Fans Witness Historic Game
Erika Kauffman
Tuesday August 22, 2000
I could feel the amazing fan support even before the game began. I witnessed the preparations on the field by the workers and the players, and even the concessions. They couldn’t get things ready fast enough, because there were fans waiting at the door, anxious to find their seats and prepare themselves for the most exciting Arena Football game of the year. As the clock clicked down and the pre-game festivities began, the music blared so loud that it shook the seats, but it was barely heard over the energized roar of the fans.
I am no stranger to Arena Football, and I have to admit that the most exciting sporting event that I have been to as a spectator was ArenaBowl IX. I witnessed that same intensity in ArenaBowl XIV.
I spoke to Rick from Orlando who was sitting next to me, a veteran Predators fan following them since they first arrived in Orlando. I asked him what draws him to the games all these years. “It’s the fans, the high charge atmosphere,” he said, and I could hardly hear him over the roar of the crowd.
Indeed, I heard them even outside the arena, when I took a break from the action and spoke to Chris from Kissimmee. He told me that he had just been following the sport this past year, but “I am thinking about getting season tickets next year.” When I asked him how the NFL compares to Arena football, he said, “The fan power is 100% stronger.”
That dimension added is part of the equation that equals success. At the end of the fourteenth ArenaBowl, when the confetti settled and the stands cleared out, there were still people on the field. Kids tossing a football, players signing autographs for the devoted fans who stayed. I sat and spoke with Sabrina who`s had season tickets for the last four years. “This team is something Orlando can be proud of," she said. “Before the game I told my husband that it will come down to a field goal.”
Many did not want to let this experience go, and they stayed until they were asked to leave. I watched them go, and witnessed a tender embrace between two fans not far from were the Predators scored their winning points. And I am reminded that of the screaming crowd, it is made up of individuals like you and me who just love Arena Football.
Erika, the wife Joe Kauffman, became the first spouse of an Arenafan staffer to write for the site. Erika graduated Cum Laude from Florida State University in 1998 with degrees in Communications and English Literature. Erika works in accounting for a major engineering company and is currently working toward her Masters degree. She and Joe live in Clearwater, Fla.
