Indoor Football Weekly #31: Now or Never

Credit 1011Now.com

Well there are just two games left in Indoor Football this season. The 2017 IFL United Bowl between the Sioux Falls Storm and Arizona Rattlers. The other being the 2017 and inaugural NAL Championship Game between the Jacksonville Sharks and the Columbus Lions.

Credit: Indoor Football League

Just as with the IFL Playoffs preview Adam Lamprecht wrote up the 2017 IFL United Bowl Preview and here it is.

United Bowl XIII: Arizona Rattlers @ Sioux Falls Storm

It has finally come down to this. United Bowl XIII (Or United Bowl IX if you’re only counting the IFL United Bowls). Anyways, United Bowl 2017 features the top teams in each conference as the Intense Conference Champions the Arizona Rattlers travel north by northeast to the Midwest to face the defending Indoor Football League Champions and United Conference Champions, the Sioux Falls Storm. This is a rematch of the season opener between both teams. The Storm won that first encounter in the Denny Sanford Premier Center, 40-29.

It is a Clash of the Titans, as both teams are storied franchises. The Arizona Rattlers, est. 1992, may only have one year in the IFL under their belts, but they have a storied history in the Arena Football League, making it to 10 ArenaBowls, winning 5 of them, their first one being ArenaBowl VII in 1994 against the Orlando Predators, two years after their birth. Then three years later, they would win ArenaBowl IX against the Iowa Barnstormers. However, it would be a drought for them, as they would not win another championship until 2012, when they won ArenaBowl XXV against the Philadelphia Soul, which began their dynasty in the early 2010s, as they’d go on to win three straight ArenaBowls, 2012-2014. 

The Sioux Falls Storm, est. in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras (ironic given the United Bowl), is also a franchise that knows championships very well. In 2001, the first year they were known as the Storm, the team made the playoffs, losing to the Wyoming Cavalry in the semi-finals. The Storm have made the playoffs nearly every year in their existence, only missing the playoffs in 2000 (the only year as the Sioux Falls Cobras), 2002, and 2009 (the Infamous Insurance Violation Season). Prior to 2017, the Storm made the League Championship twelve times, winning it ten times. 

The Storm made the United Bowl after defeating the Iowa Barnstormers, 66-32, in the United Conference Championship, which historically started out with both teams running their first possession back for a touchdown on the kickoff. Otherwise, it was a game dominated by the Storm, surprising many people who thought this would be a close match-up.

The Rattlers made the United Bowl after defeating the Nebraska Danger, 62-36. Another game that the Rattlers dominated, which was also a surprise, as both contests in the regular season between these two teams were close matchups, with Arizona winning both, 39-36 and 43-33.

The United Bowl will be played from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, SD on Saturday July 8th at 5 PM CT.

Credit: National Arena League

Wrapping it all up is the 2017 National Arena League Championship between the Jacksonville Sharks and Columbus Lions. In terms of what these teams have done against each other Jacksonville has won both matchups between these two teams. In the first game Jax took a 40-20 lead by halftime before it got closer in the 2nd half with a final of 56-41. In game 2 it was more even with the Sharks holding a 21-20 before whipping it up in the 2nd half for a 37-28 win over the Lions.

Jacksonville is in their first year in a league outside the Arena Football League. The team started play in 2010 when the AFL was reborn. Over the Sharks 7 years in the AFL they made the playoffs 6 times, only missing it in 2014. The Sharks also won 4 consecutive division Championships from 2010-2013, 2 Conference Championships in 2011 and 2015, and finally a 2011 ArenaBowl victory.

The Lions have had a much different history, especially in terms of leagues. The Lions started play in 2007 in the WIFL. After the WIFL folded at the end of the season, they moved to the AIFA for 2008-09 and moved to the SIFL from 2010-11 before joining the PIFL for 4 seasons then back to the AIF in 2016 and to the new NAL for 2017. Columbus has also made the playoffs 9 times only missing the 2013 PIFL Playoffs. The Lions also won 3 Conference Championships (2009 in AIFA, 2011 in the SIFL, and 2016 in the AIF) and 3 League Championships with the 2010 SIFL, 2015 PIFL, and 2016 in the AIF.

Just like the clubs backgrounds, the road to the NAL Championship Game has been very different for each team. The Sharks by far have been the class of the NAL, winning 11 straight before losing the final regular season game 44-37 to the Monterrey Steel. The Sharks got revenge in the NAL Semi-Finals beating the Steel, in Jacksonville, 43-32.

On the other hand the Columbus Lions had a very different route. After 6 games the Lions were 3-3 and on the outside looking in. However the Lions came back strong in the second half of the season, winning 6 straight games including 2 complete beatdowns, the first of which was the only shutout in the CIF, IFL, or NAL as they beat the Wolfpack 77-0. The second game was an 81-12 thrashing of the Corpus Christi Rage. In the playoffs the Lions had to travel to Lehigh Valley to take on the hometown Steelhawks. After the Steelhawks took what was a seemingly insurmountable lead after 3 quarters, the Lions managed a HUGE comeback to take a 52-50 win to send them to the NAL Championship.
The Inaugural NAL Championship will be played on Monday July 10th at 6:30PM CT from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL.

Don't forget to Vote for Best of Arenas either on the website here or on Facebook as we are now in Quarter-Finals of the tournament. Keep the votes coming!!!