ArenaBowl XXXI

Last updated
ArenaBowl XXXI
1234Total
WSH728211369
BAL713142155
DateJuly 28, 2018
Arena Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
MVP Arvell Nelson, Washington
Attendance8,183
Winning coach Benji McDowell
Losing coach Omarr Smith
TV in the United States
Network CBS Sports Network
Announcers Brent Stover, Sherdrick Bonner and Ari Wolfe

ArenaBowl XXXI was the championship game of the 2018 Arena Football League season. [1] The game was broadcast on CBS Sports Network, AFLNow and Twitter. It featured the fourth-seeded Washington Valor and the second-seeded Baltimore Brigade at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. It was the first ArenaBowl championship for both teams as they were expansion teams in the previous season. Both teams were owned by Ted Leonsis, giving him his second league championship in six weeks following his Washington Capitals team's victory in the NHL's 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The title sponsor for the game was Bud Light.

Contents

The paid attendance was 8,183, the smallest in ArenaBowl history.

2018 playoffs

All four AFL teams qualified for the 2018 playoffs. The playoffs consisted of a two-game home-and-home semifinal series with the winners determined by aggregate score. With one week remaining in the 2018 regular season and a then three-way tie for first, the league announced the ArenaBowl would be hosted by the semifinal winner with the higher average attendance through the season instead of using any tiebreakers or home field advantage based on records. [2]

The #2 seeded Baltimore Brigade defeated the #3 seeded Philadelphia Soul by a combined score of 110–86 with Baltimore winning both games, 57–45 in the first and game two with 54–41. The fourth-seeded Washington Valor upset the top-seeded Albany Empire by a combined score of 103–97, where Albany won game one 57–56 in overtime and game two was won by Washington 47–40.

Once the semifinals were completed, contrary to the previous league statement on the host team, the higher-seeded Baltimore Brigade, not the higher-attended Washington Valor, hosted ArenaBowl XXXI at Royal Farms Arena. The Valor's home field, Capital One Arena, had already scheduled summer renovations to begin at that time. [3] The Washington Valor upset the Baltimore Brigade by a final score of 69–55. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arena Football League</span> Professional American arena football league

The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Rattlers</span> Arena football team

The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and were the third oldest active franchise in the AFL until their departure in 2016. They play their home games at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. They previously played at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Rush</span> Arena football team

The Chicago Rush are a professional arena football team based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2001, the team qualified for the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons and won one AFL championship, ArenaBowl XX in 2006. During their history, the Rush won five divisional titles and competed in the AFL Conference Championship six times, including four consecutive appearances from 2004 to 2007. They also had the largest market in the AFL. The team was intended to become members of the third incarnation of the Arena Football League, but due to their collapse and their eight surviving teams jumping to the new Arena Football One, the Rush's membership is on hold. They are the second incarnation of the Chicago Rush team to play Area football. The original team played at the Allstate Arena from 2001 to 2013. They were a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the AFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa Barnstormers</span> Arena football team

The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khreem Smith</span> Jamaican gridiron football player (born 1979)

Khreem Smith is a former gridiron football defensive lineman. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Oklahoma State.

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl XXIV</span> Annual league championship game

ArenaBowl XXIV was the 24th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League (AFL). The American Conference champion, Jacksonville Sharks, defeated the National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, 73–70. It was played on August 12, 2011. The game was hosted at the site of the highest remaining seed throughout the playoffs, which was US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Rattlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Rowley</span> American football player (born 1979)

Kyle Rowley is an American former arena football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) and the af2. He played college football at Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl XXV</span> Annual league championship game

ArenaBowl XXV was the 25th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion, Philadelphia Soul, 72–54. The game was played on August 10, 2012. It was the first ArenaBowl at a neutral site since ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, also played in New Orleans. ArenaBowl XXV was played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans VooDoo.

CBS Arena Football is a TV program from CBS Sports that broadcast Arena Football League games from 2013 to 2018. As part of a two-year agreement, the CBS Sports Network aired nineteen regular season games and two playoff games. When CBS aired ArenaBowl XXVI, it marked the first time since 2008 that the league's finale aired on network television.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Valor</span> Arena football team

The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Brigade</span> Arena football team

The Baltimore Brigade was a professional arena football team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Royal Farms Arena. The franchise was owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment. After the 2019 season, the entire league ceased operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Arena Football League season</span> Sports season

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.

The 2018 Arena Football League season was the 31st season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted from five to four teams with one team folding, one going on hiatus, and one added expansion team. The 12-game regular season began on April 13 and ended on July 7.

The 2018 Washington Valor season was the second season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Valor play at the Capital One Arena. The team finished fourth at the end of the regular season. After losing the first game of their semifinal series against the Albany Empire, the Valor won the second game and advanced to ArenaBowl XXXI by virtue of aggregate score. The Valor would go on to win the Arena Bowl by defeating the Baltimore Brigade 69–55.

Benjamin McDowell is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Washington Valor of the Arena Football League (AFL).

The 2019 Arena Football League season was the 32nd season and final in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL) before filing for bankruptcy. Prior to the start of the season, the league expanded from four to six teams with two added expansion teams. The 12-game regular season began on April 26 and ended on July 21.

ArenaBowl XXXII was the 32nd and most recent ArenaBowl and the championship game of the 2019 Arena Football League season. The game took place on August 11, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. It featured the winners of the two semifinals, the No. 1 seed Albany Empire and the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Soul.

This article documents the year 2013 in American football.

References

  1. "ArenaBowl XXXI Matchup Set: Baltimore Brigade to Host Washington Valor". arenafootball.com. AFL. July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  2. "Three Teams Enter the Final Weekend Tied for First". arenafootball.com. AFL. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  3. Zielonka, Adam (July 22, 2018). "Washington Valor, Baltimore Brigade to meet in ArenaBowl XXXI". The Washington Times . Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  4. Fominykh, Katherine (July 28, 2018). "Valor outrun, outsmart Brigade to claim first ArenaBowl title, 69-55". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved July 29, 2018.