The
Arena Football League was founded in
1987 as a springtime and wintertime
American football indoors league. Attendence at AFL games in 2002 averaged almost 10,000 people per game. The Arena Football League also maintains a minor league called
AF2.
For the 2003 season, the Arena Football made a deal with the NBC television network to televise league games. In conjunction with this, the league moved the beginning of the season from May to February (the week after the NFL's Super Bowl) and scheduled most of its games on Sunday instead of Friday or Saturday as it had in the past.
Arena football is similar to
American football, so only the important differences between its rules and those of the
National Football League will be articulated here. The rule differences are intended to make the game faster-paced and higher-scoring.
Arena football is played exclusively indoors. The field is 50 yards long with 8 yard end zones. There is a heavily padded wall on each sideline. The field goal uprights are 9 feet wide. Taut rebound nets on either side of the posts bounce any missed field goals back into the field of play.
Each team fields eight players from a 20-man active roster. Players must play both offense and defense except for the quarterback, kicker, an offensive specialist (who returns kicks on defense) and two defense specialists. Non-specialists may only substitute once per quarter.
Four offensive players must be on the line of scrimmage at the snap. One offensive player may be moving forward at the time of the snap. Three defensive players must be in a three- or four-point stance at the start of the snap. Two defenders serve as linebackers and may blitz from either side of the line but cannot drop back into coverage until the ball is thrown or the quarterback pump-fakes.
The ball is kicked off from the goal line. The team with the ball is given four downs to gain ten yards or score. Punting is illegal. A receiver jumping to catch a pass needs to get only one foot down in bounds for the catch to stand. Passes that bounce of the rebound nets remain live. Field goal attempts that bounce off the rebound nets may be returned by the defending team.
The scoring is the same as in the NFL with the addition of a drop kick field goal which is worth four points during normal play or two points as a post-touchdown conversion.
The clock stops for out of bounds plays or incomplete passes only in the last minute of each half or due to penalties, injuries or timeouts. Overtime periods last 15 minutes. Each team gets one possession to score. If, after each team has had one possession, one team is ahead, that team wins. If the teams are tied after each has had a possession, the next team to score wins.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
Buffalo Destroyers
Las Vegas Gladiators
New York Dragons
Detroit Fury
Southern Division
Carolina Cobras
Georgia Force
Orlando Predators
Tampa Bay Storm
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Western Division
Arizona Rattlers
Colorado Crush
Los Angeles Avengers
San Jose Sabercats
Central Division
Chicago Rush
Dallas Desperados
Grand Rapids Rampage
Indiana Firebirds
The Arena League's championship game is called the Arena Bowl. Previous results:
1987 -- Arena Bowl I -- Denver Dynamite def. Pittsburgh Gladiators 45-16
1988 -- Arena Bowl II -- Detroit Drive def. Chicago Bruisers 24-13
1989 -- Arena Bowl III -- Detroit Drive def. Pittsburgh Gladiators 39-26
1990 -- Arena Bowl IV -- Detroit Drive def. Dallas Texans 51-27
1991 -- Arena Bowl V -- Tampa Bay Storm def. Detroit Drive 48-42
1992 -- Arena Bowl VI -- Detroit Drive def. Orlando Predators 56-38
1993 -- Arena Bowl VII -- Tampa Bay Storm def. Detroit Drive 51-31
1994 -- Arena Bowl VIII -- Arizona Rattlers def. Orlando Predators 36-31
1995 -- Arena Bowl IX -- Tampa Bay Storm def. Orlando Predators 48-35
1996 -- Arena Bowl X -- Tampa Bay Storm def. Iowa Barnstormers 42-38
1997 -- Arena Bowl XI -- Arizona Rattlers def. Iowa Barnstormers 55-33
1998 -- Arena Bowl XII -- Orlando Predators def. Tampa Bay Storm 62-31
1999 -- Arena Bowl XIII -- Albany Firebirds def. Orlando Predators 59-48
2000 -- Arena Bowl XIV -- Orlando Predators def. Nashville Kats 41-38
2001 -- Arena Bowl XV -- Grand Rapids Rampage def. Nashville Kats 64-42
2002 -- Arena Bowl XVI -- San Jose Sabercats def. Arizona Rattlers 52-14
2003 -- Arena Bowl XVII -- Tampa Bay Storm def. Arizona Rattlers 43-29
