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The 2001 season looms!

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

Well fans, the season is almost upon us! The pre-season games are about a month away. It's time for me to talk about what the season may bring.

First I want to say that there are probably many of you reading this who have never seen an AFL game before. Perhaps you're in one of the lucky cities that have a brand new expansion team this year. The great thing about visiting my site on Suite101 is that I'll give you some insight as to what to expect from the coming season. I've been involved with the indoor brand of football for ten years now and am actively involved with my local team, the Orlando Predators.

Those who are new, please check out my Introduction to the Game link in the Welcome message.

Let me start this off with the World Champion Orlando Predators. The Head Coach of the Predators is Jay Gruden. He is the key to the Predator's success. He's as close to a coaching genius as I've ever seen. Despite the possibility of losing some of his stars from last year's Championship season, he should be able to regain his teams' form to make another run at the ring. It would be no surprise to anyone to see the Predators back in the big game this season.

Also a perennial contender is the Tampa Bay Storm. Tim Marcum is the most successful coach in the history of this league, having won six championships with three different teams. Marcum is a master motivator who continuously puts quality teams on the field. His teams will always be in the running.

Danny White's Arizona Rattlers feature high scoring offenses and can score a TD faster than anyone else. The league's slogan "Don't blink" could have been created with the Rattlers in mind. Their home field, America West Arena, can be one of the toughest places for an opposing team to play.

Other possible teams this year are the high-scoring Nashville Kats, the Indiana Firebirds, and the San Jose Sabercats. Nashville was in the championship game last season and probably won't drop off much this season, Indiana was last year's Albany Firebirds who had always been contenders and won it all in '99, and San Jose has scored close to 100 points in some games.

The Predators, the Storm, the Rattlers, Kats, Firebirds, and Sabercats are the teams to beat this year. Of course there are always the wild cards. It's hard to tell what the new franchises will do but I'd say some may have success, but beating the big six that I mentioned before would be a tough call for any expansion team. Other wild cards are the Oklahoma Wranglers who made the playoffs on the strength of a top ranked defense, and the Grand Rapids Rampage who, when healthy, can score points with the best of them.