Philadelphia Soul Are Arena League Champions For Foreseeable Future

The Philadelphia Soul are your reigning Arena League Champions forever! A report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (your source for Arena Football League breaking news) the AFL has canceled its 2009 season and plans to return in 2010.

The problem was, apparently, that a bunch of teams would not return for the 2009 season, including your defending ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul! Yes, so by threatening to quit — along with the Colorado Crush, Georgia Force, Chicago Rush and Cleveland Gladiators — the Soul have made themselves defending champs for another year.

“We couldn’t be taken seriously if we lost too many teams, especially in big markets,” the source said. “That’s what was going to happen. We needed to shut down and reorganize.”

The source said the deal-breaker was ESPN saying it would not televise a six-, seven- or eight-team league.

The source said owners of franchises that wanted out, including Jerry Jones (Dallas) and Arthur Blank (Georgia), expressed a desire to return in 2010 under a new league business model.

No word if the Soul are one of those teams possibly returning in 2010. Hey, doesn’t Bon Jovi still owe us all a free concert since they won last year?!