Storm in Playoffs, Again
(May 25, 2005)

It was not clinched until the season's final day, but the Tampa Bay Storm are in the Arena Football League playoffs. Since the Storm has made the postseason every year since joining the league in 1991, this should come as no surprise. An AFL record fifteen consecutive playoff appearances and counting.

When you talk about the AFL playoffs, it is hard to imagine Tampa Bay not being involved. The Storm have won a record five titles in a record tying six Arena Bowls. There was a championship in the team's first season over a Tim Marcum coached Detroit Drive. Two years later, the Storm defeated Marcum's team in Detroit again. In 1995, a still Arena Bowl record crowd of 25,087 came to the Thunderdome to watch the Storm top Orlando. Tampa Bay would repeat at Iowa in 1996. Orlando blew-out the Storm in the 1998 title game in Tampa and the Storm's last victory came over Arizona in 2003. Tampa Bay is 20-9 in the previous fourteen postseasons, including a 6-6 record on the road, and have a 14-7 playoff record under head coach Tim Marcum.

The Storm (10-6) open the playoffs at Georgia (11-5) on Sunday. The Storm were a disappointing 2-6 on the road this season and Georgia, along with the Storm, were the first teams in AFL history to go undefeated at home (8-0). On May 8, the Storm fell 52-40 at Atlanta, but won the match-up in Tampa 48-38. Since the Force joined the league in 2002, Tampa Bay has won six of eight meetings. The teams have never met in the postseason.

All four of this Sunday's playoff games start at 3:30 and coverage is on NBC. If the Storm win and New York (10-6) defeats Orlando (10-6), the Storm could host the National Conference Championship game. This is the first time the Arena Bowl will be played at a neutral site and that site is Las Vegas on Hune 14.