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San Diego down the OC Bombers at Arena display

  • Monday, February 21 2005 @ 12:40 am ACDT
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North America

In a match showcasing one of the most heavily modified forms of footy seen to date, the San Diego Lions defeated the Orange County Bombers in a curtain-raiser to the LA Avengers match at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, on February 20th. The game was a big hit with fans and the Bombers have been invited back for more displays at Avengers games in future.

The game was played on an arena football field - indoors and only 60 yards long. Added to this, the walls are padded so the ball always stays in play, and the goal posts were similar to a rugby H - with six points scored under the crossbar, three points over, but no behinds. The main game was 4 quarters of 20 minutes each before the Avengers match, with an extra display at half-time.

This report courtesy of Chris Olson:

The game was a see-saw affair with neither team able to take control. The first half ended with San Diego leading by one minor score 52 to 49. The 3rd quarter started with a determined San Diego getting possession after possession out of the midfield. This coupled with OC's inability to link up allowed San Diego to pour on a 20+ lead. However, OC was able to steady themselves and finished up the quarter trailing by 12. The fourth quarter began with a major and a minor within seconds of one another by OC, but they were unable to sustain this intensity. In the end San Diego ran out winners 117 to 99.

From a spectators' standpoint the game was a lot of fun to watch. Constant action. Lots of scoring, and some good passages of play. Comparing the two codes, I'm sure spectators would really enjoy the action of our game. The first 15 minutes of the Arena Football game saw 3 possessions of maybe 9-12 plays, a few penalties, a timeout and a TV timout and it only ran 6 minutes off the play clock. Can you say BRUTAL?!

Juxtaposed against one another on the same day within minutes of one another would be a huge boon for us. You just can't compare the two for entertainment value.

For background on the match, read WFN's previous article.