Philly Could Actually Win a Sports Championship on Friday

Philadelphia Soul players celebrate a touchdown at a recent game. (Photo by Todd Bauders, Contrast Photography)

It has been quite a dry spell for Philadelphia professional sports franchises since the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. We haven’t had a champion team since. (Well, assuming you don’t count the 2016 champion Philadelphia Spinners Ultimate — as in Frisbee — team, which we most certainly do not.) But that could all change on Friday night when the Philadelphia Soul take on the Arizona Rattlers.

After both notching 15-3 records during the season, the two teams will play in Arena Bowl XXIX at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The Rattlers have won five Arena Bowl championships, including twice against the Soul. They are tied with the Tampa Bay Storm for most championship wins. Meanwhile, the Soul won its first and thus far only Arena Bowl championship in 2008 against the San Jose SaberCats.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN and 97.5 FM The Fanatic.

This is the Soul’s 11th season in the league. The team was started in 2004, with New Jersey-based musician Jon Bon Jovi as one of the majority owners, and called it quits before the start of the 2009 season.

Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski brought the Soul back in 2011, minus Bon Jovi. The current ownership group includes team co-founder Craig Spencer, well-regarded former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, Chickie’s & Pete’s owner Pete Ciarrocchi, and Main Line entrepreneur Cosmo DeNicola, among others.

If you’ve never seen an arena football game, it’s a bit different than what you’re used to in the NFL. Everything’s a bit smaller, the games tend to be higher-scoring, there’s no punting, and there are these things called rebound nets that you should probably know about. Oh, and overtime is completely different.

Check out this site for a complete primer.

Go, Soul!

Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter.