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Memphis Express AAF Betting
Memphis, Tennessee was announced as the third charter member in the Alliance of American Football on May 4, 2018, placed in the Eastern Conference along with Atlanta, Birmingham and Orlando. Six days later the team introduced former NFL linebacker and coach Mike Singletary as the first head coach in franchise history.
The AAF felt strongly that team names should identify with the city they are playing in. Keeping with that formula, the Memphis franchise was branded as the Express, crediting the city’s status as a mail and cargo transport area. Memphis is also the world headquarters of Federal Express (FedEx), and the league notes “things move swiftly and purposefully with the goal of achieving awesome results” in the city.
Singletary produced awesome results as a middle linebacker with the Chicago Bears during his playing days. He was the leader of the vaunted “46” defense that finished the 1985 season ranked first overall and produced a 15-1 regular season record and a Super Bowl victory. Samurai Mike was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year that season.
Upon ending his 12-year playing career, Singletary joined the coaching ranks in 2004 and was named interim head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2008 when Mike Nolan was fired, leading the team to a 5-4 record. He was relieved of his duties with one game remaining in the 2010 campaign, compiling an 18-22 record in parts of three seasons.
Each AAF team controls the rights to players from different college programs that are located nearby to help stock their rosters. The territory for Memphis includes; Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Memphis, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, Austin Peay, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-Martin, Carson-Newman, Lane and Tusculum. The Express are also aligned with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals. The Canadian Football League Winnipeg Blue Bombers are also a feeder.
Like a number of other AAF cities, Memphis has a history of hosting several professional football teams for brief periods. The Southmen were members of the short-lived World Football League for two years in the mid 1970s. The United States Football League brought the Showboats to town in the mid 1980s and the Mad Dogs were a CFL expansion team in 1995.
When the NFL’s Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee, they played the 1997 season in Memphis before moving to Nashville. The most recent team to call Memphis home was the Maniax of the XFL in 2001. Each of these teams played home games in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, which is where the Express will hang out for their home games.
With a capacity of 58,318, the Liberty Bowl has hosted University of Memphis football and a college postseason game with the same name since its opening in 1965.
The Express played the first game in franchise history on Feb. 10, 2019, falling 26-0 to the Birmingham Iron. Playing their first home game one week later, the Express were defeated, 20-18, by Arizona before an announced crowd of 11,980. Josh Jasper scored the first points in team history with a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Express tasted victory for the first time on Mar. 2, beating San Diego 26-23.
2019 Memphis Express Schedule
Week 1: at Birmingham Iron, Sunday, February 10th
Week 2: vs. Arizona Hotshots, Saturday, February 16th
Week 3: at Orlando Apollos, Saturday, February 23rd
Week 4: vs. San Diego Fleet, Saturday, March 2nd
Week 5: at Atlanta Legends, Sunday, March 10th
Week 6: at Salt Lake Stallions, Saturday, March 16th
Week 7: vs. Birmingham Iron, Sunday, March 24, 8 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Week 8: vs. Orlando Apollos, Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m. ET (B/R LIVE)
Week 9: at San Antonio Commanders, Saturday, April 6, 4 p.m. ET (B/R LIVE)
Week 10: vs. Atlanta Legends, Saturday, April 13, 8 p.m. ET (NFLN)
2019 Alliance of American Football Teams
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