Atlantic City kicked off at 3:30 on the first Saturday of June, which was the perfect excuse to get some time in on the beach beforehand. The attendance at Boardwalk Hall was 4,632 which the AFL is still hoping to improve on. Despite this the location of the arena is perfect for what the AFL is trying to accomplish; attracting new fans to the sport.

The boardwalk in Atlantic City has thousands of people walking on it during the summertime, especially on the weekends when gameday is. The Blackjacks could do more to promote ticket sales on the boardwalk pregame, there should be more signs around the arena and general buzz about the game. Putting the mascot with a sign that says “$15 gameday tickets,” would go a long way to attracting new visitors to an Arena Football game at Boardwalk Hall.

Speaking of Boardwalk Hall, it really is a great place to catch a game. The venues extremely unique and has a rounded ceiling. The red lighting around the arena for Blackjacks gameday is a nice touch and looks especially cool during pregame. ArenaFan photographer Jon Stark has three albums of pictures from Boardwalk Hall this year and they’re all worth checking out to fully understand the venues layout.

The crowds in Atlantic City have been small but very engaged in the game and seem to be understanding the sport more and more each week. The city hasn’t had a storied past with sports teams in town and the AFL will have to spend an equal amount of time attracting tourists as well as locals. The target audience for most teams tends to be the people who live in the surrounding area, but Atlantic City is a unique opportunity for the AFL to attract a broader group of fans.

Atlantic City came out on top 35-34 over the Baltimore Brigade after a clutch last second field goal block by Antron Dillon.

I got to the 7:00 game in Philly around halftime, but that’s mostly because I went to Blackjacks head coach Ron James press conference after the game. Had I left right after the buzzer I’d have gotten to the Wells Fargo Center a little after kickoff. 

The Soul aren’t the hottest attraction in Philly, but they have a solid loyal fan base who show up to the games. Saturday night’s attendance was 8,672, and the first two home games were over 9,000 strong. Those are good numbers for this generation of the AFL, and playoff games tend to be over 10,000.

Even so, there was a huge party going on outside Xfinity Live that looked like a pretty good time too. I considered dropping this article and going to turn up, but I went inside and watched the Soul beat the Columbus Destroyers 47-35 instead. It was a much-needed win after a three-game losing skid, and the Soul are now tied with three other teams at 3-3. 

One of the most noticeable differences between Soul and Blackjacks games is that in Philly there tends to be a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, mixed in with newcomers. Being an expansion team most of the people I meet in Atlantic City tend to be either first timers or saw their first game at the Blackjacks home opener last month.

They tend to have nothing but positive things to say about the sport and experience, usually saying that it was exciting or a fun night out. Receivers flying over the wall trying to make a catch is still a fan favorite and something people often mention.    

One of the ways the AFL wants to attract new fans is through sports betting, which is legalized in New Jersey. During halftime of the Blackjacks game I went down to get some Crab Fries but on my way to Chickie’s and Pete’s I saw multiple tables set up with representatives for some sports betting app’s. I asked what I now think would be called bookies (as you can see, I’m not up to par on sports betting knowledge) about the process and how folks could bet on Blackjacks games in person.

They explained that fans would have to download their app and from there could bet on any number of professional sports games, but most importantly for our sake the over-under of Blackjacks games. I’m only 19, which was a huge let down to the bookies, so I couldn’t partake in any of the fun.

There were two separate companies there and each had a few tables set up near the concession stands. I asked both how they’d been doing throughout the day and one said pretty good, the other said not so good. I’ve heard only good things about DraftKings participation, but betting on the sport will take some time to grow and won’t be an overnight success for the AFL.

There’re no more Arena Football doubleheaders on the schedule for this year, which makes sense to try and have fans from AC & Philly and Baltimore & D.C. piggyback off each other on different weeks. But the doubleheader is something that was mentioned by the league before, and in 2017 the Valor and Brigade had a doubleheader of their own.

I went to that doubleheader as well, because like I said I’m an Arena Football junkie. It’s about the same distance between those arenas, and a doubleheader or two a year is an interesting quirk for the AFL.  

The doubleheader is something I’d expect to be back next year, and I’d recommend anyone else in the area looking for a little road trip adventure to try it out. I’m sure there’s others who went to both games Saturday, but I know that friends of ArenaFan Coffee Jones and Scott Napier went to both games with their families as well.

It was a long day of driving on the AC expressway, but overall a fun day with a lot of Arena Football action.      

Harrison Brown is a college student who has been covering Arena Football since he was 12 years old and has been with ArenaFan since 2014. Harrison was a captain of the varsity football team during his senior year of high school and went on to play one season of Division III football in Massachusetts. Harrison has worked for two indoor football teams, in 2018 he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Jersey Flight and in 2016 he was the Color Commentator for the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. You can follow Harrison on twitter @HarryBrownRusso.