Spokane Shock

The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Shock played their first four seasons in the now-defunct af2, winning division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before joining the AFL and winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season.

[edit] Birth
For many years, there were proposals to bring an arena football team to Spokane. In summer 2005, owner Brady Nelson teamed up with two additional partners to bring a team to Spokane. On August 26, 2005, during af2 league meetings in Bossier City, Louisiana, league commissioner Jerry Kurz accepted Nelson's proposal for a Spokane af2 team. The Shock was one of three expansion teams to begin playing in 2006. The other two were the Everett Hawks, and the Stockton Lightning.

The "Spokane Shock" name alludes to the Spokane Shockers, a team from the 1960s era Continental Football League.

[edit] Building the team
[edit]
 * On October 12, 2005, the Shock announced that Chris Siegfried would be the franchise's inaugural coach.
 * By the end of 2005, 13 players had been signed.
 * On February 28, 2006, the Spokane Shock sold their 2,000th season ticket.
 * On March 22, 2006, 3,000 season tickets had been sold.
 * On March 30, 2006, the Spokane Shock played their inaugural game against the Stockton Lighting and won 41-40.
 * On September 27, 2009, the Spokane Shock became part of the Arena Football League.
 * On July 9 the team will host their first ever outdoor game at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium

Attendance history
af2 (2006–2009) Arena: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (10,471 football capacity). Spokane Shock Arena Football attendance records show the largest crowds: 10,662 vs. Tennessee Valley (Arena Cup 9 - Aug. 25th 2008); 10,659 twice during 2008 regular season, and smallest crowds: 7,267 vs. Stockton 2009 Playoffs (Aug. 1st, 2009); 9,387 vs. Stockton on March 30, 2006 (inaugural game).

Regular Season Average Attendance: Total all time attendance, including playoff games while part of the AF2 (2006–2009): 422,584

Total all time sell-outs including playoff games: 27

Regular Season Sell-out streak:

The Spokane Shock sold-out the Spokane Arena for 19 consecutive regular season games starting with the regular season finale in 2006, and continuing to the 2nd game in 2009. The last non sell-out regular season game was on June 26, 2009.

Playoff Attendance History (Af2):

2006: (20,242) 1st round bye, 2nd round 9,692 vs Bakersfield, 3rd round 10,550 vs Arkansas, Arena Cup 7 in Puerto Rico

2007: (8,272) 1st round 8,272 vs. Louisville

2008: (37,735) 1st round 8,872 vs. Austin, 2nd round 8,923 vs. Central Valley, 3rd round 9,278 vs. Amarillo, Arena Cup 9 at Spokane Arena 10,662 vs. Tennessee Valley.

2009: (24,555) 1st round 7,267 vs. Stockton, 2nd round 8,041 vs. Boise, 3rd round 9,247 vs. Tulsa, Arena Cup 10 in Las Vegas

Other AF2 Attendance Records:

1. 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th highest total regular season attendance in AF2 history: 83,306 (2009), 84,705 (2008), 84,556 (2007), 79,213 (2006).

2. Largest crowd in Arena Cup History (10,662 - Arena Cup 9) Spokane vs. Tennessee Valley on Aug. 25th, 2008.

3. Longest regular season sell-out streak in AF2 history, 19 games.

4. AF2 season ticket sales record - 2007, almost 8,000.

AFL (2010 to date)
Arena: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (10,770 football capacity). Over 300 seats were added for 2010.

