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All season long, Head Coach Kevin Guy has been saying to his Arizona Rattlers that his guys aren't playing for hats and jerseys this year. They're playing for a championship. Now, the Rattlers have a chance to go to back-to-back ArenaBowls if they can beat the Utah Blaze on Saturday night.
One started in Finland and stopped in Cincinnati, Louisville, and Kansas City. The other spent time in South Carolina, Columbus, Wilkes-Barre, Manchester, and Arkansas. However, on Friday night, both Tampa Bay Storm QB Brett Dietz and Spokane Shock QB Kyle Rowley will take to the field for ArenaBowl XXIII.
If the War on I-4 between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators was the rivalry of the AFL prior to 2008, the rivalry between the Preds and the Jacksonville Sharks has become the new hottest thing in the league. One of these two teams has represented the Southern Division and the state of Florida in the American Conference Championship Game since 2010, and that will hold true once again this season.
The Utah Blaze have, historically speaking, always been mediocre. Their best winning percentage has been 0.500, which they've achieved twice. Last year, they won the most victories in a season (9) but that could be attributed to the fact that they played more games then they have other seasons (18).
What a wild week of Arena Football action we had in Week 7! Two major underdogs (Orlando and Iowa) found ways to win their games and win them outright by huge numbers, while several teams were left trying to pick up the pieces from a disappointing and unexpected effort.