ArenaBowl XXVII By the Numbers
Adam Markowitz
Tuesday August 12, 2014
For the 27th time, the Foster Trophy will be handed out a week from Saturday, and it will be handed to either the two-time defending champion Arizona Rattlers or the up and coming Cleveland Gladiators. The game is being billed as "Dynasty vs. Destiny," and it could end up being one of the classic games in the history of this league. Take a look at some of the key numbers that you'll want to remember as we start our coverage of ArenaBowl XXVII.
0: The number of times that the Gladiators had even made it to ArenaBowl. This is the first time that the city of Cleveland has hosted a championship game of any kind since the Cavaliers were in the NBA Finals the first time LeBron James was in town, and it's the first time that the Mecca of Arena Football will head to the home of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.
1: The number representing the seed of both Cleveland and Arizona. That's notable due to the fact that there have only been a pair of #1 seeds meet in the ArenaBowl twice since the league switched the format of its playoffs to conference champions playing against each other. In both instances, the American Conference winners ended up winning the ArenaBowl. The Colorado Crush beat the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX, while the Jacksonville Sharks beat the Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIV.
2: The number of ArenaBowl games that the entire roster of the Gladiators has played in. FB Jason Jones played for the Philadelphia Soul in the ArenaBowl last season, but no one else on the roster has ever been here before. Head Coach Steve Thonn played in ArenaBowl II with the Chicago Bruisers, and he was an assistant coach with the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX. Assistant Coach Ron Selesky was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XII. What do all of those have in common? In all four instances, the men associated with the Gladiators lost in the championship game. The one winner of the bunch? LaRoche Jackson, who won a title with the Jacksonville Sharks against these Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIV. (See Also: 45)
2: The number of coaches in league history to win more than two ArenaBowls. Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy is amongst the four men who have coached teams to two titles, but he has a long way to go to coach Tim Marcum, who has seven championships under his belt. With a win next Saturday, Guy would join the man who he just knocked out of the playoffs last week, Darren Arbet with three titles, second most in league history to Marcum.
2: The number of weeks between the conference championship games and the ArenaBowl. The last time that happened in the AFL was in 2008, and that year, the Philadelphia Soul beat the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XXIII. Commissioner C. David Baker also announced that week that he was resigning his post as the commissioner of the league.
2: The number of times that WR Chris Jackson has won the Offensive Player of the Game in the ArenaBowl. He did so in a losing effort in ArenaBowl XXIV for Arizona, and he did it in a winning effort for th Philadelphia Soul in ArenaBowl XXII. Jackson one of two men who won this award twice as well. Mark Grieb did so for the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XVIII and ArenaBowl XXI.
3: The number of times that the ArenaBowl ended on the last play of the game. Much has been made about the fact that the Gladiators have won six games on the final play this year, and if they pull it off, they will be the fourth team ever to win the ArenaBowl on a scoring play on the last play of the game. Most recently, Aaron Garcia won the ArenaBowl on the final play of the game against these Rattlers in the desert in ArenaBowl XXIV. Clay Rush kicked the Colorado Crush to the championship in Vegas in ArenaBowl XIX, while David Cool won ArenaBowl XIV for the Orlando Predators over the Nashville Kats with zeroes on the clock.
3: The number of consecutive championships the Rattlers are seeking next Saturday. If they pull it off, they will be the second team in AFL history to do so. The Detroit Drive won ArenaBowls II, III, and IV.
3: The number of touchdowns that WR Maurice Purify would need in this ArenaBowl to catch the famed George LaFrance for the most touchdowns in a career in the ArenaBowl. Purify is 20 points behind LaFrance (74) for the most points scored in a career in league history, and he has a few illustrious names to pass along the way. Barry Wagner scored 56 points in the ArenaBowl in his career, while Stevie Thomas scored 66. Purify broke the record for the most touchdowns scored in an ArenaBowl two years ago when he scored seven times against the Philadelphia Soul.
3: The number of times that a quarterback has won an ArenaBowl since ArenaBowl XI that started the season on the bench. Donnie Davis is probably the most notable man to ever come into a game due to injury and start an ArenaBowl, as he did so after Sherdrick Bonner was injured for the Rattlers. Davis beat the Iowa Barnstormers in ArenaBowl XI. The Rattlers were also on the wrong side of a backup quarterback beating when John Dutton took them down for the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XVI. Most also forget that Matt D'Orazio didn't start off the season for the Philadelphia Soul in 2008. It was actually Tony Graziani who started that season off for Philly. D'Orazio though, got the start and the win for the Soul in ArenaBowl XXII. QB Shane Austin can be the next to add his name to this list, knowing that he took over this team after replacing QB Chris Dieker, who started out the season.
4: The number of consecutive ArenaBowls that the Rattlers have played in. They have become just the second team in Arena Football League history to play in four straight championship games. They still have a ways to go to get to the record, though. The Detroit Drive played in ArenaBowl II through ArenaBowl VII, going 4-2 in those games. Detroit is also the only team to win the ArenaBowl three straight times, doing so in ArenaBowls II, III, and IV.
