X-League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| X-League | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 1971 |
| No. of teams | 60 |
| Country(ies) | Japan |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| Official website | X-League Homepage |
The X-League is a semi-professional American football league in Japan. It was founded in 1971 as the Japan American Football League. It changed its name to the X-league in 1997. There are four division (X1, X2, X3, and X4) between which there is promotion and relegation. Teams in the four-tier league are split into east, west, and central divisions. There are two types of teams, one being a company-team which only employees of that particular sponsoring company may participate as a player, and the other classified as a club-team for which anyone can tryout.
The Japanese game is shorter, with quarters lasting 12 minutes instead of the standard 15. Game rules are based on those of the NCAA college division in America. The five-game regular season ends with three rounds of playoffs and the Japan X Bowl. There is a spring tournament as well called the Pearl Bowl which is used by teams to ready themselves and evaluate new players before the fall season.
As mentioned above, it is a semi-pro league and therefore players are not allowed to be compensated for their playing in terms of salary.
The Japan national American football team that has won the first and second editions of the American Football World Cup and was runner-up finishing second to the American team in last years third installment of the tournament, was made-up almost entirely of players from this league.
Contents |
[edit] 2008 X League X1 Teams
| Division | Team |
|---|---|
| East | Fujitsu Frontiers |
| Onward Oaks | |
| Asahi Beer Silver Star | |
| Meiji Yasuda Pirates | |
| Hurricanes | |
| Fuji Xerox Minerva American Football Club | |
| Central | Kajima Deers |
| Obic Seagulls | |
| IBM Big Blue | |
| All Mitsubishi Lions | |
| All Tokyo Gas Creators | |
| ROCBULL | |
| West | Panasonic Electric Works Impulse renamed from "Matsushita Electric Works Impulse" on October 1, 2008 |
| Naigai Energering Marvies | |
| Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers | |
| AS One BlackEagles | |
| SRC Kobe Finies | |
| Asahipretec Golden Fighters |
[edit] X Bowl
Since 1987, Japan X Bowl has decided the X-League championship. Until 2002, it was known as the Tokyo Super Bowl. The winner of this game goes on to the Rice Bowl to face the winner of the Koshien Bowl, the national college championship game.
[edit] Winners
| Year | Bowl | Stadium | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Tokyo Super Bowl I | Yokohama Stadium | Renoun Rovers | 31-28 | Silver Star |
| 1988 | Tokyo Super Bowl II | Tokyo Dome | Renoun Rovers | 28-20 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 1989 | Tokyo Super Bowl III | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Beer Silver Star | 14-9 | NEC Falcons |
| 1990 | Tokyo Super Bowl IV | Tokyo Dome | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse | 14-6 | Onward Oaks |
| 1991 | Tokyo Super Bowl V | Tokyo Dome | Onward Oaks | 49-10 | Sunstar Finies |
| 1992 | Tokyo Super Bowl VI | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Beer Silver Star | 21-7 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 1993 | Tokyo Super Bowl VII | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Beer Silver Star | 13-0 | Sunstar Finies |
| 1994 | Tokyo Super Bowl VIII | Tokyo Dome | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse | 48-28 | Onward Oaks |
| 1995 | Tokyo Super Bowl IX | Tokyo Dome | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse | 54-20 | Recruit Seagulls |
| 1996 | Tokyo Super Bowl X | Tokyo Dome | Recruit Seagulls | 30-10 | Onward Oaks |
| 1997 | Tokyo Super Bowl XI | Tokyo Dome | Kajima Deers | 48-12 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 1998 | Tokyo Super Bowl XII | Tokyo Dome | Recruit Seagulls | 45-24 | Asahi Beer Silver Star |
| 1999 | Tokyo Super Bowl XIII | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Beer Silver Star | 18-16 | Kajima Deers |
| 2000 | Tokyo Super Bowl XIV | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers | 20-18 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 2001 | Tokyo Super Bowl XV | Tokyo Dome | Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers | 14-7 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 2002 | Tokyo Super Bowl XVI | Tokyo Dome | Seagulls | 14-7 | Fujitsu Frontiers |
| 2003 | Japan X Bowl XVII | Tokyo Dome | Onward Skylarks | 13-10 | Asahi Beer Silver Star |
| 2004 | Japan X Bowl XVIII | Kobe Wing Stadium | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse | 15-6 | Asahi Beer Silver Star |
| 2005 | Japan X Bowl XIX | Tokyo Dome | Obic Seagulls | 25-16 | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse |
| 2006 | Japan X Bowl XX | Kyocera Dome Osaka | Onward Skylarks | 24-21 | Kajima Deers |
| 2007 | Japan X Bowl XXI | Tokyo Dome | Matsushita Electric Works Impulse | 33-13 | Fujitsu Frontiers |
| 2008 | Japan X Bowl XXII | Kyocera Dome Osaka | Panasonic Electric Works Impulse | 28-14 | Kajima Deers |
- Team names
- Silver Star → Asahi Beer Silver Star
- Matsushita Electric Works Impulse → Panasonic Electric Works Impulse
- Kohoku Finies → Sunstar Finies → Kohoku Finies → Finies Football Club → Kobe Finies → SRC Kobe Finies
- Recruit Seagulls → Seagulls → Obic Seagulls
- Renoun Rovers (dissolved in 2003)
