Chicago Rush
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| Chicago Rush | ||
| ||
| Conference | American | |
| Division | Central | |
| Year founded | 2001 | |
| Home arena | Allstate Arena | |
| City, State | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Wild card titles | 4: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 | |
| Division titles | 2: 2002, 2004 | |
| Conference titles | 1: 2006 | |
| ArenaBowl championships | 1: 2006 | |
The Chicago Rush are a 2001 Arena Football League expansion team who are currently the defending ArenaBowl champions.
History
The team began play in 2001 and is based in Rosemont, Illinois, northwest of Chicago and near O'Hare International Airport. The team plays its home games at Allstate Arena (formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon), the same venue previously used by the Chicago Bruisers, one of the four original Arena Football League teams. The Rush competes in the Central Division of the American Conference. Mike Ditka is a co-owner of the team.The Rush have made the playoffs every year in the franchise's short history, and so far, they have made one Arena Bowl appearance. In their inagural year (2001), the Rush won their very first playoff game, beating the Orlando Predators 41-26, but lost to the eventual ArenaBowl XV champion Grand Rapids Rampage 53-21. In 2002, the Rush won the AC Central and got a Bye in the Playoffs. They won over the Dallas Desperados 60-47, but fell in the AC Championship to the Arizona Rattlers 46-35. In 2003, the Rush had a .500 regular season, yet got into the playoffs. They fell in Round 1 to the New York Dragons 48-45. In 2004, 11-5 helped the Rush win the AC Central. They won Round 1 over the Orlando Predators 59-49, but they fell in Round 2 to the eventual ArenaBowl XVIII champion San Jose SaberCats 49-35. In 2005, they went to the AFL playoffs as the #3 seed. They won Round 1 over the Los Angeles Avengers 52-45, but ended up losing the American Conference Championship Game to the eventual Arena Bowl Champion Colorado Crush in overtime, with a final score of 49-43.
In 2006, despite a losing record of 7-9, the Rush got into the playoffs as an AC Wildcard, with the conference's #5 seed. In the playoffs, the Rush have managed to pull off key upsets. In the Wild Card Round, the Rush won over the fourth-seeded Nashville Kats 55-47. In the Divisional Round, Chicago managed to pull off a huge upset, by taking down the defending champs, the Colorado Crush, with a final score of 63-46. Then, they managed to upset the second-seeded San Jose SaberCats in the AC Championship game 59-56, giving the Rush their very first Arena Bowl appearance in franchise history, where they defeated the Orlando Predators 69-61 in ArenaBowl XX, giving the Chicago Rush their very first ArenaBowl title in franchise history.
Quarterback Matt D'Orazio won Offensive player of the game and Wide Reciever/Linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo won Ironman of the game
The Rush's official mascot is a man named Grabowski[link].
Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties {| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="#efefef" ! Season !! W !! L !! T !! Finish !! Playoff Results |- |2001 || 7 || 7 || 0 || 4th AC Central || Lost Week 2 (Grand Rapids Rampage) |- |2002 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 1st AC Central || Lost Week 3 (Arizona Rattlers) |- |2003 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 3rd AC Central || Lost Week 1 (New York Dragons) |- |2004 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st AC Central || Lost Week 2 (San Jose SaberCats) |- |2005 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC Central || Lost Week 2 (Colorado Crush) |- |2006 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 3rd AC Central || Won ArenaBowl XX (Orlando Predators) |- !Totals || 59 || 46 || 0 |colspan="2"| (including playoffs)Head Coaches
2001-present Mike HohenseeTeam Roster
| Uniform # | Player | Position | Height | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Asad Abdul-Khaliq | QB | 6'2" | 220 |
| 23 | DeJuan Alfonzo | DS | 6'0" | 205 |
| 7 | Michael Bishop | QB | 6'2" | 220 |
| 88 | DJ Bleisath | OL/DL | 6'2" | 280 |
| 20 | Levelle Brown | FB/LB | 6'0" | 245 |
| 92 | Charlie Cook | OL/DL | 6'0" | 275 |
| 11 | Woody Dantzler | WR/DB | 6'0" | 205 |
| 10 | Matt D'Orazio | QB | 6'4" | 215 |
| 55 | Curtis Eason | OL/DL | 6'2" | 290 |
| 4 | Dan Frantz | K | 6'1" | 200 |
| 12 | Todd Howard | DS | 5'10" | 188 |
| 14 | Buchie Ibeh | WR/DB | 6'2" | 210 |
| 65 | Tango McCauley | OL/DL | 6'4" | 310 |
| 44 | Bob McMillen | FB/LB | 6'3" | 260 |
| 17 | Etu Molden | WR/LB | 6'2" | 195 |
| 13 | Malcom Moore | DS | 5'10" | 180 |
| 66 | Frank Moore | OL/DL | 6'2" | 315 |
| 99 | John Moyer | OL/DL | 6'3" | 265 |
| 5 | Nick Myers | OL/DL | 6'3" | 285 |
| 93 | Joe Peters | OL/DL | 6'5" | 275 |
| 21 | Dennison Robinson | WR/DB | 6'0" | 195 |
| 3 | Russell Shaw | WR/DB | 5'10" | 190 |
| 98 | John Sikora | OL/DL | 6'4" | 280 |
| 9 | Bobby Sippio | OS | 6'3" | 220 |
| 58 | Khreem Smith | OL/DL | 6'4" | 270 |
| 81 | Brian Sump | WR/DB | 5'11" | 185 |
| 95 | Darian Tate | OL/DL | 6'3" | 280 |
| 6 | Marvin Taylor | DS | 6'1" | 180 |
| 37 | Jeremy Unertl | WR/DB | 6'2" | 220 |
| 1 | Carlos Wright | WR/DB | 6'2" | 205 |
External links
- [AFL Official Website]
- [Chicago Rush Official Website]
- [ArenaFan Online]
- [Chicago Rush at ArenaFan Online]
- [Rush Arena Bowl Story in Arizona's S&E News]
| Arena Football League | |||
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| American Conference | National Conference | ||
| Central Division Chicago Rush Colorado Crush Grand Rapids Rampage Nashville Kats | Western Division Arizona Rattlers Las Vegas Gladiators Los Angeles Avengers San Jose SaberCats Utah Blaze | Eastern Division Columbus Destroyers Dallas Desperados New York Dragons Philadelphia Soul | Southern Division Austin Wranglers Georgia Force Kansas City Brigade Orlando Predators Tampa Bay Storm |
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| The New Orleans VooDoo are inactive for the 2006 season. | |||
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