The 2012 Arena Football League season was the 25th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 9, 2012 with a game between the Pittsburgh Power and the Orlando Predators and ended on July 22, 2012, with a game between the Utah Blaze and Philadelphia Soul. The Arizona Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul by a 72–54 score in ArenaBowl XXV on August 10, 2012, to conclude the playoffs.
League business
Teams The only franchise that relocated during the offseason was the Tulsa Talons, which became the San Antonio Talons following a move to San Antonio, Texas, where the team announced they would play at the Alamodome.
When the 2012 schedule was announced, the Dallas Vigilantes were left off without any explanation on the status of the franchise. No expansion teams were added for the 2012 season.
Labor issues On March 9, 2012, the day the AFL was to begin play, the Arena Football League Players Association went on strike, seeking a doubling of their wages. The game between the Pittsburgh Power and Orlando Predators scheduled for that night was played as scheduled with replacement players making up about three-quarters of the roster. However, players began crossing the picket line by the second quarter and the AFL announced the work stoppage ended just two hours after the game ended.Arena Football League officials prepared for work stoppage. Des Moines Register. . Bright House Sports Network (March 9, 2012). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
For the second game of the 2012 season, the entire roster of the San Antonio Talons voted unanimously not to strike for its first game against the Utah Blaze.Oliver, Richard (March 10, 2012). Players' strike loses momentum. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
On June 8, the Cleveland Gladiators were forced to forfeit a week 14 matchup against the Pittsburgh Power when they were unable to field enough players to play as a result of several of their players going on strike. It was the first forfeited game in the history of the league. This news came after the NFL Network chose not to air a contest between the Milwaukee Mustangs and Philadelphia Soul in the network's weekly Friday night broadcast, citing a "labor uncertainty." In the following week, after reports of a potential lockout rose, the NFL Network chose to air a War on I-4 game between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators via tape delay on June 16, the day after the game took place.
On June 17, it was announced that the AFL and the AFLPU agreed to a multi-year collective bargaining agreement, to be signed on June 20.
Regular season standings American Conference East DivisionTeam(1) Philadelphia Soul15312289194–212–27–28–1Cleveland Gladiators8108798754–26–85–43–6Milwaukee Mustangs51396010623–34–72–63–7Pittsburgh Power5138279631–54–91–84–5 South DivisionTeam(2) Jacksonville Sharks1089308844–48–66–44–4(3) Georgia Force998129235–38–55–44–5(4) New Orleans VooDoo8109799955–37–54–54–5Tampa Bay Storm810102111084–47–77–21–8Orlando Predators4147709022–64–114–50–9 National Conference Central DivisionTeam(1) San Antonio Talons14410429495–19–48–16–3Chicago Rush108104710444–25–67–23–6Iowa Barnstormers71194810323–35–94–53–6Kansas City Command3157059380–61–122–71–8 West DivisionTeam(2) Arizona Rattlers13511188803–38–57–26–3(3) San Jose SaberCats126114310274–210–48–14–5(4) Utah Blaze126112810514–28–46–36–3Spokane Shock108106310481–55–75–45–4 Eight teams qualified for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining. Green indicates clinched playoff berth Blue indicates division champion Gray indicates division champion and conference's best record
Tie-breakers Milwaukee finished in third place in the East Division based on a head-to-head sweep over Pittsburgh. New Orleans clinched the American Conference's No. 4 seed based on a greater won-loss percentage among games between New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland. (New Orleans: 2–1, Tampa Bay: 2–2, Cleveland: 1–2) San Jose clinched the National Conference's No. 3 seed based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Utah.
Playoffs
Conference semifinals Conference Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap National July 27 8:00 p.m. EDT Utah Blaze San Antonio Talons Utah, 35–34 Alamodome American July 28 7:00 p.m. EDT Georgia Force Jacksonville Sharks Jacksonville, 58–56 Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena American July 28 7:05 p.m. EDT New Orleans VooDoo Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia, 66–53 Wells Fargo Center National July 28 10:00 p.m. EDT San Jose SaberCats Arizona Rattlers Arizona, 51–48 US Airways Center
Conference championships Conference Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap American August 3 8:00 p.m. EDT Jacksonville Sharks Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia, 89–34 Wells Fargo Center National August 4 10:00 p.m. EDT Utah Blaze Arizona Rattlers Arizona, 75–69 US Airways Center
ArenaBowl XXV
Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap August 10 10:30 p.m. EDT Arizona Rattlers Philadelphia Soul Arizona, 72–54 New Orleans Arena
All-Arena team
OffensePositionFirst teamSecond teamQuarterbackTommy Grady, UtahNick Davila, ArizonaFullbackDerrick Ross, PhiladelphiaOdie Armstrong, ArizonaCenterKyle Young, ArizonaBilly Eisenhardt, ChicagoOffensive linemanRich Ranglin, San JoseMichael Huey, ArizonaGeorge Bussey, Tampa BayEmmanuel Akah, San JoseWide receiverJesse Schmidt, IowaMaurice Purify, ArizonaAaron Lesué, UtahReggie Gray, ChicagoTiger Jones, PhiladelphiaDominick Goodman, Cleveland DefensePositionFirst teamSecond teamDefensive linemanJoe Sykes, San JoseMike Lewis, UtahVictor DeGrate, San AntonioBryan Robinson, PhiladelphiaScooter Berry, JacksonvilleLuis Vasquez, MilwaukeeMiddle linebackerAaron Robbins, JacksonvilleFrancis Maka, San JoseJack linebackerAlvin Ray Jackson, New OrleansMarcus Everett, MilwaukeeDefensive backKent Richardson, PhiladelphiaJason Simpson, IowaTerrance Sanders, SpokaneJeremy Kellem, New OrleansArkeith Brown, ArizonaTracy Belton, Georgia Special teamsPositionFirst teamSecond teamKickerKenny Spencer, SpokaneNich Pertuit, San JoseKick returnerPJ Berry, PittsburghTerrance Sanders, Spokane
References