The are a team in the
Arena Football League . They began play as a 2001 expansion team.
The team began play in 2001 and is based in
Rosemont, Illinois , northwest of
Chicago and near
O'Hare International Airport . The team plays its home games at
Allstate Arena (formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon), the same venue previously used by the
Chicago Bruisers , one of the four original Arena Football League teams. The Rush competes in the Central Division of the American Conference.
Mike Ditka is a co-owner of the team.
The Rush have made the playoffs every year in the franchise's short history, and so far, they have made one
ArenaBowl appearance. In their inaugural year (2001), the Rush won their very first playoff game, beating the
Orlando Predators 41-26, but lost to the eventual
ArenaBowl XV champion
Grand Rapids Rampage 53-21. In 2002, the Rush won the Central division and received a bye in the playoffs. They defeated the
Dallas Desperados 60-47, but fell in the semifinals to the
Arizona Rattlers 46-35. In 2003, the Rush had a .500 regular season, yet got into the playoffs. They fell in Round 1 to the
New York Dragons 48-45. In 2004, the Rush won the Central division with an 11-5 record. They won their first round game 59-49 over the
Orlando Predators , but they fell in the semifinals to the eventual
ArenaBowl XVIII champion
San Jose SaberCats 49-35. In 2005, they went to the AFL playoffs as the #3 seed in the American Conference. They won the conference semifinal over the
Los Angeles Avengers 52-45, but ended up losing the American Conference Championship Game to the eventual
ArenaBowl XIX Champion
Colorado Crush in overtime, with a final score of 49-43. That game became known as the "Confetti Game", due to an arena employee firing a confetti cannon prematurely, when the game was extended due to a defensive penalty on the final play. After a ten minute delay to clean the confetti, the Rush were able to tie the game on the untimed down, forcing the overtime period.
In 2006, despite their first losing record of 7-9, the Rush got into the playoffs, receiving the #5 seed in the American Conference. In the playoffs, the Rush managed to pull off key upsets. In the Wild Card Round, the Rush defeated the fourth-seeded
Nashville Kats 55-47. In the Divisional Round, Chicago managed to pull off a huge upset by taking down the defending champion
Colorado Crush , 63-46. In the Conference Championship they upset the second-seeded
San Jose SaberCats 59-56, giving the Rush their very first ArenaBowl appearance in franchise history.
In
ArenaBowl XX , the Rush defeated the
Orlando Predators , 69-61, to give Chicago their first ArenaBowl title. Quarterback Matt D'Orazio was Offensive Player of the Game, wide receiver/defensive back Dennison Robinson took Defensive Player of the Game honors, and fullback/linebacker Bob McMillen was named the Ironman of the Game. With the win, the Rush became the first team with a losing regular-season record to win a championship in any sport since the 1937-38
Chicago Blackhawks .
In 2007 they won the American Conference Central Division with a record of 12-4. They defeated the L.A. Avengers on June 9th, 2007 in the divisional finals. They then played the
San Jose SaberCats for the conference final, yet they came up short losing 61-49.
The Rush's official mascot is a friendly in January of 1986 .
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Orlando_Predators" class="copylinks">Orlando )<BR>Lost Week 2 ( Grand Rapids )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Dallas_Desperados" class="copylinks">Dallas )<BR>Lost Week 3 ( Arizona )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/New_York_Dragons" class="copylinks">New York )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Orlando_Predators" class="copylinks">Orlando )<BR>Lost Week 2 ( San Jose )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Los_Angeles_Avengers" class="copylinks">Los Angeles )<BR>Lost AC Championship ( Colorado )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Nashville_Kats" class="copylinks">Nashville )<BR>Won Divisional ( Colorado )<BR>Won AC Championship ( San Jose )<BR>Won ArenaBowl XX ( Orlando )
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"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/2007_Chicago_Rush_season" class="copylinks">2007 12 4 0 1st AC Central Won Divisional ( Los Angeles )<BR>Lost AC Championship ( San Jose )
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"2" (including playoffs)
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