James Romain News Today

The plan was clear from the get go. The Jacksonville Sharks were going to attack, attack, and attack some more. They were never going to let the Philadelphia Soul dictate the American Conference Championship Game. And now, they're headed to ArenaBowl XXVIII.

The Soul bounced back very strongly after a disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Sharks last week, defeating the Portland Steel 70-32.

It was a rough first three weeks of the 2014 season for the Philadelphia Soul. After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Arizona Rattlers, a blowout loss to the San Jose SaberCats, and a loss to the Tampa Bay Storm, people began to get worried about the Soul. There still may be concerns, but the Soul returned to 2013 form with a 69-56 win over the Orlando Predators on Thursday night.

GLENDALE, AZ - I was wrong. I was absolutely dead wrong, and I didn't think the Philadelphia Soul had the horses to run with the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIX. I didn't think they had the mental toughness to overcome when things went wrong in the raucous Snake Pit. And I was wrong.

In 2012 the Philadelphia Soul went 15-3 in the regular season. This year the Soul are 0-3 just three games in to the 2014 season and are raising questions around the league.

The Philadelphia Soul defeated the Washington Valor 48-41 to formally punch their ticket to ArenaBowl 32 in Albany. The series was all but over last week when the Soul defeated the Valor 69-33 in game one.

ATLANTIC CITY - Boardwalk Hall has finally seen football again. For the first time since 2004, indoor football has returned to the historic arena with the Philadelphia Soul taking down the Las Vegas Outlaws 51-43. The inaugural Boardwalk Bowl was a huge success for the Philadelphia Soul, and the Arena Football League as a whole.

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't easy. But somehow someway, the Philadelphia Soul found a way to advance to their fourth ArenaBowl in team history defeating the Jacksonville Sharks 55-50.

The Philadelphia Soul are champions of Arena Football League for the second consecutive season. The game was close for three quarters, but the Soul turned up the defense with a safety and an interception in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 44-40 victory in ArenaBowl XXX.

All season long, the mantra for the Albany Empire has been,