The Chicago Rush are a professional arena football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Arena Football League. They are the second Chicago Rush team to play in the league. 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. 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 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.
Aaron Garcia is a former professional American football quarterback who played 19 seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL), from 1995 to 2014. He played college football at Washington State University before transferring to California State University, Sacramento. After retiring from the AFL, Garcia was named the head coach of the Las Vegas Outlaws in September 2014, and was formally introduced as the head coach of the Outlaws on October 11, 2014. Garcia is married to Bryn Garcia and has five children, Gigi, Bella, Anthony, Christian, and Jaxon.
John Dutton is a former Arena Football League (AFL) quarterback. He was drafted out of University of Nevada, Reno in the 6th round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. In 2005, he led the Crush to the ArenaBowl XIX title. In 2006, he was on the cover of the EA Sports first AFL video game, Arena Football, making him the first player to pose for the cover. He had been the backup quarterback for the San Jose SaberCats behind Mark Grieb. After Grieb's suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the year, Dutton quarterbacked the SaberCats to a 52–14 victory over the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI. He was named Offensive Player of the Game for his performance. In June 2009, Dutton was signed by the RiverCity Rage of the Indoor Football League (IFL). On February 12, 2010, it was announced that Dutton had been signed by the Cleveland Gladiators.
Darren Arbet is a former Arena Football League (AFL) head coach for the San Jose SaberCats and current general manager and head coach for the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He has a career record of 169–73, including four titles, ArenaBowl XVI, ArenaBowl XVIII, ArenaBowl XXI, and ArenaBowl XXVIII.
The Pacific Division, formerly the Central Division, was a division in the Arena Football League. The division was part of both the American and National Conferences at different points in its history. The division was first formed in 1995 when expansion teams were formed and put into the current divisions.
Robert James McMillen, Jr. is a former arena football fullback/linebacker and head coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Los Angeles Kiss of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played his college football at Illinois-Benedictine, and was an AFL fullback/linebacker from 1995 to 2007. He began coaching the sport in 2010, first serving as an assistant for the Chicago Slaughter in 2010, as an assistant with the Rush in 2011, before being named head coach of the Rush in 2011. In 2013, McMillen was elected into the Arena Football Hall of Fame.
Rodney Bernard Wright, Jr. is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. He is the father of both college wideouts Rodney Wright III and Jalen McMillan (Washington)
Omarr Ali Hasan Smith is a former American football defensive back who was most recently the head coach of the Baltimore Brigade of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played professionally for the San Jose SaberCats of the AFL, and played college football at San Jose State.
Clevan Nathaniel Thomas is a former American football cornerback. Along with Kenny McEntyre, he is regarded as one of the top defensive backs in Arena Football history. He spent ten of his seasons in the AFL with the SaberCats; over this span, he won four ArenaBowl championships and three Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards. In 2012, Thomas was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
Gabriel 'Gabe' Nyenhuis is a former professional gridiron football defensive lineman. His nickname at the San Jose SaberCats according to some fans is Hunger Games, as he is seen reading the books during practice. He was named AFL Defensive Player of the Year as well as Lineman of the Year in 2010. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 2004. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes.
The 2011 Kansas City Command season was the fourth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and the first under their new team name, having previously been known as the Kansas City Brigade. The team was coached by Danton Barto and played their home games at Sprint Center. This is the first season for the Command since 2008, after the league went on hiatus in 2009 and the franchise was not active in 2010. The Command finished the season 6–12, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
The 2011 San Jose SaberCats season was the 15th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Darren Arbet and played their home games at HP Pavilion at San Jose. This was the first season for the SaberCats since 2008, after the league went on hiatus in 2009 and the franchise wasn't active in 2010.
Jerry Jerome Brown Jr. was an American football linebacker who played for five teams in the National Football League, Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. In college, he played on the defensive line for the University of Illinois. In his professional career, he was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, the Jacksonville Sharks and San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League and the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed as a free agent by the Jacksonville Sharks in 2011; in the team's ArenaBowl XXIV victory, he had one tackle assist, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
David Hyland is a former arena football defensive back.
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.
Wendell Davis is former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He served as the head coach of the San Angelo Bandits and the Texas Revolution of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF). He played college football at the University of Oklahoma.
Robert Bees is a former American football quarterback who played two seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Oklahoma Wranglers, San Jose SaberCats and Buffalo Destroyers. He played college football at Rocky Mountain. He was also a member of the Richmond Speed, Billings Outlaws/Mavericks, Las Vegas Gladiators and Tulsa Talons.
Damien Borel is a former American football defensive lineman. He attended Woodland High School and Butte College. In 2012, while at Butte, he tallied 69 tackles and 19 sacks. Borel's 19 sacks led all California Community College Athletic Association players in 2012.
Jeff Jarnigan is an assistant general manager and coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
