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Rocker Jon Bon Jovi made a brief South Philadelphia appearance Wednesday morning, but it had nothing to do with promoting his Mar. 2 and 3 Wachovia Center concerts. This day was all about fulfilling his obligations as owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul.
Wednesday marked the official start of training camp at the NovaCare Complex in preparation for their Mar. 1 home opener against the Orlando Predators.
Just like Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie does every summer at Lehigh University, Bon Jovi was keeping a close eye on practice and conversing with some players.
"Every season is football season now, all four seasons, and this is the first day of school," Bon Jovi said during Wednesday’s training camp. "There has been a lot of talk in the off-season about plugging some of the holes in the roster.
"The depth we now have at quarterback will assure us that if [starting quarterback] Tony [Graziani] were to go down again, we’ve got a very, very capable back-up in Matt D’Orazio, an Arena Bowl winner. We made the biggest free-agent acquisition in the off-season in [wide receiver] Chris Jackson."
Jackson, nicknamed "Money" by the team owner, was an All-Arena First Team selection after finishing second among all players in receiving yards (1,915) and touchdowns (51). He also is the only player in AFL history to be named Rookie of the Year (’00) and Offensive Player of the Year (’03).
Graziani, entering his fourth season in Philadelphia, has led the Soul to a playoff win in back-to-back seasons. In 11 games last season, the quarterback passed for 2,841 yards and 64 touchdowns. Should he go down to injury, D’Orazio, who led the Chicago Rush to the ’06 Arena Bowl XX title, isn’t a bad back-up option. In ’07, he accumulated 3.789 passing yards and 82 touchdowns.
Team president Ron Jaworski, who also is a member of the ownership group, is exited about the upcoming season. The former Eagles quarterback had just returned from Arizona where he was part of ESPN’s Super Bowl XLII coverage, and immediately switched to Arena Football mode.
"It’s football, I am a football guy," Jaworski said. "I got back [Tuesday] from Arizona for my Super Bowl coverage, landed, went home, changed my clothes and went to Soul practice and addressed the team last night.
"These are young, enthusiastic guys that love playing the game."
Even with his upcoming concert tour, Bon Jovi takes his football investment quite seriously and has gained a lot of knowledge over the past five years. He noted the organization has exceeded initial expectations.
"Here we are leading the league in every revenue stream there is and we’ve got the blessing of [Philadelphia Eagles owner] Jeff Lurie and [team president] Joe Banner to be here at the NovaCare Complex for the third season running," Bon Jovi said. "To have the blessing of the Eagles here in this market is huge for us."
The Soul is holding training camp in South Philly through February and once the regular season starts operations will be moved to their South Jersey facility. If everything goes as expected, the Philadelphia Soul will be playing in Arena Bowl XXII on July 27.
"My intention is to contend this year," said Bon Jovi, who also happens to be a New York Giants season-ticket holder. "Fifty miles up the [New Jersey] Turnpike there were a lot of people that hoped but nobody thought, now the Giants are Super Bowl champions.
"On the other hand you look at the Soul and you have high expectations, but anything can happen."
Jaworski also envisions big things this season.
"Our expectations haven’t changed since day one. We want to have a championship football team," Jaworski said. "I think this is clearly the best football team we’ve ever had from a player perspective, from a personal perspective, from a coaching-staff perspective. This team, barring any rash of crazy injuries, will compete for an Arena football championship."
It all starts March 1 with a home opener against the Orlando Predators (7 p.m.) followed by Bon Jovi back-to-back performances Mar. 2 and 3.
"It will be nice not to have to leave the parking lot," Bon Jovi said. "Two shows and our first home game is a nice way to kick things off." SPR
