Chicago Rush
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| Chicago Rush | ||
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| Conference | American | |
| Division | Central | |
| Year founded | 2001 | |
| Home arena | Allstate Arena | |
| City, State | Rosemont, Illinois | |
| Head Coach | Mike Hohensee | |
| ArenaBowl championships | 1: 2006 | |
| Conference titles | 1: 2006 | |
| Division titles | 3: 2002, 2004, 2007 | |
| Wild Card berths | 4: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 | |
The Chicago Rush are a team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 2001 expansion team.
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[edit] 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 ArenaBowl appearance. In their inaugural 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 Central division and received a bye in the playoffs. They defeated the Dallas Desperados 60-47, but fell in the semifinals 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, the Rush won the Central division with an 11-5 record. They won their first round game 59-49 over the Orlando Predators, but they fell in the semifinals to the eventual ArenaBowl XVIII champion San Jose SaberCats 49-35. In 2005, they went to the AFL playoffs as the #3 seed in the American Conference. They won the conference semifinal over the Los Angeles Avengers 52-45, but ended up losing the American Conference Championship Game to the eventual ArenaBowl XIX Champion Colorado Crush in overtime, with a final score of 49-43. That game became known as the "Confetti Game", due to an arena employee firing a confetti cannon prematurely, when the game was extended due to a defensive penalty on the final play. After a ten minute delay to clean the confetti, the Rush were able to tie the game on the untimed down, forcing the overtime period.
In 2006, despite their first losing record of 7-9, the Rush got into the playoffs, receiving the #5 seed in the American Conference. In the playoffs, the Rush managed to pull off key upsets. In the Wild Card Round, the Rush defeated the fourth-seeded Nashville Kats 55-47. In the Divisional Round, Chicago managed to pull off a huge upset by taking down the defending champion Colorado Crush, 63-46. In the Conference Championship they upset the second-seeded San Jose SaberCats 59-56, giving the Rush their very first ArenaBowl appearance in franchise history.
In ArenaBowl XX, the Rush defeated the Orlando Predators, 69-61, to give Chicago their first ArenaBowl title. Quarterback Matt D'Orazio was Offensive Player of the Game, wide receiver/defensive back Dennison Robinson took Defensive Player of the Game honors, and fullback/linebacker Bob McMillen was named the Ironman of the Game. With the win, the Rush became the first team with a losing regular-season record to win a championship in any sport since the 1937-38 Chicago Blackhawks.
In 2007 they won the American Conference Central Division with a record of 12-4. They defeated the L.A. Avengers on June 9th, 2007 in the divisional finals. They then played the San Jose SaberCats for the conference final, yet they came up short losing 61-49.
The Rush's official mascot is a friendly construction worker named Grabowski[1], a reference to Chicago's blue collar [2] background, which was coined by Mike Ditka in January of 1986 .
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4th AC Central | Won Week 1 (Orlando) Lost Week 2 (Grand Rapids) |
| 2002 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Week 2 (Dallas) Lost Week 3 (Arizona) |
| 2003 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3rd AC Central | Lost Week 1 (New York) |
| 2004 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Week 1 (Orlando) Lost Week 2 (San Jose) |
| 2005 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2nd AC Central | Won Week 1 (Los Angeles) Lost AC Championship (Colorado) |
| 2006 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 3rd AC Central | Won Wild Card (Nashville) Won Divisional (Colorado) Won AC Championship (San Jose) Won ArenaBowl XX (Orlando) |
| 2007 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1st AC Central | Won Divisional (Los Angeles) Lost AC Championship (San Jose) |
| 2008 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Totals | 72 | 51 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
[edit] Coaches
Head Coach: Mike Hohensee 2001-Present
Defensive Coordinator/Line Coach: Walt Housman 2001-Present
Wide Receivers Coach/Special Teams Coordinator: Ryan Leonard 2005-Present
Fullbacks/Linebackers Coach: Bob McMillen 2008-Present
Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach: Brian Schwartze 2003-Present
[edit] Team Roster
| Uniform # | Player | Position | Height | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | Dan Alexander | FB/LB | 6'0" | 265 |
| 23 | DeJuan Alfonzo | WR/LB | 6'0" | 205 |
| 69 | Vince Amey | OL/DL | 6'2" | 310 |
| 14 | Reggie Austin | DB | 5'9" | 175 |
| 33 | Whitney Bell | DL | 6'2" | 290 |
| 13 | Sherdrick Bonner | QB | 6'4" | 245 |
| 94 | Robert Boss | OL/DL | 6'5" | 296 |
| 9 | Ryan Dennard | WR | 6'3" | 215 |
| 55 | Curtis Eason | OL/DL | 6'2" | 290 |
| 56 | Beau Elliot | OL | 6'3" | 320 |
| 4 | Dan Frantz | K | 6'1" | 200 |
| 73 | Antonio Hall | OL | 6'5" | 302 |
| 1 | Damian Harrell | WR | 6'3" | 182 |
| 19 | Carlos Hendricks | DB | 5'11" | 190 |
| 45 | Kamau Jackson | DL | 6'1" | 280 |
| 25 | Matt Kisigner | FB | 6'1" | 262 |
| 40 | Alan Krutulis | FB | 6'0" | 280 |
| 88 | Travis LaTendresse | WR | 6'1" | 200 |
| 11 | Rob Mager | WR | 6'3" | 205 |
| 90 | Ben McCombs | DL | 6'3" | 260 |
| 0 | Pete McMahon | OL | 6'8" | 330 |
| 8 | Russ Michna | QB | 6'2" | 220 |
| 95 | Ellery Moore | DL | 6'1" | 305 |
| 2 | Donovan Morgan | WR | 6'2" | 195 |
| 99 | John Moyer | OL/DL | 6'3" | 265 |
| 5 | Nick Myers | OL/DL | 6'3" | 285 |
| 20 | Jonathan Ordway | DB | 5'10" | 178 |
| 93 | Joe Peters | OL/DL | 6'5" | 275 |
| 22 | Jamar Ransom | LB | 5'11" | 230 |
| 21 | Dennison Robinson | WR/DB | 6'0" | 195 |
| 96 | Chad Ruffin | DL | 6'0" | 295 |
| 7 | James Sadler | WR/DB | 6'0" | 205 |
| 80 | Antwone Savage | WR | 6'0" | 187 |
| 15 | Dan Sheldon | WR | 5'10" | 185 |
| 98 | John Sikora | OL/DL | 6'4" | 280 |
| 58 | Khreem Smith | OL/DL | 6'4" | 270 |
| 10 | Clinton Solomon | WR | 6'4" | 217 |
| 37 | Jeremy Unertl | WR/DB | 6'2" | 220 |
| 97 | Demetrios Walker | DL | 6'3" | 260 |
[edit] External links
- Chicago Rush Official Website
- Rush Arena Bowl Story in Arizona's S&E News
- Chicago Rush at ArenaFan.com
Chicago Rush seasons
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|---|---|
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
