by Justin Trujillo
The road to the playoffs has been just as difficult for the Eastern Conference as it has been for the Western. I have already gone over the path the Dallas Desire and Los Angeles Temptation have taken towards the Lingerie Bowl, but now it is time to look at the Chicago Bliss and hometown favorite Miami Caliente.
At the start of the season, no one was really sure what to expect from the Chicago Bliss. They were considered to be in the pack of teams that could make the playoffs but the favorite in the preseason for the East was the Philadelphia Passion. Chicago opened the LFL season and had a much different Miami team than the current one visit the windy city and get rocked (29-19).
Chicago then was scheduled to travel to New York but due to scheduling problems and location of the game, the game was canceled and neither team was awarded a win or loss. The Bliss then traveled to Tampa Bay to face a talented Breeze team. It was tough game but the Bliss came out on top and won (27-18). Their final game was important for both the Bliss and Philadelphia and the Bliss took it to the Passion and ended their playoff dreams while solidifying their own. The rolled the Passion (46-19) and ended the season undefeated. They went from a team with many questions to a contender to a favorite to win the Lingerie Bowl. They are looking to continue their good fortune and end the season undefeated as champions.
Chicago’s opponent on Thursday may not have had a winning record but won just as many impressive games over the course of the season as the Bliss. The Miami Caliente opened the season strong and was considered a team that would be building and be contenders down the road. However, they bypassed expectations and made the playoffs. They opened at Chicago where the Bliss was in control all game and they never stood a chance to win. Miami than made statements in their performance with a shocking underdog win at Philadelphia (37-26).
No one knew if Miami was a contender or pretender but they hosted New York and said they are here to win. The demolished the Majesty with a convincing winning margin (49-7) where it seemed like nothing would stop them. The season ended with instate rival Tampa Bay coming to Miami and pulling off a upset of their own. Miami lost the game (28-18) but won enough tiebreakers to be invited into the playoffs. The Lingerie Bowl is going to be played in Miami and the Caliente will be hoping that a hometown crowd and that being in their own backyard will play to their advantage.
Each Conference in the East and West should be hard fought battles and championship week is projecting to have the best football yet.
With Caccavalle out for the play-off game, Chicago should roll into the Bowl without too much difficulty. Even if Caccavalle never caught a pass, she always drew the top defender, creating opportunities for the other receivers to find a spot in the gaps. I think the real contest will be the Western Conference game, with Ali Eastlake coming on as a quality quarterback. The biggest problem LA will have is overcoming the dings and bruises and soreness that San Diego gave them last week.