Martin Bibla knew early in
Saturday’s AFL National Conference title
game that he and his teammates would be making
their first trip to the ArenaBowl.
The Philadelphia Soul’s 35-point victory only
served to hammer the point home.
Bibla, the starting left guard for the Soul, hopes to
be the part of the first Philadelphia professional
sports team since the 1983 76ers to win a championship
when the Soul face the San Jose SaberCats in ArenaBowl
XXII in New Orleans on July 27. Philadelphia is already
favored to win the game, having defeated Cleveland in
the conference championship game, 70-35.
“It felt amazing,” said Bibla, who switched
roles back to family man, traveling back to Mountain
Top on Sunday to take his daughter to a
pediatrician’s appointment on Monday. “We
were all super-excited. Everybody was just on cloud
nine.
“There was no doubt in my mind we were going to
win that game (on Saturday).”
The Soul – which is owned by rock star Jon Bon
Jovi and former Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Ron
Jaworski – experienced a fairly large turnaround
this season, posting a 15-3 record after going 9-9 and
losing in the second round of the playoffs last season.
Something seemed to be missing from the
Philadelphia’s offense and the Soul found it in
AFL Offensive Player of the Year Chris Jackson.
“It’s funny,” said Bibla.
“Someone came up to me last season and said we
would definitely be ArenaBowl contenders this season if
we had some ‘killers.’ This season, it all
came together.
“Everyone was on the same page. We had two
quarterbacks who could have started for any team in the
league, a great receiving core and offensive and
defensive lines that were just playing great.”
Bibla is playing with the Soul for his second straight
season. He graduated from Crestwood in 1998 and went to
the University of Miami where he was majored in
criminology. At Miami, he started 40 of 46 games in his
career and was an All-Big East Conference first-team
selection his senior season. The Miami offense averaged
454.8 yards per game and 43.2 points per game during
that season. He finished his career with 102 knockdown
blocks and was graded 84.2 percent for blocking
consistency.
Bibla was signed by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth
round of the 2002 NFL draft. He played 10 games –
mainly on special teams – and appeared in two
playoff games. He continued to play special teams for
the Falcons through the 2005 season when he was
released and signed by the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos cut him in late August that year, and he
didn’t play again until he was signed by the Soul
in 2007.
“I was a salary cap guy in Denver and
Atlanta,” said Bibla. “In the NFL, the
salary was great, but you can sort of get lost in the
crowd. Here, you don’t make as much but take the
salary out of the equation and you’ve got a close
group of family and friends.”
Bibla has established himself as a valuable part of the
Soul’s offense, guarding starting quarterback
Matt D’Orazio from oncoming tacklers and catching
an occasional pass.
“I like to think that I’m in the top three
if not the best offensive lineman in the league,”
said Bibla, who’s caught nine passes for 86 yards
this season. “I’m ready to take on most of
what gets thrown at me.”
Bibla said that confidence has played a key role in
both his and the Soul’s success this season.
It’s what has gotten the team this far and, in
his words, it’s what has ArenaBowl XXII
“locked up” for the Soul.
“We’re going to win this game,” he
said. “It’s the five-year anniversary of
the Soul becoming a team in the AFL. It’s the
perfect time. I don’t have a doubt about
it.”
(timesleader.com)