Philadelphia Soul Arena Football + A Disney Concert = Family Friendly Football

My family and I received complimentary tickets to attend this event. All opinions are my own.

 

Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Soul hosted a Daddy Daughter Night featuring a concert with some of my kids' favorite Disney stars. When my family and I were invited to attend, I decided it would be so much fun to surprise them instead of telling them where we were going. 

Since I have heard nothing but great things about the Philadelphia Soul, I was super excited for the chance to enjoy our first arena football game as a family.  My husband and son love sports, so I knew they would enjoy the opportunity to kick back and relax.  As for my 6-year-old daughter, I wasn't so sure how she would handle watching a football game, but I figured I could always bribe her to behave by telling her all about the Disney concert that was set to follow at the end of the game.

We decided to stop and eat before the game at Celebre's, one of our favorite pizza spots in South Philly.  When my husband and I were dating many moons ago, we always made it a tradition to head out to Celebre's before games and events and we knew our kids would enjoy it as much as we always do. During dinner the kids played a guessing game as to where we were going and they had themselves convinced we were heading to a Phillies game.  I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as they had no idea what was in store.

We arrived at the game just as the game was beginning.  Parking was quick and easy; and a $15, it was the usual cost we are used to paying when attending events.  The massive Philadelphia Soul inflatable player gave away our surprise as we began walking toward the Wells Fargo Center.  Both kids were thrilled, and I was so relieved to see that my 6-year-old daughter appeared to be as excited as my 10-year-old son.

Almost immediately after entering, my kids began spotting t-shirts and signs with pictures of the Disney Stars.  At first they just pointed them out but in no time at all they began asking questions.  I finally gave in and broke then news that we would be staying for the post concert - and let's just say that the squeal that came out of my daughter's mouth literally made heads turn.  Success!

As we headed off to find our seats, we were greeted in the halls by the Philadelphia Soul's super cool mascot as well as several Philadelphia Soul cheerleaders.  My daughter was in awe at "how beautiful" the cheerleaders were and she could not wait to sit and watch them perform.  Right from the start, I instantly got the vibe that the Soul games are super family friendly and relaxed - just as I was hoping.

The game was super fast paced and energetic.  The team really played well together and the fans certainly are very loyal to the team.  We did not hear any negativity or foul language - the entire atmosphere was super family friendly, welcoming and not overly crowded.  We lounged in our comfortable seats and took it all in.  Like most other sporting events, there was plenty of vendors circulating with various food items and goodies.  We found it to be no problem at all to get up for bathroom breaks or stretches.  I will say that souvenirs, food and drink items were quite pricey - but I was not too surprised since that seems to be the norm at most events we have attended.  I was glad we stopped to eat before heading to the game - that certainly cut back on overspending during our visit.

At the end of the event, we had the pleasure of meeting and grabbing a picture with some of the Philadelphia Soul team players and cheerleaders as well as the highlight of my husband's night - meeting Ron Jaworski, a co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul.  Ron and all of the players were so awesome.  They took time to greet the kids and sign autographs.  You could really see just how much these guys really enjoy the fans.

Soon thereafter, fans began moving to the designated concert area to find seats for the post concert.  Disney stars Adrian R'Mante (Estaban Ramierz on the Suite Life of Zack and Cody) and Sierra McCormick (Olive Doyle on A.N.T. Farm) were the hosts of the show.  Since my kids both love watching all of the popular Disney shows, they were in awe.  The concert was a blast and both kids really enjoyed seeing all of the young, up and coming stars and their amazing talent.  The concert was much longer than we expected; both kids loved every minute of it.  The finale and perfect way to end the show was a performance by another Disney favorite, the beautiful Caroline Sunshine (from Disney's Shake it Up).  All of the stars were incredibly down to Earth and did a fantastic job entertaining and mingling with the crowd.  This was such a perfect first concert experience for both kids.  They had such a great time that they both chatted all the way home about their "amazing day".

 

 
Many thanks to the Philadelphia Soul for inviting our family to enjoy their game and this special Disney concert event.  We had such a blast and we look forward to attending upcoming Philadelphia Soul games in the near future.  I think we may have found a new favorite family sporting event!

Disclosure: My family and I received complimentary tickets to attend this event.  All opinions are my own.