The Arena Football League is no more. After 21 seasons of life, the AFL decided to pull it’s own plug. That means no more championship "Soul" in South Philly.
While the Soul only started in 2004, they racked up some pretty impressive highlights:
- The most points the Soul ever scored was 78, in a 78-34 romping of the New Orleans Voodoo.
- Quarterback Tony Graziani threw six touchdowns against the Nashville Kats in 2005.
- Kicker Ken Hinsley booted a game-winning field goal from the back of the end zone against the New York Dragons with 1.3 seconds left to win 60-58.
- The Soul defeated the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl XXII, 59-56, to win their first Arena Bowl championship on July 27, 2008.
- Unless a miracle happens, the Soul will always be the defending AFL champions.
Sports
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With the death of the AFL and the Phantoms leaving the city, the powerhouse that used to be Philadelphia secondary sports has faded. Only the Wings (lacrosse) and the Kixx (indoor soccer) remained. Luckily both have won more than one championship in their years in the city.
And with the Phillies winning the World Series in 2008 and breaking the Curse of William Penn, the chance for more trophies in the “Big Four” sports will most likely be too much for fans to bare. Now that the losing streak that brought fans to the secondary sports in the first place is broken, the Wings and the Kixx will have to come up with more interesting ways to get fans in the seats.
I suggest the Reading Phillies method -- a beer-tasting festival.
As for the Soul. It looks like Philly will never get that concert that owner Jon Bon Jovi promised after the Soul won the AFL Championship in 2008 -- and we will never get to see if Bon Jovi's boys could win another championship.
