ArenaBowl XVI

DateAugust 18, 2002StadiumHP Pavilion at San Jose
San Jose, CaliforniaMVPJohn Dutton, QB, San Jose

• Omarr Ali Hasan Smith, WR/DB, San Jose (Ironman of the Game)

Attendance16,942Winning coachDarren ArbetLosing coachDanny WhiteTV in the United StatesNetworkABCAnnouncersTim Brant, Ed Cunningham, and Lynn Swann

• ← XV
• ArenaBowl
• XVII →

ArenaBowl XVI was played between the San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers in San Jose, California on August 18, 2002. A game with considerable expectations given the teams' intense rivalry and respective success that year, the SaberCats surprised everyone by posting the most dominant victory in ArenaBowl history, holding the Rattlers scoreless until the final period, and winning the game by the lopsided score of 52–14 to earn their first Arena Football League title in franchise history. Arizona's 14 points are the second-lowest in ArenaBowl history, just above the Chicago Bruisers' 13 points in ArenaBowl II. With the SaberCats' victory, Darren Arbet also became the first African-Americanhead coach to win a North American pro football championship.