While the athlete cliché is that every game on the schedule is equally important (and there is wisdom in that), all fans know that there are games before the season which we circle on the calendar. We also know that, as the season progresses, some games just pique the interest to an amazing degree. The Portland Thunder are facing one of those games this week. In fact, this week’s matchup with the Los Angeles KISS (soon to be of AMC cable TV fame on the TV show “4th and Loud”) may be one of the biggest regular season games on the Arena Football League slate this season.
On paper, there does not seem like a whole lot of excitement. The Thunder rest at 4-11 after a loss last week to the Cleveland Gladiators. The KISS rest another game back, at 3-12. However, despite their combined 7-19 record, the entire fate of the season can largely be determined by this game.
See, the way the divisions fall in the Arena Football League, the Thunder actually hold the fourth spot in their conference, the National Conference. Conveniently, the top four seeds in the conference earn a spot in the postseason. And there are only two teams still vying for that spot in the National Conference. You guessed it. The KISS and the Thunder.
That means there is an awful lot on the line for the AFL’s two expansion franchises this year. The implications of Saturday’s match up are absolutely monumental. With a win, the Thunder would take a two game lead for the final playoff spot with two games left to play in the season. While this makes the odds pretty good for the Thunder, it wouldn’t be in the bag yet. The KISS have won the previous two matchups between the teams so that means they hold the tiebreaker. However, the Thunder would require just one win or a single KISS loss in the final two weeks of the season to secure the final playoff spot. Decent odds.
However, were the KISS to win this Saturday, the teams would be in a tie. And, with the tiebreaker, a tie means the KISS get the spot. The Thunder would need to gain a game on the KISS in the final two weeks. Not impossible but certainly unsettling.
So, if the KISS have beaten the Thunder twice before this season, why should the Thunder fans anticipate anything different on Saturday? First off, this is the only meeting between the two teams that takes place in Portland, at the Moda Center. The KISS have drawn some large crowds, over 10,000 people each time and the raucous crowd will this time be on the side of the Thunder.
Secondly, the Thunder have continued to gain momentum this season, getting gunslinger Kyle Rowley back under center and a defense that continues to force turnovers. The KISS have struggled with quarterback all season and have struggled. If there is a time for the Thunder to earn their spot in the playoffs, it is this week.
They do have one setback. Wide receiver Eric Rogers has performed so well for the Thunder that he was signed on Tuesday by the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders, depriving the Thunder of a major weapon.
The Thunder look to seize the momentum this Saturday at 7 PM at the Moda Center.
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