JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sharks are ready for their championship moment.
Standing in their way is the team that gave them their most difficult tests of the season. The Sharks host the Carolina Cobras on Saturday night (7 p.m.) at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in the National Arena League title game.
The excitement is real in Jacksonville, home to one of the most passionate fanbases in the continuously evolving league.
“The fan noise, crowd noise. There hardest place to play is Jacksonville,” said receiver Kamrin Solomon, a Mandarin High School grad and one of several local stars on the Sharks. “I’ve been around the arena game for a few years now and this is the loudest crowd I’ve been around. I’d rather be with them than against them.”
The Cobras will bring a major challenge to town.
The teams met twice this season, with the Sharks winning 61-52 at home and then losing 50-37 on the road. For coach Jason Gibson, the stakes don’t change anything. Yes, there’s a championship on the line, but Gibson, in his first year in charge of the Sharks, said that the approach shouldn’t and won’t change. That’s how mistakes are made.
“What got us here is what’s going to get us where we need to be,” Gibson said. “So, it’s not like you’re magically in a championship game, let’s change and get all uptight and change things up. I say it to the players all the time; hard work works. Same routine. Same schedule. Just a lot more fun.”
Jacksonville has been at the forefront of the league, and one step in front of second-place Carolina. The Sharks finished 10-3 and the Cobras went 10-4. Gibson, who had quite a bit of success in arena football before being hired by the Sharks last offseason, said that Jacksonville was always one of the most difficult venues to play in. With a championship crowd expected to greet the Sharks on Saturday night, that will again be the case.
“You talk about Jacksonville and arena football and fanbase, there’s not many teams, if any that can compare,” Gibson said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Win or lose on Saturday night, there will be change ahead for the Sharks.
The NAL lost two teams during the season — the Albany Empire and Fayetteville Mustangs both left for different reasons — and will lose at least two more after this year. The Orlando Predators and West Texas Warbirds have announced that they were leaving for the relaunched Arena Football League. Replacing those teams next year are the Omaha Beef and the Sioux City Bandits.
So, expect the Sharks to forge new rivalries in 2024. But first things first — there’s a title on the line on Saturday night. Gibson knows that
“This is the premier team in the country when it comes to fan experience and attendance,” Gibson said. “It’s not going to be any different [on Saturday].”