A number of familiar faces will be in the Wells Fargo Center this afternoon during the Soul home opener.
And we’re not referring to the pregame ceremony that will honor members from the 2008 Arena Bowl Championship team.
The Philadelphia Soul open home play with an undefeated 2-0 mark, hosting the winless 0-2 Jacksonville Sharks at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 12.
The Sharks having yet to win a game is the biggest surprise around the league through the short three weeks into the season, as Jacksonville was picked by many to win the Arena Bowl after some huge additions to their roster.
Some of those additions will be experiencing homecoming this afternoon, as Derrick Ross and Tiger Jones will make their first returns to Philadelphia since leaving the Soul last offseason, after three season of making three straight trips to the playoffs and two Arena Bowls.
The Sharks added quarterback Tommy Grady, who defeated the Soul three times last season as a member of the now defunct Pittsburgh Power.
The Sharks lost both of their first two games by a single point this season, falling on the road to New Orleans 51-50 after trailing 20-0 early in the contest, before going on to lose their home opener 55-54.
Grady has completed 64.4 percent completion percentage in that time, throwing for 509 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception.
Tiger Jones has brought in 257 yards with five touchdowns on 20 receptions, leading Jacksonville receivers.
Derrick Ross has been held to only 71 yards on 17 rushes, but has still found the endzone four times.
As for the Soul, their 2-0 record was earned with a pair of road wins, their most recent a 54-43 win over the Spokane Shock, defeating them on the road for the first time in franchise history.
Dan Raudabaugh has completed 57 of his 95 passes, throwing for 727 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Marco Thomas has emerged as the Soul’s leading receiver, after leading the league in yards a season ago, and has racked up 300 yards and four touchdowns on 28 receptions. Ryan McDaniel is right behind Thomas with 243 yards and five touchdowns.
The storyline through the first two weeks has been the Sharks inability to close out a game. They are the only team in the league that has not won a game yet this season, but that does not mean they are anywhere near the worst team in the league.
Jacksonville has compiled a team with many egos on its roster, with players at nearly every position on the offense who have been looked at to be the guy throughout their AFL career. Jones has expressed his frustration through their first two games, from not getting passes his way to throws being thrown off target, and the desperation has shown for the Sharks.
It’s a tough situation for the Soul, who jumped to a nice start on the season despite miscommunications between receivers on offense with Raudabaugh.
Jacksonville is the more desperate team at this point, as falling 0-3 would not mark the end of their season but will certainly cause need for the panic button with Orlando, Cleveland and Philadelphia each having two more wins in the standings.
A loss for Philadelphia will only keep them tied with Cleveland for first place, who lost to the Arizona Rattlers Saturday night.
And if there’s one game Ross and Tiger want to win this season, it’s this Sunday. It’s never been publicly cleared what went down with the franchises connections with these two fan-favorites this past offseason, but both players were shipped out of town towards the end of the offseason. Since then, Tiger has expressed his love for the city over Facebook, while Ross has made his sour feelings towards the organization and the desire to win this week.
This game has the potential for hostility, bitterness and an instant classic for both squads. The Soul have the chance to bury their former teammates and the Sharks in a game that couldn’t get any bigger for a week two matchup than this. Now we’ll see if Philadelphia can take control of the conference.
