ArenaBowl XXIV was the 24th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League (AFL). The American Conference champion, Jacksonville Sharks, defeated the National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, 73–70. It was played on August 12, 2011. The game was hosted at the site of the highest remaining seed throughout the playoffs, which was US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the Rattlers.

Quick Facts Jacksonville Sharks (American), Arizona Rattlers (National) ...

ArenaBowl XXIV

Jacksonville Sharks (American) Arizona Rattlers (National) 73 70
1 2 3 4 Total JAX 12 20 6 35 73 ARI 14 21 7 28 70
Date	August 12, 2011
Arena	US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
MVP	Aaron Garcia, Jacksonville Chris Jackson, Arizona (Offensive Player of the Game) Micheaux Robinson, Jacksonville (Defensive Player of the Game) Jason Holman, Jacksonville (Ironman of the Game)
Attendance	14,320
Winning coach	Les Moss, Jacksonville
Losing coach	Kevin Guy, Arizona
TV in the United States
Network	NFL Network
Announcers	Paul Burmeister, Kurt Warner, Anthony Herron, Ari Wolfe
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The ArenaBowl was scheduled to be played at the site of the highest seed who reaches the championship. Arizona finished with the best record during the regular season. In an interview with AFL Insider on May 9,^[1] AFL Commissioner Jerry Kurz said playing ArenaBowl XXV in 2012 at a neutral site is a strong option. The ArenaBowl was played at the highest seed in the game since the AFL's inception in 1987 until 2004. From 2005 to 2008, it was at a neutral site, Las Vegas and New Orleans. In 2010, the ArenaBowl returned to the highest remaining seed setting, as ArenaBowl XXIII was played at the Spokane Arena, home of the Spokane Shock, who won the game.

ArenaBowl XXIV was televised on NFL Network. The game was the highest watched Arena Football League game on the NFL Network, earning a 0.37 rating. That was up 200 percent from ArenaBowl XXIII on NFL Network. The previous record was set a week before when the 2011 AFL American Conference Championship game earned a 0.32 rating between the Georgia Force and Jacksonville Sharks, with the Sharks winning 64–55. ^[2]

The Arena Football League had fans design the logo for ArenaBowl XXIV in a contest. The league office picked four finalists and fans voted online.^[3]

The winner was Myk Crawford, a Spokane Shock fan from Spokane, Washington, which was announced on April 11, 2011.^[4]

ArenaBowl XXIV went down as one of the best ArenaBowls in AFL history with Jacksonville Sharks quarterback Aaron Garcia throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeron Harvey on the final play of the game.

The Arizona Rattlers drew first blood in ArenaBowl XXIV with a two-yard run by Odie Armstrong giving the Rattlers a 7–0 lead. The teams traded touchdowns throughout the first quarter, but two missed PATs by Jacksonville gave the Rattlers a 14–12 lead. However, the Sharks got a stop and scored in between the first two quarters and took their first lead to open the second quarter, 19–14.

After both teams scored two touchdowns each in the first quarter, the teams each scored three of their own in the second quarter. However, the Rattlers scored two touchdowns in the final 55 seconds of the half, and Jacksonville kicker Marco Capozzoli missed his third PAT of the game.

The Sharks led 32–21 with less than three minutes before half, but Arizona came back to take a 35–32 lead midway through the game.

In the third quarter, both teams each scored a touchdown, but after Capozzoli's fourth and final missed PAT, the Rattlers led 42–38. The fourth quarter of ArenaBowl XXIV saw nine touchdowns and seven lead changes, with five touchdowns coming in the last 1:30.

The Rattlers led 56–53 before Garcia hit Harvey to give the Sharks a 60–56 lead with 1:26. The Rattlers retook the lead after a five-yard TD pass from QB Nick Davila to WR Chris Jackson at the 52 second mark. Twelve seconds later, Garcia hit Jomo Wilson and the Sharks led 67–63.

It appeared Arizona would score the game-winning touchdowns after Davila hit Kerry Reed with a 12-yard pass with 21 seconds left in the game, until Garcia threw the game winning pass to give Jacksonville its first ArenaBowl title (in its second season in the AFL) with a 10-yard TD pass to Jeron Harvey with no time on the clock.