Back to business for the Soul
February 5, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
In one of the most unusual off-seasons in professional sports, the Arena Football League saw many things change from the 2006 season to the present. With the last arena game played on Sunday, June 11 in Las Vegas seeing the Chicago Rush stunning the Orlando Predators, 69-61. That said, the 2007 season will kick off for the League on Thursday, March 1 with the Columbus Destroyers traveling to Nashville to take on the Kats. For the Philadelphia Soul, their season doesn't get started until Friday, March 9 after having to sit out the first week with a bye due to the odd number of teams with the reinstated New Orleans VooDoo.
Other than the nine month layoff between seasons, the board of directors passed some significant rule changes that drastically change the game as everyone once knew it. Most notably, the new substitution rule permits teams to make as many rotations as they would like throughout the game. This change has made it better for teams so players stay fresher and each team has the best possible players at each position on the field at any given time. The Soul have become one the teams in the League who have looked at this rule change and made substantial roster moves to adapt to put the best possible team on the field to help them win games. With some of the new acquisitions Philadelphia has made during the layoff, the Soul will look to players with more experience at specific positions. The Black and Blue won't have to worry as much about players being able to play Ironman football like they did in the past.
Some of those changes the Soul have made going into their fourth season will see former two-way performers Dwayne Missouri, Mike Mabry, Wes Ours and several others playing specifically on one side of the ball. While Missouri will see the majority of his time on the defensive line, Mabry will be at the center position and Ours will continue running the ball on offense. A few of the players will still play on both sides of the ball as Ironmen, but not as many as in the past.
Some of the newcomers to the Soul and to the League will not have to worry about what players use to do in the past. With the new season comes a new look and a new way of watching the game. Speaking of watching the game...the Soul will be on ESPN this season more than any other team in the League (7 times). After a successful three seasons on NBC, the AFL signed a new agreement with the leader in sports (ESPN) and has begun a contract with a media outlet that no other league has ever done before.
The agreement with ESPN and the AFL has given ESPN part ownership into the League and a purpose to help drive the AFL to a new status among professional sports. As part owner, ESPN will televise a minimum of 17 regular-season games and nine playoff games -- including a minimum of three Wild Card games, three Divisional Playoff games, both Conference Championships and the ArenaBowl -- on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
As for the ArenaBowl this season, it will be moved to New Orleans after two successful years in Las Vegas. It will be the first major championship held in the state of Louisiana since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. ArenaBowl XXI is scheduled to be played at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 3 p.m. EST.
The Soul have their eyes set on that date just like the rest of the AFL and plan to continue in the right direction after making their first playoff appearance last season before coming five yards short in the National Conference Divisional Round game against the Orlando Predators.
Philadelphia made the postseason last year for the first time in franchise history with their first winning record in three seasons with a 9-7 regular season record. They entered the postseason against the Austin Wranglers and defeated them, 52-35 in Texas. When the 2006 season came to and end, the Soul organization ended the year still wanting more.
With the bad taste left in their mouth after the loss to Orlando in the playoffs, the city of Philadelphia has had a long nine months to think about what could have been. Starting on Wednesday, February 7, the Soul coaching staff can officially stop thinking about last year and start working on the new season.
Fun! Family! Football! It begins this March as the Soul travel to take on the Nashville Kats on Friday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. in the Gaylord Entertainment Center to kickoff the 21st season of the AFL. Season tickets for the Soul's 2007 season are on sale now with tickets starting as low as $96. For more information call (888) PHIL-AFL or log on to www.philadelphiasoul.com. The Soul are entering their fourth season in the AFL and in their three seasons they have sold out 93% of the venue while drawing a League best 387,491 fans combined.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 5, 2007
- Blaze announce radio partnership with 1280 The Zone - Utah Blaze
- Destroyers single game tickets on sale Saturday, February 24 - Columbus Destroyers
- Arizona Rattlers to Kick Off Camp - Arizona Rattlers
- Gladiators place Warrick on Refused to Report list - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Lone Star Arena Football Classic teams selected - Austin Wranglers
- Storm and Bill Currie Ford announce field naming rights partnership - Tampa Bay Storm
- Crush open 2007 training camp Wednesday - Colorado Crush
- Back to business for the Soul - Philadelphia Soul
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
