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Orlando Apollos AAF Betting
Eight teams made history as charter members of the Alliance of American Football with the Orlando Apollos one of four teams in the Eastern Conference. The Apollos were actually the first team introduced by the upstart league on April 7, 2018. The team has deep roots to Florida with a number of players on its initial roster from the area or having played locally.
The biggest name, however, is that of the head coach. The Ole Ball Coach Steve Spurrier came out of retirement and was the very first player or coach inked to a deal with the AAF. He brings immediate credibility to the league with his history as a coach with the Florida Gators and South Carolina Gamecocks.
Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986 and joined as a head coach in 2017. He also has experience working with new leagues as the former head man of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the old United States Football League. And he’s enjoyed success at every stop.
His Bandits were one of the most explosive teams in the USFL and he posted a 35-21 record in three seasons before the league dissolved. He lifted the Duke program to unseen heights, winning an ACC title in 1989 before leaving for the University of Florida. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Believe it or not, professional football in Orlando dates back to the 1960s when the Orlando Panthers played in the Continental Football League. In the mid 1970s the World Football League stuck a team called the Blazers in the city. In their only season, the Blazers went to the WLF title game, bowing to Birmingham.
A decade later the USFL’s Renegades came to town posting a 5-13 record in their only season. The team, along with the league, folded with a failed attempt to move from a spring season to compete against the NFL in the fall. The World League of American Football based the Thunder in Orlando for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. They lost the 1992 World Bowl and were out of business the following year.
Proving once again to be a haven for minor professional and upstart football leagues, Orlando was home to the Rage of the XFL in 2001. The Rage owned the league’s best record at 8-2, but was upset in the playoffs in the league’s only year of operation.
Do you remember the United Football League? Orlando was a part of that consortium as well with the Florida Tuskers playing two seasons before moving to Virginia. Current Redskins coach Jay Gruden was part of the team’s staff both seasons, taking the GM and head job the final year. Gruden was also a standout player and coach with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.
The Apollos will play their home games at Spectrum Stadium on the main Campus of the University of Central Florida. Seating capacity at the venue is 44,206. The Apollos played their first game on Saturday, February 9, 2019, defeating the Atlanta Legends, 40-6, with quarterback Garrett Gilbert throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns. The game drew an announced crowd of 20,191 to Spectrum Stadium.
2019 Orlando Apollos Schedule
Week 1: vs. Atlanta Legends, Saturday, February 9th
Week 2: at San Antonio Commanders, Sunday, February 17th
Week 3: vs. Memphis Express, Saturday, February 23rd
Week 4: at Salt Lake Stallions, Saturday, March 2nd
Week 5: at Birmingham Iron, Saturday, March 9th
Week 6: vs. Arizona Hotshots, Saturday, March 16th
Week 7: at Atlanta Legends, Saturday, March 23, 2 p.m. ET (TNT)
Week 8: at Memphis Express, Saturday, March 30, 2 p.m. ET
Week 9: vs. San Diego Fleet, Saturday, April 6, 8 p.m. ET (NFLN)
Week 10: vs. Birmingham Iron, Sunday, April 14, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
2019 Alliance of American Football Teams
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