The Philadelphia Soul are taking their practices on the road and will be invading Evesham Township on Friday, June 1, for a walkthrough practice at the old Sears Essentials parking lot.
Philadelphia Soul Co-Owner and Philadelphia Eagles legend Ron Jaworski, Soul Head Coach Doug Plank, and Mayor Randy Brown announced the “Town Takeover” for Friday, June 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Sears Essential parking lot on Route 70. The event will feature a “run-through” practice by the Philadelphia Soul. This will be the team’s last practice before they on the Orlando Predators (1–7) on Saturday, June 2, with kickoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Soul are currently in first place in the Arena Football League’s American Conference East Division.
Brown and Jaworski came up with the idea at the home opener for the Soul earlier this year.
“I went with Jaws to the home opener and we were talking about the different events we have here in Evesham. He mentioned how they were doing one of these town takeovers in Millville, and I told him we’d be happy to host one in town,” Brown said. “It was really a no-brainer to host this. We’re just trying to do more and more community events here in town.”
The event is free to the public and during the practice random residents will be asked to participate by “running plays” with the Soul team.
Getting out into the public and putting a friendly face on its athletes is important for the Soul, Jaworski said, a team that competes for fans in the rabid sports culture of Philadelphia.
“It’s critical for the Soul to be good citizens and to give back to the surrounding communities. We need to build our fan base one fan at a time,” he said. “We’re not the Phillies, the Eagles, the Flyers, or the 76ers, so we have to do things differently.”
Soul offensive lineman Christopher Johnson said it’s great to get out in the public and meet with fans that support the team.
Half of each ticket sold to an Evesham Township resident at the Saturday, June 2 game will be donated back to the Evesham Celebrations Foundation.
Brown, a special teams advisor to the Baltimore Ravens, has helped the Soul on several occasions in the past, Jaworski said. The Soul signed a kicker named Tim Cedar who had been cut by the Dallas Cowboys several seasons ago, he said, and Brown was at the arena with the new kicker before a night game and tutored the new Arena Football League athlete on the intricacies of kicking in the new league.
The goal posts are much closer together than the NFL uprights, Jaworski said, so kickers have to alter their strategies when kicking extra points or field goals.
When asked if he would ever consider participating in one of the Soul’s open tryouts, Brown said he would be willing to sign a one-day contract with the team if they have clinched the best record in the league and kick one extra-point in the final game of the season.
Maybe the team will be able to lull Brown out of retirement to kick some field goals at the open public practice.
Local Philadelphia Band, Rivers Monroe will be performing live before and after the practice. Face painters and balloon artists, food, drinks and more will be available at the practice. In addition to Soul players and coaches, there will be appearances by the Soul mascot, SoulMan, the Soulmates dance team, Soul ownership and front office staff. After the practice, fans will be able to meet Soul players and Soulmates who will be signing autographs.
Ticket order forms will be available at the practice, at Evesham Town Hall or by contacting Brian Evans at the Soul offices at (215) 253–4900 ext. 181 or bevans@philadelphiasoul.com.
