JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Shark Tank has been empty since the end of the 2019 season.
But get ready, arena football fans. The Jacksonville Sharks are back.
After having their 2020 season canceled due to the pandemic, the Sharks will be back in action against the Orlando Predators on Saturday night in VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Jacksonville’s four home games will all be televised live on CW17.
Sharks coach James Fuller says his team couldn’t be more excited.
“It is just a different a feeling when you walk into the building after so long so it has been a long wait and I think the fans will be just as excited as the players I hope everybody shows up.”
With no season in 2020, the Sharks will hit the field this year looking to defend their 2019 NAL Championship. Jacksonville went 15-1 that season. Nine players return from that championship team: Keith Bowers, Zach Brown, Jabari Buckley, Mike Fafaul, Damien Jacobs, Alstevis Squirewell, Jonathan Taylor, Mike Williams and Derrick Zeigler.
Fuller said that it has been a very different offseason trying to prepare the team and now they are just ready to get back to football.
“It feels good to be out here and actually have to work for something, somebody you are going to play against, another color, another team,” Fuller said. “And being that it is Orlando and a rivalry, it is even more exciting.”
VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena will be open to full capacity for Saturday’s game and masks are not required but are encouraged. During the 2019 season, the Sharks averaged over 7,000 fans per game.
Sharks 2021 schedule
WEEK 1
May 29, OFF
WEEK 2
June 4, OFF
WEEK 3
June 12, Orlando at Jacksonville, 7 p.m. (CW17)
WEEK 4
June 19, Jacksonville at Columbus, 7 p.m.
WEEK 5
June 26, Albany at Jacksonville, 7 p.m. (CW17)
WEEK 6
July 2, Jacksonville at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
WEEK 7
July 10, Jacksonville at Carolina, 7 p.m.
WEEK 8
July 17, Columbus at Jacksonville, 7 p.m. (CW17)
WEEK 9
July 24, Carolina at Jacksonville, 7 p.m. (CW17)
WEEK 10
July 31, Jacksonville at Albany, 7 p.m.