Bibla ready for blaze of glory

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)