AFL Super Bowl connections
Published on January 23, 2007 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
WHO'S NEXT? After winning its first 12 contests, the 2002 San Jose SaberCats, under the direction of Head Coach DARREN ARBET, capped its season with the largest margin of victory in ArenaBowl history, running off 45 unanswered points in a 52-14 win over the Arizona Rattlers. The ArenaBowl XVI win made Arbet the first African-American head coach to win a professional football championship. Two seasons later, Arbet and the 'Cats claimed their second League Championship with a 69-62 victory over the Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVIII.
When LOVIE SMITH and TONY DUNGY face off in Super Bowl XLI, one will have the distinction of being the first African-American head coach to win the Super Bowl.
"Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy are two quality men and excellent football coaches. They both deserve what they earned this season. They are both motivators and teachers and enjoy the game," Arbet said. "Minority coaches are more prevalent in all sports today, so this was going to happen eventually. I think the media is making a bigger issue out of this than the coaches themselves. Lovie and Tony are just quality football coaches who happen to be African-American."
CHAMPIONSHIP CITY: The city of Chicago can join Tampa as the only cities to hold both professional football titles at the same time - the AFL's ArenaBowl and NFL's Super Bowl - with a Bears win on February 4.
The Chicago Rush claimed its first AFL Championship on June 11, 2006 defeating the Orlando Predators, 69-61, in ArenaBowl XX in Las Vegas.
The Tampa Bay Storm won ArenaBowl XVII, 43-29, over the Arizona Rattlers in 2003, the same year the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII.
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM: Chicago Bears WR RASHIED DAVIS has the opportunity to become only the third player in professional football history to win both an ArenaBowl and a Super Bowl.
Davis helped the San Jose SaberCats claim their second ArenaBowl title in three years by breaking up a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the end zone of ArenaBowl XVIII in 2004. The 'Cats defeated the Rattlers 69-62.
Only FRED COLEMAN and LINCOLN COLEMAN share the distinction of owning championship rings as players from both leagues. Fred Coleman was a teammate of Davis' during the SaberCats 2004 AFL Championship run and earned his NFL Championship as a member of the 2001 New England Patriots. Lincoln Coleman won an AFL title in 2001 with the Grand Rapids Rampage and his Super Bowl title in 1993 with the Dallas Cowboys.
JOHN ELWAY and MIKE DITKA own ArenaBowl and Super Bowl Championship rings, however, their AFL Championships came as owners of the Colorado Crush and Chicago Rush, respectively.
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