Arena Bowl XXIII to be played despite the lack of Iowa Barnstormers

Arena Bowl XXIII to be played despite the lack of Iowa Barnstormers

Iowa Barnstormers Examiner

Hey Stormer fans! The Barnstormers season may be over, but there is still one more game left to be played in the 2010 Arena Football League season. The Spokane Shock and the Tampa Bay Storm take the field Friday night for an epic battle known as Arena Bowl XXIII.

It’s only fitting. These two teams took turns at the top of the coaches’ polls all season long, and in the end, proved to be the two best teams in the league this season. The Shock, rocking the league’s best record at 13-3, will host the game at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. According to the Tampa Bay Storm Facebook page, “Arena Bowl XXIII is a sellout. The building in Spokane holds 10,800 and 11 thousand tickets have been sold.”

The Tampa Bay Storm are no strangers to the Arena Bowl, having appeared in the championship game five times before. In 1996 they squeaked out a 42-38 win over our beloved Barnstormers at Veterans Memorial Auditorium to grab the title. They also won championships in 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2003, making them one of the most successful organizations in AFL history. A victory in Arena Bowl XXIII would give the Storm an unprecedented sixth championship.

The Spokane Shock, on the other hand, are in just their first season at the top level of arena football, having previously been part of the AF2. They have two AF2 Arena Cup titles, but this will be their first appearance in the title game of the Arena Football League. First-time head coach and former Shock player Rob Keefe appeared in the championship game twice during his time in the old AF2, once as a player and once as a coach. He also competed in Arena Bowl XXII as a player with the Philadelphia Soul in 2008. The mayor of Spokane, Mary Verner, has proclaimed Friday, August 20, 2010 as “Paint the Town Orange Day” in honor of the Spokane Shock hosting Arena Bowl XXIII. In addition to the city proclamation, Gov. Christine Gregoire has proclaimed August 20, 2010 as “Spokane Shock Day” throughout the entire state of Washington.

Nerds.

The game will be televised on the NFL Network at 8:00pm Eastern time. Iowa Barnstormer hall of famer and “greatest player in Arena Football League history” Kurt Warner will call the game along side former Iowa Hawkeye quarterback Paul Burmeister, who will be handling the play-by-play and sideline reporters Anthony Herron and Ari Wolfe.