7 February 2008
Jon Bon Jovi wants AFL's Philadelphia Soul to be his biggest hit yet

Jon Bon Jovi has sold out arenas as well as Arena Football League games.

While his globally renowned band has reached No. 1 on the record charts, his Philadelphia Soul are still looking to hit No. 1 in the AFL standings. Bon Jovi believes they'll make it, he'll swear.

"My intention is to contend this year," said Bon Jovi, the Soul's co-owner. "Up the turnpike there were a lot of people that hoped but nobody thought. Now, the Giants are Super Bowl champions. You look at the Soul and you have high expectations."

The Soul opened their fifth training camp on Wednesday with their rock 'n' roll - and little bit country - owner watching from the sideline, every bit as enthused as he was when he helped put an AFL team in an already gluttonous sports market.

So far, like so many of the songs he's performed in a 25-plus year career, the Soul have been a hit.

The multi-platinum rocker has taken the Soul worldwide, plugging his team and merchandise at every stop from Philly to Helsinki and a quite a few cities in between.

Bon Jovi is still the Soul's top headliner with his star power helping the franchise arguably become the most popular in the AFL. Bon Jovi claimed Soul jerseys, including ones with his name on the back, outsell the rest of the league's combined.

The Soul have drawn an AFL-best 514,226 fans the past four years and they project about 8,000 season tickets sold for this season at the Wachovia Center and the Spectrum.

Bon Jovi and the Soul. They've got each other and that's a lot.

"I think we're probably beyond where we hoped to be five years ago," Bon Jovi said.

Like an indie band plugging its way up the charts, the Soul are still looking for their breakthrough performance. They were eliminated in the National Conference's divisional round each of the past two seasons and finished last season 8-8.

The Soul started 4-0, but when a separated shoulder sidelined quarterback Tony Graziani they went on an 0-6 skid. Graziani returned and the Soul went 4-2.

Graziani is back and with a new target in free-agent wide receiver Chris Jackson, who played with Ryan Leaf at Washington State. Bon Jovi hopes Jackson is enough to bring Philadelphia an ArenaBowl title.

"His nickname from here on out is 'Money,' because every time I see him, I go, 'there goes my money,"' said Bon Jovi, chuckling. "Let's hope he's going to be worth it."

Hey, this is a city waiting 25 years for a pro championship. They'll take anything.

The Soul, who are practising this month at the Eagles complex, open the season March 1 against the Orlando Predators. For a triple play of Bon Jovi, the band plays the next two nights at the Wachovia Center.

"It's a nice way to kick things off," he said.

Source: Canadian Press