Soul Set to Reverse the Philly Curse
Adam Markowitz
Saturday July 26, 2008
William Penn founded what became known as the state of Pennsylvania in the late 1600s, and established the city of Philadelphia. His statue was erected on top of Philadelphia City Hall, and was supposed to remain the tallest building in the city. In 1987, that agreement was broken when One Liberty Place was built. The last time that the professional sports team of Philadelphia won a championship was in 1983 when the 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. As legend has it, the professional sports teams in the city became cursed the day that One Liberty Place towered over the tip of William Penn’s cap atop City Hall.
It’s worth noting that while the Eagles, 76ers, Flyers, and Phillies have had no championship success, the city does have championships from the Philadelphia Wings (National Lacrosse League), Philadelphia Barrage (Major League Lacrosse), and the Philadelphia KiXX (Major Indoor Soccer League) in recent memory.
None of these leagues have hit the spotlight like the Arena Football League has, and in front of a national audience on Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Soul have a chance to lift the Curse of William Penn by bringing the Foster Trophy to the City of Brotherly Love with a win over the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XXII.
Does the city believe in the curse? Who better to ask than Soul Team President Ron Jaworski? “Yeah, I think you’ve probably got some people that do. It’s been 25 years since the 76ers won the NBA Championship… It’s been 105 seasons of franchises that haven’t won a championship.”
Take a look at some of the tough times the city of Philadelphia has had to endure.
The Flyers have lost in the NHL Finals to both the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings since 1983. The Oilers of the ‘80s were dominant, capturing five Stanley Cups in that time, while the Red Wings have the third most Stanley Cups in NHL history.
The Phillies looked poised to take the 1993 World Series, but ran into the defending champion Toronto Blue Jays to derail their title hopes.
The 76ers had to face the team with the second most NBA titles ever in the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.
The Eagles faced the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2004. The Pats have gone on to become the dominant franchise of our current era in the NFL.
Does this sound familiar? On Sunday, the Soul will take the field against the defending ArenaBowl champions. Not only that, but the SaberCats are the only team in AFL history to be undefeated in multiple ArenaBowls (3-0) and are gunning to move into a tie for the second most championships with the Detroit Drive (4-2). Needless to say, the task won’t be easy. If history has anything to say about it, the Curse of William Penn will continue.
Curses notwithstanding, the Soul come into this matchup with an offense full of firepower. Quarterback Matt D’Orazio, the winning QB in ArenaBowl XX with the Chicago Rush, won the Champs Sports Quarterback of the Year honors, wide receiver Chris Jackson won the Offensive Player of the Year award, and both offensive linemen Phil Bogle and Martin Bibla were selected to the All-Arena First Team. The Soul put up 992 points, tops in the AFL and fourth most in league history.
The defense wasn’t shabby at all either, allowing the third fewest points in the league at 50.6 ppg. The squad has stepped up to another level in the postseason, holding teams to 41.5 ppg, tops in the AFL playoffs. Second team All-Arena defensive linemen Bryan Save and Gabe Nyenhuis anchor the front line. Nyenhuis set a franchise record this year with 9.5 sacks. Defensive back Eddie Moten had another stellar season for the Soul, notching six interceptions.
When you’re talking about special teams, the name Mike Brown absolutely is the first that comes to mind. Not only did Brown rack up 1,105 kick return yards and three scores on the year, but he provided the highlight of the playoffs, hurdling Cleveland kicker Jason Ball on a return which put an exclamation point on Philadelphia’s 70-35 victory in the National Conference title game.
Kicker Connor Hughes was named to the All-Rookie team.
Numbers and awards are all fine and good, but if the Soul lose ArenaBowl XXII, one must look no farther than their lack of ArenaBowl experience. The San Jose dynasty has been built on consistency, and the players that will take the field on Sunday for the SaberCats have combined for 24 ArenaBowl appearances. No one in a SaberCats uniform has ever lost an ArenaBowl.
You can look up and down the roster as hard as you want for the Soul, but you’ll only find two ArenaBowl appearances on the entire team. D’Orazio won ArenaBowl XX with the Chicago Rush, throwing for 250 yards and six touchdowns. Jackson played for the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX. He had seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. That’s it. The coaching staff, however, has a much different perspective on the magnitude of the game.
Offensive Coordinator Connell Maynor won ArenaBowl X as a backup quarterback with the Tampa Bay Storm, then won ArenaBowl XII against the Storm as a backup for the Orlando Predators. After losing as the starting quarterback for the Preds in ArenaBowl XIII, he threw for four scores and was named MVP in Orlando’s 41-38 victory over the Nashville Kats in ArenaBowl XIV.
Another ex-Predator, Assistant Head Coach Jerry Odom played in ArenaBowls VI, VIII, and IX, and though he didn’t play that particular day, was a member of the Orlando side that won ArenaBowl XII.
The theme of ArenaBowl experience was on everyone’s mind at Media Day. When asked what he would tell the locker room, D’Orazio said, “I would just tell them to relax, enjoy the experience, and have as much fun as possible. It’s not someone everyone gets a chance to experience.” He continued, “There’s probably a little element of intimidation as far as their championships go.”
The route to the championship for Coach Munsey took a bit of a turn when his wife, Yvette gave birth to their first child, Graden on Thursday afternoon. He promptly flew back to Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, and rejoined the team late last night.
When asked whether his absence from the team would make a difference, Munsey replied, “I sure hope not. I think when you have a team like I’ve got and a staff like I’ve got, if one guy disappears, they know what to expect and they’ll go back to business. They’re focused and ready to play.”
With everyone settled, the only thing left for Philadelphia is to go out there and beat the SaberCats.
Chris Jackson summed it up the best. “In order for us to be the champs, we’ve got the beat the champs.”
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
