To my family, Arena Football is more than just a sport. It has been a means of family time, laughs, inside jokes, high fives, and memories.

I grew up mostly in Denver and became a Colorado Crush season ticket holder for five years. My family was part of Club Crush, the tailgate club for the Crush which brought together some of the greatest families I have ever been around. We tailgated in the snow many times and players would come out before games just to say “hi.” We booed Bon Jovi when the Soul came to town. We celebrated an Arena Bowl Championship.

My mom was known as the “Pastry Queen” because she always made football-themed cakes and treats including an Arena Bowl Championship replica trophy made of gingerbread and a Roulette Wheel with all the players faces. One cake even ended up going to the player’s facility and was featured on the front page of the Denver Post sports section.

The year of the hiatus we moved from Denver to Arizona. When the League announced that the Rattlers were coming back, my family decided to get tickets in the Upper Level. It only took about half a season for us to upgrade our seats.

The past two seasons we have made homemade shirts in support of our Rattlers. Last year when they announced a blackout for the first round of the playoffs, we spent an entire day painting the Rattlers logo on black t-shirts.

My youngest brother went to his first AFL game at six-months-old. I was at Arena Bowl in 2011. We tease my eight-year-old brother about his favorite Rattlers’ dancer. My brothers wait by the sideboards every game just to high-five any players they can. They always wish the players on the other team good luck and tell them to have fun.

One of the best things about the AFL is the player and fan interaction. Seeing players like Damien Harrell, Willis Marshall, and Ben Nelson all come through Phoenix and catching up with them is unbelievable. Harrell was our adopted player in Denver so when Milwaukee comes to town, we always show support for him. Ben Nelson was also my adopted player in Colorado and I always show support for him as well.

Arena Football has always prided itself on being a league about the fans and from as far back as I can remember they have done just that. The league is affordable and entertaining and maintains some of the best player and fan interactions in professional sports. The biggest reason I come back to the AFL is because of the fan interaction and getting to high-five and hug players and tell them “good game,” “nice catch,” or “great interception.”

-Lindsay Heather