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| Date | August 23, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Nick Davila,Arizona
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| Attendance | 18,410 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Kevin Guy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Losing coach | Steve Thonn | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ari Wolfe,Anthony Herron,Sherdrick Bonner, J. B. Long | ||||||||||||||||||
ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in theArena Football League. The National Conference championArizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference championCleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 2014, atQuicken Loans Arena inCleveland,Ohio, the home of the Gladiators.
This was the fourth consecutiveArenaBowl appearance for the Arizona Rattlers, and their third consecutive ArenaBowl championship. For the Cleveland Gladiators, this was the first ArenaBowl in the franchise's 18-year history.
ArenaBowl XXVII was played atQuicken Loans Arena inCleveland, Ohio, after it was announced that the ArenaBowl would return to the practice of being hosted by the team with the better regular season record.[1] With the best record of any team in the AFL in 2014, Cleveland was assured of hosting ArenaBowl XXVII by winning the conference championship. The ArenaBowl was played on a busy sports day in Cleveland, as theCleveland Browns of theNational Football League played a home preseason game atFirstEnergy Stadium and theCleveland Indians ofMajor League Baseball had a home game at adjacentProgressive Field all at the same time.[2][3]
In December 2013, it was announced thatESPN had acquired the rights to broadcast arena football games, including ArenaBowl XXVI. This was the first ArenaBowl to be televised on ESPN since2008, prior to the year-long hiatus taken by the AFL.[4]
The Rattlers came into the game as two-time defending champions, appearing in their fourth consecutive ArenaBowl, and ninth overall, tying them with theTampa Bay Storm for most ArenaBowl appearances. In trying to win their third consecutive ArenaBowl championship, the only team in ArenaBowl history that had done so was theDetroit Drive, having won the third inArenaBowl IV. In2014, the Rattlers began the regular season with a 14–0 record, the best start to a season by any team in AFL history.[5] Their first loss came in week 16 when they lost to the rivalSan Jose SaberCats. Despite losing last three of their last four games, the Rattlers finished the season 15–3, as they did the season prior. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the expansionPortland Thunder in a close 52–48 contest. They hosted the San Jose SaberCats in the conference championship, beating them more decisively, 72–56.
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z-Arizona Rattlers | 15 | 3 | .833 | 1151 | 905 | 4–0 | 11–2 | 9–0 | 6–3 | |
| San Antonio Talons | 3 | 15 | .167 | 743 | 1017 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 0–9 | 3–6 | |
| Los Angeles Kiss | 3 | 15 | .167 | 633 | 957 | 1–3 | 3–9 | 2–7 | 1–8 | |
z - Clinched division and conference's best record
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 15 | Philadelphia | W 62–55(OT) |
| 2 | March 23 | Spokane | W 68–49 |
| 3 | Bye | ||
| 4 | April 5 | Jacksonville | W 63–38 |
| 5 | April 12 | at San Jose | W 57–51 |
| 6 | April 19 | Pittsburgh | W 73–69 |
| 7 | April 26 | San Antonio | W 69–59 |
| 8 | May 3 | at Jacksonville | W 70–61 |
| 9 | May 10 | at Portland | W 61–32 |
| 10 | May 17 | Spokane | W 70–38 |
| 11 | May 25 | at Los Angeles | W 70–25 |
| 12 | May 31 | San Jose | W 51–42 |
| 13 | June 6 | at Portland | W 70–59 |
| 14 | June 14 | at San Antonio | W 70–34 |
| 15 | June 21 | Los Angeles | W 83–47 |
| 16 | June 27 | at San Jose | L 33–62 |
| 17 | Bye | ||
| 18 | July 12 | at Spokane | L 66–73 |
| 19 | July 20 | Portland | W 65–55 |
| 20 | July 26 | at Orlando | L 50–56 |
| – | August 3 | Portland | W 52–48 |
| – | August 10 | San Jose | W 72–56 |
The Gladiators reached the ArenaBowl for the first time in franchise history. Before moving to Cleveland for the2008 season, they had previously played inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, andLas Vegas, Nevada. The closest the team had ever come to reaching the ArenaBowl since moving to Cleveland was in 2008 when they lost the conference championship. They began the2014 season with a 9–0 record, one of the best starts to a season in league history.[6] In week 12, their hopes of an undefeated season were ended, but it proved to be the only blemish on their win–loss record, as they finished the season with a league-best 17–1 record. The 17 wins is a league record for a team in a single season. Not all of these wins came easy, however. Cleveland won five games in the regular season on the final play of the game. In the conference semifinals, they notched their sixth last-second win of the season. This one came against thePhiladelphia Soul on a field goal as time expired to win by a 39–37 score. In the conference championship, they faced theOrlando Predators. Cleveland defeated Orlando 56–46 to reach the ArenaBowl for the first time in franchise history.
| Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | CON | Home | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z-Cleveland Gladiators | 17 | 1 | .944 | 991 | 782 | 7–1 | 12–1 | 9–0 | 8–1 | |
| x-Pittsburgh Power | 15 | 3 | .833 | 1015 | 778 | 6–2 | 11–2 | 8–1 | 7–2 | |
| x-Philadelphia Soul | 9 | 9 | .500 | 1021 | 949 | 2–5 | 7–7 | 7–2 | 2–7 | |
| Iowa Barnstormers | 6 | 12 | .333 | 848 | 1046 | 0–7 | 2–10 | 3–6 | 3–6 | |
x - Clinched playoff berth
z - Clinched division and conference's best record
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 15 | at Pittsburgh | W 63–53 |
| 2 | Bye | ||
| 3 | March 29 | at New Orleans | W 37–26 |
| 4 | April 4 | Iowa | W 54–47 |
| 5 | April 12 | at Los Angeles | W 40–30 |
| 6 | April 19 | at Spokane | W 52–50 |
| 7 | April 26 | Pittsburgh | W 55–28 |
| 8 | Bye | ||
| 9 | May 10 | Los Angeles | W 45–42 |
| 10 | May 17 | at Iowa | W 63–46 |
| 11 | May 23 | Philadelphia | W 54–52 |
| 12 | May 31 | at Pittsburgh | L 34–48 |
| 13 | June 7 | Iowa | W 86–49 |
| 14 | June 14 | New Orleans | W 62–46 |
| 15 | June 21 | at Philadelphia | W 69–68 |
| 16 | June 27 | Tampa Bay | W 48–41 |
| 17 | July 5 | Portland | W 61–40 |
| 18 | July 12 | at San Antonio | W 50–47(OT) |
| 19 | July 19 | Jacksonville | W 62–20 |
| 20 | July 26 | at Tampa Bay | W 56–49 |
| – | August 2 | Philadelphia | W 39–37 |
| – | August 10 | Orlando | W 56–46 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rattlers (NC) | 14 | 30 | 14 | 14 | 72 |
| Gladiators (AC) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 32 |
atQuicken Loans Arena,Cleveland, Ohio
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