2018 LFL US season

Last updated
2018 LFL United States
Duration14 April 2018 – 11 August 2018
Eastern Champions champions Chicago Bliss
Western Champions champions Austin Acoustic
Legends Cup
Date8 September 2018
Venue H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Champions Chicago Bliss
Seasons
←  2017 US
2019 US  →

The 2018 LFL US Season is the ninth season of the Legends Football League (LFL) in the United States. It began on 14 April 2018, and ended on 11 August. [1]

Contents

The Chicago Bliss beat the Austin Acoustic 28–20 in the Legends Cup to win their fourth title, finishing with a perfect 6–0 season.

Developments

In November 2017, it was announced that the Nashville Knights would join the LFL, and begin its inaugural season in the league for the 2018 season, with former Seattle Mist tight end Danika Brace named as the Knights’ head coach. [2] [3] [4] [5] The Pittsburgh Rebellion did not compete in the 2018 season while they conducted a search for a new home venue. They were expected to rejoin the LFL in 2019 but did not.

Nashville's recruitment also resulted in a rule change concerning free agency. Nashville recruited seven of the starters from defending champion Seattle, essentially transplanting the Mist's lineup to a new team nearly intact. This move prompted the league to institute a rule only allowing five free agents per team. As a result of this rule change, Nashville was forced to turn away two of their free agency recruits who returned to Seattle. Nashville courted further controversy when Seattle's former coach, who had retired in the off-season, reappeared as the offensive coordinator of the Knights.

The LFL partnered with Planet Sport to broadcast LFL games in eastern Europe. The partnership allows Planet Sport to broadcast LFL games and ancillary programming from July 2018 through August 2021. [6]

In January 2018, the LFL announced individual and/or group ownership of existing and future franchises beginning with the 2018 season, continuing to build out the LFL US league, while also developing planned strategies for the revivals of LFL Canada and LFL Australia, as well as to start a new European league in the future. [7]

The 2018 season also saw a major uniform change. The players' uniforms now featured leggings instead of shorts. While the league, players, and many fans saw this as a good change there was a vocal segment of the fan base, as well as a group of players, that objected to the leggings. As a result of the outcry, the LFL changed to shorts, consisting of the same patterns as the pants and 2-3 inches longer than the original bikini brief, for the remainder of the season.

Teams

Eastern Conference

TeamArenaLocation
Atlanta Steam Infinite Energy Arena Duluth, Georgia
Chicago Bliss Sears Centre Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Nashville Knights Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee
Omaha Heart Ralston Arena Ralston, Nebraska

Western Conference

TeamArenaLocation
Austin Acoustic H-E-B Center Cedar Park, Texas
Denver Dream Budweiser Events Center Loveland, Colorado
Los Angeles Temptation Citizens Business Bank Arena Ontario, California
Seattle Mist ShoWare Center Kent, Washington

Schedule

DateVisitorHomeVenueScore
Regular season
Saturday, April 14 Los Angeles Temptation Chicago Bliss Sears Centre Chicago 28
Los Angeles 6
Saturday, April 21 Austin Acoustic Nashville Knights Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville 51
Austin 26
Friday, April 27 Omaha Heart Denver Dream Budweiser Events Center Omaha 7
Denver 6
Saturday, May 5 Atlanta Steam Austin Acoustic H-E-B Center Austin 18
Atlanta 14
Friday, May 11 Chicago Bliss Los Angeles Temptation Citizens Business Bank Arena Chicago 34
Los Angeles 18
Saturday, May 19 Nashville Knights Seattle Mist ShoWare Center Nashville 43
Seattle 24
Saturday, June 9 Austin Acoustic Los Angeles Temptation Citizens Business Bank Arena Austin 16
Los Angeles 14
Saturday, June 16 Seattle Mist Atlanta Steam Infinite Energy Arena Atlanta 44
Seattle 42
Saturday, June 23 Denver Dream Nashville Knights Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville 94
Denver 20
Saturday, June 30 Los Angeles Temptation Denver Dream Budweiser Events Center Los Angeles 44
Denver 7
Friday, July 7 Nashville Knights Omaha Heart Ralston Arena Nashville 80
Omaha 0
Saturday, July 14 Chicago Bliss Atlanta Steam Infinite Energy Arena Chicago 52
Atlanta 34
Saturday, July 21 Seattle Mist Austin Acoustic H-E-B Center Seattle 41
Austin 26
Saturday, July 28 Atlanta Steam Seattle Mist ShoWare Center Atlanta 40
Seattle 18
Saturday, August 4 Denver Dream Omaha Heart Budweiser Events Center Omaha 26
Denver 21
Saturday, August 11 Omaha Heart Chicago Bliss Sears Centre Chicago 76
Omaha 0

