2026 IFL National Championship preview: Arizona Rattlers vs. Green Bay Blizzard
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz are joined by Indoor Football League COO Eric Van Beek to preview the 2026 IFL National Championship featuring the Green Bay Blizzard vs. Arizona Rattlers. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily every IFL playoff game on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
The IFL National Championship game is set Sunday, Arizona versus Green Bay in Tucson.
You can watch it exclusively on the Yahoo Sports Network.
Let's go.
Eric Van Beek, CEO of the Indoor Football League joins us now.
The Rattlers were three seed in the west going into the postseason.
They go on the road and take down Vegas, the reigning champions, who they might have just a little bit of a rivalry with.
And then they take down the number one overall seed in the west en route to the national championship game.
So Arizona has absolutely battled through the postseason so far.
What has been the key, in your opinion, to Arizona catching fire and finding themselves competing for another championship?
Well, not to take away from Max Meylor, who's the quarterback, who was the MVP of the league last year, but really you gotta tip your cap to the defense.
Arizona's defense has become the best in the league over the last six to 10 weeks.
They have 39 interceptions on the year.
I mean, that's incredible.
Geez.
They have one guy who's got 11, Yasin McKee, who's, was just announced the, defensive rookie of the year and possibly the defen- defensive player of the year.
And he's alongside some really, really good players.
So it's all about defense.
If you look at the scores from the conference championship game, they hold San Diego, who's one of the most con- consistent offenses in the league to 37 points.
Now, if you're not used to indoor football, you think 37's a lot, but it's not in indoor football.
That's actually a defensive, something to brag about as far as indoor football's concerned.
So really, this game is the typical, the prototypical immovable object and unstoppable force.
You've got the offense of Green Bay, who has been the best in the league all year, Liam Thompson, possibly the MVP that has yet to be announced, going up against a defense who's playing better than the rest of the league has seen all year.
Max Meylor, for anyone that wasn't watching last year, led Green Bay to the Eastern Conference title championship game, as you mentioned, came inches short of an IFL championship.
And then this off-season he goes over to Arizona.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing.
At one point this season he gets benched.
He's got to get his way back to the starting lineup.
Now he's playing really well.
What has all of this meant for Max?
You know, this is my favorite storyline.
First of all, I just love Max Meylor.
I've gotten to know him and he is the prototypical quarterback that you want leading your team.
Not only is he talented, got the arm, he's got the legs, he's got the it factor.
We talked a little bit about that yesterday.
If he need, if they need a first down, if it's fourth down and goal, he's going to find the, the first down marker or the end zone.
That's just what he does.
Here you go, right there.
There he is.
A- and he's an amazing dude, so I love him as a person.
Now his storyline, he just has one of the best seasons ever in the Indoor Football League last year, winning the MVP for Green Bay.
Misses the win.
If you didn't watch the game last year, just to s- to sum it up really fast, there were zero defensive stops in that entire game until the last play of the game.
So that's, that's how that game went and that- Geez was a quarterback keeper to try to win the game and he got stopped on about the two-inch line.
So I mean, he's been He told me yesterday he wakes up with cold sweats dreaming that he has that ring on his finger.
7:30 PM Eastern Time on Sunday you can check out the national championship game.
Just wish I was there, Eric.
Always appreciate you my friend.
Thanks for a great year.
We are so thankful for this partnership and what it's meant to be part of it
