I was reading Joe Brescia’s blog post about the Philadelphia Soul today, and it occurred to me–I haven’t even thought about the Soul in months. I used to be fairly up-to-date on the Soul. (Once upon a time I had to suffer the embarrassment of confessing that the last football game I watched was a Soul game during the office Super Bowl pool.)
But here’s the thing: I only ever thought about the team because the Soul was Jon’s pet project. If he hadn’t been involved, I probably wouldn’t even have known that Philadelphia had an arena football team. If I had known, I would have just wondered why they bothered when Philadelphia has the Eagles. (Granted, the Soul was the only sports team in Philadelphia that didn’t completely suck back when they were still playing.)
Other confessions: I have never been able to sit through an entire Soul game. I usually get bored and start playing Xbox instead. Also, the most entertainment I have ever gotten out of a Soul game was watching the news media fuss over the ‘Finger Incident’.
I can’t be the only one in this situation. Actually, I’d guess that Bon Jovi fans probably outnumber actual fans of the team. I’ve never seen a Soul t-shirt on anyone other than Bon Jovi fans. And you’re definitely far more likely to see a Soul jersey with ‘Bon Jovi’ on it than a player’s name. I don’t even know if they even sell them with players’ names on them.
But here’s the question: other than Jon’s fans, will anyone miss the Soul if the Arena Football League folds?
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I can say emphatically “yes” — without a doubt that people will miss the Soul.
I will admit that I was introduced to the Soul because I am a Bon Jovi fan. That was simply how I found about the team…as did other people. That is where the Bon Jovi connection ends for many of us.
Over the past five years, fans have gotten to know the players (yes, there are jerseys with players names … duh!) and have embraced and supported the many community initiatives that the Philadelphia Soul organization has spearheaded.
Jon Bon Jovi didn’t have anything to do with why fans worked to spread the word about the team or why they traveled down to New Orleans to watch the Soul win the ArenaBowl. Its not the reason I spent countless hours on a bus back and forth from Ohio to see every home game. And, Jon Bon Jovi is not why kids waited anxiously by the rails to get the autograph of their favorite player.
So, yes. People DO miss the Soul and will continue to hopefully wait for its return. Perhaps when they come back you should go to a game IN PERSON – my treat! Then, you, too can see why it is missed.
I have been a Bon Jovi fan since WAAAYYYY back (as in I bought their first album, on vinyl, when it was released) but I have also been an AFL Fan for nearly 2 decades. In the early ’90s I lived in Phoenix, AZ, and avidly followed the Arizona Rattlers, who won several titles back then. I’m a big NFL fan as well, but always found the AFL to be more exciting and fan-friendly (not to mention cheaper tix!) I was delighted when Jon Bon Jovi brought the Soul to the league, because it was a marriage of two of my very favorite “happy things” in the world (actually 3, ’cause I LOVE Philly). Jon Bon Jovi has certainly been able to help raise the league’s profile, more than most celebrities could, but he’s not the only reason the Soul are successful or have devoted fans. He has certainly brought fans to the AFL based on his popularity, but so have Ron Jaworski, Bernie Kosar, John Elway, etc etc etc.
So, the answer is YES! The Soul, AND the AFL would be missed by many. And not just the Soul…the other franchise cities have their own loyal pockets of fans, and they would mourn the loss of the AFL and their teams as well. Hopefully we won’t have to find out…here’s hoping we’ll be enjoying a 2010 season soon.
Do I miss the Soul? Absolutely. Is it because it was Jon’s team? Not entirely. I love football. All football. And I loved Arena Football long before Jon started the Soul. His team was the highest profile team, yes, but it wasn’t the only team and I miss Arena ball. Period. If you haven’t seen a game in person you can’t understand the fun, enthusiasm or the passion people have for the game. Yes, they have jerseys with the players names on them. I have a friend that owns one and she is a huge fan of the Soul, the team, not Jon. Yeah, Jon brought her out to see it at first and then she fell for the game and adored watching Mike Brown play. On her birthday she had a sign that said “All I want for my birthday is a picture” she didn’t want Jon Bon Jovi’s picture, she wanted Mike Brown’s. That’s what the game does to you. The players are accessible, the game is inexpensive and it’s a BLAST. Will I miss the Soul if Arena Football folds, HELL YEAH. With or without Jon’s involvement, I’ll miss Arena Football and the Soul.
Having been an AFL fan before the Soul, I can also say yes that I miss the team. As others have stated earlier, and probably more eloquently, the game itself was addictive. I know that a lot of Bon Jovi fans went only for the chance to see Jon, but for many others, the game started to draw us in and the possibility of seeing Jon was just icing on the cake. I have been a football fan all of my life and went through withdrawals when the NFL season ended so finding arena football was huge for me. I attended many Grand Rapids Rampage games and when the Soul started, many players and coaches went from GR to Philly. It was a natural transition for me as a Bon Jovi fan and fan of many of the (stolen) players to migrate into a Soul fan. I met many people through the Soul website and at games who were definitely not Bon Jovi fans, but supported the Soul whole-heartedly. When I attended games in Philly, I saw the fans that were there just for Jon, and they were obvious and not well-respected by the true Soul fans. I also know of many Bon Jovi fans that bought season tickets just for the opportunity to attend a concert. Did it bother me? Not at all…through their love of the man, they helped build one hell of a franchise. I just wish all of them were honest about their intentions and hadn’t tried so hard to prove they were fans of the team.
I have gone to the Soul games for quite a few years now. I would like to say, First off, I am not a HUGE Bon Jovi fan but would definitely consider myself a fan of the music. I have my shirts and they are not affiliated with Bon Jovi whatsoever. BTW, my favorite player was Rob Kieff. If it were possible, I’d have his jersey with his name and number. I have met so many wonderful people, some of the best people this world has to offer, via the Soul. Due to our common interest, we have bonded, done road trips for away games, and thoroughly enjoyed our every experience with this team. The fact that we went a whole season without our team, our passion, has really taken a toll on ALL of the true fans. We have had to find alternative ways to get together, often discussing our beloved Soul and how we cannot wait until they return. So I think it is disrespectful and unnecessary to make a ill-informed statement that only Bon Jovi fans will miss the Soul. We, the fans of Philly sports in general, will continue to hang on to any little chance the Soul will return.
I very much miss Arena Football, it is a GREAT sport and hope the AFL is back in 2010.
For now, I’ll settle for watching af2 games on the internet and in Albany, NY.
Do I miss the Soul?? Hell YES I miss them. I admit that I got into the Soul because of being a Bon Jovi fan. But after the first game I was hooked. I was a season ticket holder from the beginning and will continue to be WHEN they come back!
I’m from the Philly area and would watch a Soul game BEFORE even thinking of watching an Eagles game.
I really love Arena football,the pace,the excitement,the high scoring,the dramatic endings,every bit of it.I was an avid Soul follower and I hope they join AFL2 or another league or hopefully a new league will be formed because there is definitely a market for it in Philadelphia.I also am and avid follower of the Reading Express and Wilkes-Barre Pioneers arena football teams as well.Hey the Soul gave Philly a championship in 2008,the Express won the championship this year and the Pioneers will be playing for the championship of AFL2 this weekend so in addition to loving arena football,the teams I follow are very successful and have won championships and are always top of the line contenders year in and year out.I love all sports so this is a perspective from a complete sports fan,not some casual observer.I am as diehard a Philly college and pro fan and Penn State fan that exists and have been through all the close calls and heartbreaks with the Eagles so for me it was refreshing to actually have football teams that I root for actually win championships.So needless to say I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SPORT !!