Portland Thunder. [3]
On December 17, 2013 it was announced that ESPN had agreed to a multi-year deal in televising several games, including the ArenaBowl. Additionally, at least 75 games during the season were to be aired on ESPN3, the network's online streaming service. ESPN had owned an equity interest in the former league organization prior to its bankruptcy, and had previously aired games as recently as the 2008 season, prior to the league's hiatus that resulted in the canceled 2009 season. [4]
With teams expanding, relocating and suspending operations, the AFL announced the divisional alignment for 2014 on October 29, 2013. The two conferences had an even number of teams, and were placed in two divisions. [5]
Conference | Division | Teams |
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American | East | Cleveland Gladiators, Iowa Barnstormers, Philadelphia Soul, Pittsburgh Power |
South | Jacksonville Sharks, New Orleans VooDoo, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm | |
National | Pacific | Portland Thunder, San Jose SaberCats, Spokane Shock |
West | Arizona Rattlers, Los Angeles Kiss, San Antonio Talons |
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Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining. [6]
Conference Semifinals | Conference Championship | ArenaBowl XXVII | ||||||||||||
1 | Cleveland | 39 | ||||||||||||
4 | Philadelphia | 37 | ||||||||||||
1 | Cleveland | 56 | ||||||||||||
American Conference | ||||||||||||||
2 | Orlando | 46 | ||||||||||||
2 | Orlando | 56 | ||||||||||||
3 | Pittsburgh | 48 | ||||||||||||
A1 | Cleveland | 32 | ||||||||||||
N1 | Arizona | 72 | ||||||||||||
1 | Arizona | 52 | ||||||||||||
4 | Portland | 48 | ||||||||||||
1 | Arizona | 72 | ||||||||||||
National Conference | ||||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 56 | ||||||||||||
2 | San Jose | 55 | ||||||||||||
3 | Spokane | 28 |
Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American | August 2 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Soul | 37–39 | Cleveland Gladiators | Quicken Loans Arena | [7] |
National | August 2 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock | 28–55 | San Jose SaberCats | SAP Center at San Jose | [8] |
American | August 3 | 2:00 p.m. EDT | Pittsburgh Power | 48–56 | Orlando Predators | CFE Arena | [9] |
National | August 3 | 6:00 p.m. EDT | Portland Thunder | 48–52 | Arizona Rattlers | US Airways Center | [10] |
Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American | August 10 | 3:00 p.m. EDT | Orlando Predators | 46–56 | Cleveland Gladiators | Quicken Loans Arena | [11] |
National | August 10 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | San Jose SaberCats | 56–72 | Arizona Rattlers | US Airways Center | [12] |
Date | Kickoff | Away | Score | Home | Game site | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 23 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Arizona Rattlers | 72–32 | Cleveland Gladiators | Quicken Loans Arena |
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The franchise was one of the original four that launched the Arena Football League for its inaugural season in 1987. The club was relocated to the Tampa Bay area for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December 2017.
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.
Larry Brackins is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at Pearl River Community College. Brackins was also a member of the New York Jets, New York Sentinels, Philadelphia Soul, Dallas Vigilantes, Orlando Predators and Cleveland Gladiators.
Daniel Aaron Southwick is an American professional football quarterback for the Billings Outlaws of the Arena Football League. He played college football for BYU, Oregon State, Dixie State, Utah, and Occidental. He has also been a member of the Louisville Fire of the af2; the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL); the Dallas Vigilantes, Tampa Bay Storm, San Jose SaberCats, San Antonio Talons, Chicago Rush, Cleveland Gladiators, Portland Thunder/Steel, Spokane Shock, Los Angeles Kiss, Orlando Predators, Philadelphia Soul, and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL); the Massachusetts Pirates, Jacksonville Sharks, Jersey Flight, Columbus Lions, and Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL); and the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF).
Nick Davila is an American former professional arena football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). A four-time ArenaBowl champion, and three-time MVP, he played for the Arizona Rattlers from 2010 to 2016 and the Washington Valor in 2018. He also played for the Spokane Shock of the af2 from 2008 to 2009. Davila is of Mexican American descent, and is nicknamed the "Latin Laser".
Derrick Edward Summers is a former American football defensive lineman. He played as a defensive end for the University of Toledo.
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 Los Angeles Kiss were a professional arena football team based in Anaheim, California, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Kiss joined the AFL as an expansion team after Los Angeles' previous franchise did not return as a part of Arena Football 1. The team's ownership was a group of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, members of rock band Kiss, as well as their manager Doc McGhee. The team played its home games at the Honda Center in nearby Anaheim, which they shared with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. The team was featured in the AMC series 4th and Loud.
The 2014 Los Angeles Kiss season was the franchise's first season in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was coached by Bob McMillen and played their home games at the Honda Center.
The 2014 Arizona Rattlers season was the 23rd season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, coming off their victory in ArenaBowl XXVI, which was their second consecutive ArenaBowl championship. The team was coached by Kevin Guy and played their home games at the US Airways Center.
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.
Jeremy Kellem is an American former professional football defensive back who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the New Orleans VooDoo and Arizona Rattlers, and in the United Football League (UFL) for the Omaha Nighthawks. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State University.
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.
The 2015 Las Vegas Outlaws season was the first and only season for the expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Aaron Garcia and played their home games at Thomas & Mack Center. The Outlaws finished their inaugural season 5–12–1, with the tie being a cancelled home game against the VooDoo. Though they qualified for the playoffs, the league announced on August 9 that the Outlaws would cease operations effective immediately, and would therefore not participate in the playoffs.
The 2015 Los Angeles Kiss season was the second season for the arena football franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Bob McMillen and played their home games at Honda Center. After a disappointing 0-9 start, the Kiss won four out of their last nine games, including a road upset of the Sabercats, who had entered the game 11-0. Despite the strong finish to improve to 4-14, the Kiss failed to make the playoffs.
The 2015 San Jose SaberCats season was the team's 19th in San Jose, California. The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at the SAP Center at San Jose. They finished first in the Pacific Division with a 17–1 regular season record and went on to defeat the Jacksonville Sharks 68–47 in ArenaBowl XXVIII.
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.
Thomas Gilson, Jr is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was a member of the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Cleveland Gladiators, Los Angeles Kiss, Portland Steel, Washington Valor, Cleveland Gladiators, and Jacksonville Sharks.
The 2017 Arena Football League season was the 30th season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to five teams. Due to this, for the first time since 1991, the league was not divided into conferences or divisions. The 14-game regular season began on April 7, 2017, when the two new teams, the Baltimore Brigade and the Washington Valor, faced off in the Verizon Center, and ended on August 5, 2017, when the Tampa Bay Storm lost against the Philadelphia Soul.