4: The number of consecutive ArenaBowl appearances for Head Coach Kevin Guy. Guy is the first coach in league history to lead a team to four straight ArenaBowls. The only man even close? Tim Marcum, who coached his teams to ArenaBowl I (Denver Dynamite), II, III, V, VI, and VII (Detroit Drive). Six times in seven years is impressive, but Guy is the only man to pull off the feat of four straight.
5: The number of consecutive years that a wide receiver has won the Offensive Player of the Game honors in the ArenaBowl. Arizona receivers have won the honor three times. Rod Windsor won it in ArenaBowl XXVI, Maurice Purify did so in ArenaBowl XXV, and Chris Jackson did it in ArenaBowl XXIV. The last quarterback to win Offensive Player of the Game in the ArenaBowl was Mark Grieb, who won both MVP and Offensive Player of the Game for his efforts in ArenaBowl XXI.
9: The number of ArenaBowl appearances for the Rattlers as a franchise. They haven't had the best luck in these games in their history, as they are 4-4 so far in ArenaBowls. They were the winners in ArenaBowl VIII, XI, XXV, and XXVI, and they were the losers in ArenaBowl XVI, XVII, XVIII, and XXIV. This ties the record with the Pittsburgh Gladiators/Tampa Bay Storm franchise which has played in nine ArenaBowls, and it also surpasses Tampa Bay for the most ArenaBowl appearances by a city in the ArenaBowl. The good news for Arizona? A win and it will join the Storm/Gladiators for the most ArenaBowl titles in league history with five. The bad news? A loss and it will join the Orlando Predators for the most losses in the ArenaBowl by a franchise in league history with five.
11: The number of times a team has won the ArenaBowl on its home field. That's not quite as many as you probably would have thought or hoped for if you're a fan of seeing teams celebrate championships on their home field. Road teams have eight wins in the 19 games, though most of those nine wins came way back in the day of the very early ArenaBowls. The last road team to win an ArenaBowl was the Jacksonville Sharks, who beat the Rattlers at the US Airways Center in ArenaBowl XXIV.
11: The number representing the last time the ArenaBowl was seen on ESPN. It doesn't feel like it, but the last time the league's championship game was on the Mothership came in ArenaBowl XI back in 1997. The Rattlers were a part of it then, as they beat the Iowa Barnstormers. This is the ninth time that the ArenaBowl will be seen on ESPN all-time, a record. ABC is the next closest with seven showings of the ArenaBowl.
14: The number of pass completions that QB Nick Davila has to have to have the most pass completions in a career in ArenaBowl history. The "Latin Laser" is chasing down another of the greats in Arizona history, Sherdrick Bonner, who had 81 pass completions in his storied career in ArenaBowls.
19: The number of wins that the Gladiators have amassed here in 2014. That's the most victories that any team has ever had in one season in AFL history, and the team's .950 winning percentage is easily the best in league history as well. Interestingly enough, even a loss in the ArenaBowl would leave Cleveland with a .905 winning percentage, and that would be the best total season winning percentage since 2002 when the San Jose SaberCats went 13-1 in the regular season and won the ArenaBowl.
23: The number of touchdown passes that QB Nick Davila has in his three ArenaBowl appearances. To put that in comparison, he already has more TD tosses than any man in league history in the ArenaBowl, and he will have a massive distance on Mark Grieb when this one is said and done with. Grieb threw 20 TDs in his ArenaBowl appearances. 23 is a great number, but the more important number here might be 2. That's the number of INTs that Davila has thrown in three ArenaBowl appearances. Davila's nine TD passes in ArenaBowl XXV tied the record for the most touchdown passes ever in an ArenaBowl, joining Kyle Rowley, who threw nine as well against the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XXIII.
45: The number of ArenaBowl games that the entire roster of the Rattlers has been a part of. (This includes Craig Ratanamorn, who played one game for the 2012 Rattlers but wasn't on the playoff roster.) Heck, seven of the players on Arizona's roster have been playing for the team long enough to be in all three consecutive ArenaBowls. Of the 45 championship game appearances, these Arizona players have 31 championship rings between them. That doesn't even include the three ArenaBowl appearances and two championships for Assistant Coach Kani Kauahi or the ArenaBowl that Head Coach Kevin Guy played in with the Orlando Predators or the one that he won as a Defensive Coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats or the three that he coached the Rattlers to and their two titles.
57: The number of passing yards that QB Nick Davila has to have to have the most passing yards in a career in the ArenaBowl. It's amazing to think that Davila already has 919 total passing yards in the ArenaBowl in his career, and he is going to become the first man to throw for at least 1,000 yards in the ArenaBowl in his career this year against Cleveland.
73: The number of points that the Jacksonville Sharks scored against these Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIV. That's still the record to this day for points scored in the ArenaBowl, though Arizona does have the second and third highest marks ever for a championship game. The first of those, the 72 scored in ArenaBowl XXV, was good enough to beat the Philadelphia Soul. The other of those, the 70 scored in ArenaBowl XXIV, wasn't enough to handle Jacksonville.
