Arena Football and Other Things Ruined By Bon Jovi

After 20 years, it's over, Johnny.

And we blame you.

Like everything else you touch, you once again had to ruin something that had so much potential.

A season after your Soul won the Arena Bowl and you force-fed your feathered mullet to sports fans across the country, the AFL goes down in a Blaze of Glory.

And in case you've forgotten, allow the HHR staff to remind you of other things you've ruined over the years.

• Prayer
• Love's name
  
• Steel Horse Rides
• Alec John Such's sweet gig of being in a huge band and unable to play the bass for shit
• The Young Guns Franchise and Emilio Estevez
• Ally McBeal
• Acting in General
• Medicine
  
• EdTV
• My Life
• The Idea of Not Going Home
• This town
  
• Bouncing
• His one-time hero Bobby's one-time criminal-free record
• Saying Goodbye
• Sambora's marriage
  
• Running Away
• The Chest Hair/Big Medallion Necklace/Hot Tub combination
  

Thanks, Jon. You couldn't just leave well enough alone.

Of course, if you looked deep into our eyes and crooned "I'll Be There for You," all would be forgiven.

Philly Soul Win for Cover Band

The group of athletes impersonating a football team apparently won a championship in honor of a man impersonating their owner.

Or so implies the front page headline on Center City's Weekly Press this week.

H/T Philadelphia Will Do's D-Mac

Rockstar Philadelphia Soul Owner Busted for DUI

No, not Jon, the other one...

Image: TMZ.com

Richie Sambora, the likable rockstar part owner of the Philadelphia Soul was popped with a DUI according to TMZ.

What do you have to say about that, Tony Graziani?

Cougarville, USA

Last night, like any good New Jersian should, Ariel and I spent the night at a Bon Jovi concert celebrating Dr. Jon's 46th birthday, albeit we did so across the river in Philadelphia. We joked about how many Soul references the AFL owner would make, and needless to say, he was right on cue early on welcoming fans to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..."Soulville, USA."

While stuck in traffic I noted that if I were single and looking, an Bon Jovi concert is certainly fertile grounds for prowling. And it's not just the cougars. As a guy pushing 30, I realized something I coined the 8-year cougar/co-ed window. The age range of screaming women nicely bookends my current age.

The outfits above were only the beginning. Sitting directly in front of us was a 40-something year old man mimicking Jovi's every move. Directly to his right was a 115-pound dude wearing an Under Armor shirt who was sitting next to one of the many women wearing a Tony Graziani jersey.

Opening act was solid. Not knowing what to expect from Idol alumnus Daughtry, the guy and his band can flat out rock. Hard too. Totally unexpected, but it worked, even if he teased about going back to the 80's only to sing the opening verse to "Home Sweet Home" before breaking into "I'm Going Home."

Visibly, Jon is showing his age. His feathered, darkened hair looked, well, contrived. He had a black vest on that was eerily reminiscent of the Springsteen Human Touch/Luck Town era and his preachiness is straight out of the Boss' Gospel of Rock 'n Roll. Sambora, wearing his finest wine-colored velvet pants and purple leather 3/4 coat, looked like a poor man's Little Steven Van Zandt. Tico Dice Clay looked tough as ever but Ariel noted she was waiting for him to reach his arm around his head and take a puff of an unfiltered smoke. David Bryan and his JT-inspired mane hasn't changed in 25 years. Nice to see Asbury Juke Bobby Bandiera touring with the boys.

Show it self was a lot of fun. Jon, celebrating his birthday and coming off a big Soul win, seemed exceptionally inspired. Ariel noted he was playing all my favorites (with the exception of "Saturday Night"). Big highlight was Daughtry coming out and doing a fantastic "Blaze of Glory" (rock on, Young Guns).


And as if him referring to the crowd as the "brothers and sisters of Soulville" and promising to bring Philadelphia a championship (what, do the Kixx not count?) weren't enough, the inevitable happened. Out came the Soulmates and a handful of players to sing happy birthday.

FB/LB Wes Ours, WR/KR Mike Brown, DL Gabe Nyenhuis, et. al.

See the players and Soulmates yucking it up here:

Only thing missing was Jaws.

Photo: buffalosportshallfame.com