The 2013 Arena Football League season was the 26th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 23, 2013, with a five-game slate, the first of which to kick off being between the Utah Blaze and the Pittsburgh Power, and ended on July 27, 2013, with the Utah Blaze and Cleveland Gladiators as the last game to kick off.[1][2] The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 48–39 score in ArenaBowl XXVI to conclude the league's playoffs.[3]
| 2013 Arena Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Arena Football League |
| Sport | Arena football |
| Duration | March 23, 2013 – August 17, 2013 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Arizona Rattlers |
| Season MVP | Erik Meyer, SPO |
| AFL Playoffs | |
| American Conference champions | Philadelphia Soul |
| American Conference runners-up | Jacksonville Sharks |
| National Conference champions | Arizona Rattlers |
| National Conference runners-up | Spokane Shock |
| ArenaBowl XXVI | |
| Champions | Arizona Rattlers |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Soul |
| Finals MVP | Rod Windsor, ARZ |
Gladiators
Power
Soul
Predators
Sharks
Storm
VooDoo
Barnstormers
Rush
Talons
Blaze
Rattlers
SaberCats
Shock
League business
editTeams
editThe league dropped to 14 teams during the offseason. The Kansas City Command ceased operations on August 23, 2012,[4] as well as the Georgia Force on October 14, 2012.[5] The Milwaukee Mustangs suspended operations for 2013, eyeing a return to play in the 2014 season.[6]
Television
editIt was announced on November 13, 2012, that the league had reached an agreement with CBS Sports Network to air 19 regular-season games, as well as two playoff games. The network was scheduled to air the league's "game of the week" each Saturday. The main CBS network was to televise ArenaBowl XXVI on August 17, 2013.[3]
Regular season standings
edit| American Conference | |||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Philadelphia Soul | 12 | 6 | .667 | 1052 | 839 | 2–2 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 7–2 |
| Cleveland Gladiators[a] | 4 | 14 | .222 | 847 | 1047 | 2–2 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 1–8 |
| Pittsburgh Power | 4 | 14 | .222 | 726 | 1014 | 2–2 | 4–8 | 1–8 | 3–6 |
| South Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (1) Jacksonville Sharks[b] | 12 | 6 | .667 | 941 | 883 | 6–0 | 11–0 | 6–3 | 6–3 |
| (3) Orlando Predators[c] | 7 | 11 | .389 | 965 | 1032 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 |
| (4) Tampa Bay Storm | 7 | 11 | .389 | 959 | 980 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 2–7 | 5–4 |
| New Orleans VooDoo | 5 | 13 | .278 | 833 | 1069 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–6 | 2–7 |
| National Conference | |||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (2) Chicago Rush[d] | 10 | 8 | .556 | 973 | 947 | 2–2 | 5–5 | 3–5 | 7–3 |
| San Antonio Talons | 10 | 8 | .556 | 782 | 884 | 2–2 | 3–8 | 4–5 | 6–3 |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 6 | 12 | .333 | 827 | 913 | 2–2 | 3–7 | 2–7 | 4–5 |
| West Division | |||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away |
| (1) Arizona Rattlers | 15 | 3 | .833 | 1203 | 866 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 8–1 | 7–2 |
| (3) Spokane Shock | 14 | 4 | .778 | 1198 | 896 | 4–2 | 8–2 | 7–2 | 7–2 |
| (4) San Jose SaberCats | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1033 | 877 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 5–3 |
| Utah Blaze | 7 | 11 | .389 | 896 | 988 | 1–5 | 3–8 | 4–5 | 3–6 |
Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining.[7]
Key: Conference and division champion • Division champion • Clinched playoff berth
Tie-breakers
edit- a Cleveland finished in second place in the East Division based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Pittsburgh.
- b Jacksonville clinched the American Conference's No. 1 seed based on their win over Philadelphia.
- c Orlando clinched the American Conference's No. 3 seed based on a greater conference record than Tampa Bay.
- d Chicago clinched the Central Division based on their greater point differential in games against common opponents with San Antonio.
Playoffs
edit| Conference Semifinals | Conference Championship | ArenaBowl XXVI | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tampa Bay | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 59 | ||||||||||||
| American Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Orlando | 55 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Philadelphia | 39 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Arizona | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | San Jose | 49 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 65 | ||||||||||||
| National Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Spokane | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Spokane | 69 | ||||||||||||
- Note: Due to "arena conflicts," the Chicago Rush did not host the playoff game.[8]
Conference semifinals
edit| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | August 1 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | Chicago Rush | Spokane Shock | Spokane, 67–49 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | [9] |
| American | August 3 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, 69–62 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena | [10] |
| American | August 3 | 7:05 p.m. EDT | Orlando Predators | Philadelphia Soul | Philadelphia, 59–55 | Wells Fargo Center | [11] |
| National | August 4 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | San Jose SaberCats | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 59–49 | US Airways Center | [12] |
Conference championships
edit| Conference | Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | August 10 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Soul | Jacksonville Sharks | Philadelphia, 75–59 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena | [13] |
| National | August 10 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 65–57 | US Airways Center | [14] |
ArenaBowl XXVI
edit| Date | Kickoff | Away | Home | Final score | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 17 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Soul | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 48–39 | Amway Center | [15] |
All-Arena team
editReferences
edit- ^ "AFL Announces 2013 Schedule". Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ^ "2013 AFL Schedule" (PDF). Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ a b "AFL, CBS Sports Network Sign Two-Year TV Agreement". Arena Football League. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Kansas City Command bows out; new team forms in new league – Kansas City Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. August 23, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Force Fold". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. October 14, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Milwaukee's AFL franchise announces that it will go dormant for the 2013 season". Milwaukee Mustangs. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ "Playoff Qualification, Selection of Teams". Arenafootball.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ "Week 19 AFL Playoff Scenarios (Updated 7/26, 4:15 PM)". Arenafan.com. July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ "Shock hold off the Rush in 69-47 win". Spokane Shock. Arenafan.com. August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "Sharks Cap Incredible Comeback with 69-62 Win Over Storm". Jacksonville Sharks. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "Soul defeat Predators to advance, 59-55". Philadelphia Soul. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "SaberCats Fall 59-49 to Rattlers in Close One in the Desert". San Jose SaberCats. Arenafan.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "Sharks Fall to Soul in Conference Championship, 75-59". Jacksonville Sharks. Arenafan.com. August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ "Shock fall to the defending champs 65-57". Spokane Shock. Arenafan.com. August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ Jeff Sims (August 17, 2013). "Rattlers Repeat as ArenaBowl Champs". Arenafan.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.