Tennessee Valley Vipers Ranked No.1 in Preseason Poll
March 25, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
CHICAGO - With 239 of a possible 288 points, the Tennessee Valley Vipers earned the No. 1 ranking in the first-ever af2 Coaches Poll, the League office announced today.
Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 12 teams in the league by ranking them one through 12 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 12 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 12th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 12 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher.
In this week's preseason poll, Tennessee Valley's 239 total points included 11 first-place votes. The Quad City Steamwheelers earned the No. 2 spot with 221 points, including four first-place votes. Coming in third place was the Macon Knights with 164 points. The complete Top 12 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.
The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.
Preseason Top 12 Rankings
1. Tennessee Valley Vipers - 239 (11)
2. Quad City Steamwheelers - 221 (4)
3. Macon Knights - 164 (1)
4. Peoria Pirates - 154 (2)
5. Hawaiian Islanders - 132
6. Albany Conquest - 119
7. Tulsa Talons - 116 (5)
8. Florida Firecats - 113
9. Cape Fear Wildcats - 107
10. Arkansas Twisters - 105
11. Wichita Stealth - 88 (1)
12. Birmingham Steeldogs - 75
Other teams receiving significant votes this week include the Louisville Fire (54 points), the Manchester Wolves (34 points), the Bakersfield Blitz (38 points) and the San Diego Riptide (34 points).
About af2
Entering its Fifth Anniversary season this Saturday night, af2 is a grass-roots developmental Arena Football league for players, coaches and officials. Operating under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, over 175 players have advanced the AFL over the past four seasons.
arenafootball2 Stories from March 25, 2004
- Q&A with Team Down Under head coach Mike Sea - af2
- Team Down Under officially welcomed into the community - af2
- Conquest ranked sixth in af2 coaches poll - Albany Firebirds
- JD's Tavern named official postgame party headquarters of Wolves - Manchester Wolves
- Fifth Anniversary Season Underway This Weekend - af2
- Law Prepares For Fan Fest This Sunday, Meet The Newest Laredo Professional Team - Laredo Law
- Knights Ranked No. 3 in Preseason Coaches Poll - Macon Knights
- Tennessee Valley Vipers Ranked No.1 in Preseason Poll - af2
- Stealth make roster moves - Wichita Stealth
- Wichita Stealth ranked #11 in coaches preseason poll - Wichita Stealth
- Team Down Under Arrives in Columbus - af2
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.