Spokane Shock AFL Attendance Records:

Regular Season

Largest crowd (outdoor): 16,233 vs. Utah Blaze (July 9, 2011 Joe Albi Outdoor Classic)

Largest crowd (indoor): 10,775 vs. Chicago Rush (July 23, 2010)

Smallest crowd: 8,972 vs. Philadelphia Soul (June 10, 2011)

Post season

Largest crowd: 11,017 vs. Tampa Bay Storm ArenaBowl XXII (August 20, 2010)

Smallest crowd: 8,151 vs. Milwaukee Iron Conference Championship (August 12, 2010)

Regular Season Average Attendance:


 * Includes one outdoor game

Playoff Attendance History (AFL):

2010: (8,236) 1st round 8,236 vs. Arizona Rattlers August 6, 2010

2010: (8,151) Conference Championship 8,151 vs. Milwaukee Iron August 12, 2010

2010: (11,017) ArenaBowl XXII 11,017 vs. Tampa Bay Storm August 20, 2010

Outdoor Summer Classic Game at Joe Albi Stadium

The Spokane Shock played the first ever outdoor arenafootball game on Saturday, July 9, 2011. The game took place at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, WA. A Spokane Shock record crowd of 16,233 watched the Shock beat the Utah Blaze 76-49. Joe Albi stadium holds between 20,000-24,000 for football. The shaded side of the stadium was filled to capacity, while the sunny side was about half full. Daytime temps reached 90+ that day, while gametime was pushed back to 6pm.

Seasons

[edit] 2006: The Cinderella Story
The Shock put together a significant inaugural season, posting a 14-2 regular-season record and a first-place finish in the National Conference Western Division. During the af2 playoffs, the Shock defeated the Bakersfield Blitz and the Arkansas Twisters en route to winning the af2 National Conference championship and a berth in ArenaCup VII against the Green Bay Blizzard in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On August 26, the Shock defeated the Blizzard by a score of 57-34 to win ArenaCup VII. The Spokane Shock became the first expansion team in af2 history to advance to, and win, theArenaCup. [1]. The Shock led the league in attendance with an average of around 10,000 fans per home game.

As a result of the team's excellent play, head coach Chris Siegfried was named the af2 Head Coach of the Year for the 2006 season. Four Shock players also earned All-af2 National Conference honors as well. WR/LB Charles Frederick, OLS Ed Ta'amu and DS Rob Keefe earned first-team honors while OL/DL Jerome Stevens earned second-team accolades.

[edit] Off-season
Moving On [edit]
 * On Monday, September 4, 2006, Spokane Head Coach Chris Siegfried accepted the offensive coordinator position for the AFL's Kansas City Brigade.[2]
 * On Wednesday, September 20, 2006 The Spokane Shock announced that former Louisville Fire Offensive Coordinator Adam Shackleford would become their new Head Coach.
 * The Shock also lost players, who signed with AFL teams.
 * On October 6, 2006, OS Antwone Savage signed with the Dallas Desperados, making him the first player in Shock history to sign with an AFL team.
 * Just four days later, on October 10, WR/LB Kevin Beard signed with the Chicago Rush.
 * On October 23, 2006, WR/DB Charles Frederick reunited with former Shock coach Chris Siegfried after he signed with the Kansas City Brigade

2007
Further information: 2007 Spokane Shock seasonThe 2007 Shock would win their second consecutive division title with a 12-4 record. The Shock would eventually fall in the first round of the af2 playoffs to the Louisville Fire. [edit]

2008
In 2008 it looked like the Shock were going to have a team just as talented as the 2006 team. With a great WR group and two great QB's it seemed like the Shocks offense would never be stopped. Their defense was just as good, with Sergio Gilliam breaking the af2 int record and Devon Parks leading the af2 in sacks it looked as if they would not lose one game. When the Shock were 11-0 they set their goal to be 16-0, but the South Georgia Wildcats beat the Shock with a last second field goal to win 56-54. But the Shock did not drop another game for the rest of the regular season. The Shock headed into to the playoffs with home field advantage and went all the way to the ArenaCup. The Shock matched up with the Tennessee Valley Vipers on Aug 25th 2008 in ArenaCup IX. Tony Colsten the back-up QB for Tennessee Valley had to come in after the first drive of the game due to the injury of their starter. The game was close throughout and regulation ended with both teams dead locked at 48 to send the ArenaCup into its first ever overtime. After the Shock scored a TD in OT Tennessee Valley matched that with a TD but they had victory in on their mind and went for a two point conversion and Tony Colsten scrambled into the end zone to capture their first ArenaCup championship.