    Playoffs

    DateVisitorHomeVenueCityScore
    Conference Championships
    Saturday, August 25 Los Angeles Temptation Austin Acoustic Toyota Park Bridgeview, Illinois Austin 32
    Los Angeles 30
    Saturday, August 25 Chicago Bliss Nashville Knights Toyota Park Bridgeview, Illinois Chicago 18
    Nashville 6
    Legends Cup
    Saturday, September 8 Austin Acoustic Chicago Bliss H-E-B Center Cedar Park, Texas Chicago 28
    Austin 20

    Standings

    Eastern Conference

    TeamWLPctPFPANet PtsTD'sHome RecordHome PctRoad RecordRoad PctGB
    x-Nashville Knights 401.00026870198422-01.0002-01.000-
    y-Chicago Bliss 401.00018758129292-01.0002-01.000
    Atlanta Steam 22.5001321275191-1.5001-1.5002
    Omaha Heart 22.50033183-15061-1.5001-1.500

    Western Conference

    TeamWLPctPFPANet PtsTD'sHome RecordHome PctRoad RecordRoad PctGB
    x-Austin Acoustic 22.50086108-22141-1.5001-1.500-
    y-Los Angeles Temptation 13.2508285-3130-2.0001-1.5001
    Seattle Mist 13.250125153-28190-2.0001-1.500
    Denver Dream 04.00054171-11790-2.0000-2.0002

    x - clinched conference title
    y - clinched playoff berth

    Playoffs

    Conference Championships were played on August 25, 2018 at Toyota Park in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The season concluded with the Legends Cup, played on September 8, 2018, at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas. [1]

    The Los Angeles Temptation were the first team in LFL history to qualify for the playoffs with a losing record but only if the 2016 Atlanta team is considered to have finished 2-2 courtesy of a New England forfeit instead of the 1-2-1 record that a lack of a contest would create.

    In their first playoff appearance, the Austin Acoustic defeated Los Angeles 32-30 to advance to their first Legends Cup. Hours later, the Chicago Bliss defeated the Nashville Knights 18-6 to secure their sixth trip to the Legends Cup.

    The Legends Cup featured Chicago as heavy favorites. The Bliss scored twice in the second quarter and led 12-0 at the half. Austin scored in the third quarter to cut the lead to 12-8 before Chicago added two more scores to extend their lead to 28-8. As the game wound down, Austin rallied with two touchdowns of their own leaving the final score 28-20. With the win, Chicago became the first team in the LFL to win forty games (a cumulative 40-10-1 record) and four championships (2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018). Chicago running back Javell Thompson, who scored three of the Bliss' four touchdowns, was named MVP of the Legends Cup.

    Conference Championships
    Saturday, August 25     		Legends Cup
    Saturday, September 8
          
    E1 Nashville 6
    E2 Chicago18
    Chicago28
    Austin 20
    W1 Austin32
    W2 Los Angeles 30

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    References

    1. 1 2 "LFL 2018 Schedule.pdf" Archived 2017-12-13 at the Wayback Machine . LFLUS.com. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
    2. ↑ Teague, Cass (November 17, 2017). "The Sporting Life: Nashville Knights LFL Edition". Nashville Pride. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
    3. ↑ "Historic Announcements as Nashville Knights Unveiled and First Ever Female Coach Hired" Archived 2018-01-15 at the Wayback Machine . LFL360.COM. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
    4. ↑ Lohuis, Liz (November 12, 2017). "Lingerie football league comes to Nashville". WSMV-TV. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
    5. ↑ "LFL Football Night, Week 2, Official Game Preview" [ permanent dead link ]. LFL360.com. April 20, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
    6. ↑ "Eastern Europe's Planet Sport Joins Growing Roster of LFL Worldwide Broadcasters" [ permanent dead link ]. LFL360.com. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
    7. ↑ "LFL Prepares to Bring on Team Ownership Groups in 2018, Growth into 33 US Markets" Archived 2018-01-07 at the Wayback Machine . LFL360.com. January 30, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.