The following newsletter solely contains the personal thoughts of Phoenix part-owner Johnny Goodtimes and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Phoenix organization or the AUDL. 

 

In the early 1990s my old-school football coach gave me the assignment of listening to some “motivational tapes” written and recited by a motivational speaker by the name of Earl Nightingale who was popular in the 1950s. You can imagine how “lame” it was for a teenager to listen to some dude from the 50s talks about success, but an assignment from my coach was an assignment, so I plowed through. And while plenty of it resulted in eye rolls, there was one nugget in there that I've held onto since.  Nightingale said that “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” In all the years since, I’ve never heard a better definition of the word “success”. *

 

If we take that as the definition of success and work from there, then what is our worthy goal? One of the exciting things about what we're doing is that there are so many. We want to expand the sport into communities where the sport's never previously been played. We want to open doors for women in pro sports. We want to hoist the AUDL championship. We want to not just wear “Philadelphia” on our chest but respectfully and honorably represent the city. We want to have fun doing it. But I feel like all of those things can fall under two larger banners: community and culture. I think we all want to build a winning culture and an open, caring, and welcoming community. In regards to culture and community, here's a few things we've got going on in the countdown to the 2022 season.
 

*Thanks to Youtube, you can listen to that motivational speech now. It's a bit outdated, of course, but an interesting listen.) 

 

It's a testament to the cultural groundwork that's been laid since Christina and Jeff took over in 2019 that the vast majority of our major statistical contributors from 2021 are back this season. And I think the next step in building upon that foundation was hiring Roger as head coach. He is totally onboard with what we're trying to do here, he clearly believes that building a winning culture goes beyond Xs and Os, and it's been exciting to see that in practice these past few weeks. It's not a single thing I can put my finger on, or a number I can point to, but I can feel it: there's a different intensity to practice this year than last, a different edge. Will it result in better results on the field? We'll find out on May 13th, won't we? 

 

One thing that Roger was adamant about when he joined the team was that the guys have an opportunity to bond off of the field. So 25 members of our team and our coaches are headed on a “retreat” to the Jersey Shore this weekend. There will be six teams competing for bragging rights in games such as volleyball, Kan Jam, and cornhole. (Adam and I will be there to document much of it, so be sure to tune into our Instagram this weekend.)  

. 
 

 

In last month's email, I told you about our partnership with Beyond the Bars, an organization that interrupts cycles of violence through the power of music. The founder spoke at our team meeting last week, and it was awesome for the guys to learn about what it is they do, why they do it, and why our crew should be proud to wear their logo on the uniform sleeve. Today I want to announce another exciting signing: our beer vendor for the 2022 season. 

 

Triple Bottom Brewing was founded in 2019, and it operates a little differently than most breweries. For one thing, it's female-owned, a rarity in the brewing world. For another, the Triple Bottom in its name refers to a triple bottom line, a business concept that believes that companies shouldn't only be about profit, but also people and the planet. The brewery has employees with backgrounds that include previous stints in prison and battles with homelessness. They work with organizations such as Project HOME and the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project to find employees. Last year, they became the first brewery in Pennsylvania to be certified a B Corp - a business that meets the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. They are, in short, exactly the kind of people we want to partner with as continue to build this community and this culture. Oh, and they also make some damn good beer.  

 

OK, so this one technically fits under community, but let's be honest: when you're name is Johnny Goodtimes and you invest in an ultimate frisbee team, you better be ready to bring the fun. And that's why we brought in Superfan Adam Booth, because nobody does “fun” and “sports” like Adam (you can read more about Adam below). He and I meet each week to discuss Gameday, and a few weeks ago he asked me, “What's our goal song?”

 

"Goal song?" I asked in return. 

 

“Yeah, like when the Union or Flyers score, they play a goal song. What's ours?"

 

“Uh, we don't really have a goal song.”

 

“We need a goal song.” 

 

So we decided to get fan suggestions for a goal song, and that's when things got interesting. Former 97.5 the Fanatic co-host Natalie Egenolf said that we should make it the Hall and Oates song “You Make My Dreams Come True.” To which we replied…well, just click here and you can see how it went down. 

 

We're still deciding how often to use it…with all of the scoring we'll be doing this season, we can't play it for EVERY point. But we're thinking maybe the first score of each period? We'll have it all figured out by next month's email. But in the meantime, get to the know the words of our new goal song! 

 

 

If you're on this email list, odds are you're already a part of this community. And you're probably excited about the upcoming season. Annnnnd you've been waiting, PATIENTLY I MIGHT ADD, for single game tickets to go on sale. Well as of today the wait is over. Just click here to go to our ticketing page. And Insiders get them for 25% off (this weekend only). Just use code “INSIDER” and now through Sunday you'll get your single game tickets for just $12, 25% off our single game ticket price of $16. 

 

For us to accomplish our mission, and achieve “success”, we gotta have fans in the stands. So any help you guys can give us to help spread the word is greatly appreciated. We're all working together to build something kinda special here. Let's get more folks in on the fun! 

 

The next time you hear from me, we'll be gearing up for the Home Opener. Hard to believe, but it's just over a month away! This season we'll be using the hashtags #marchto1000 and #hotbirds. The #marchto1000 is in reference to our goal of getting 1000 fans down to the stadium for our first home game. The #hotbirds is just because we all think it's fun and unique, and sometimes that's the only reason you need. So please let folks know how excited you are about the upcoming season, and please use those hashtags when you do so, so we know who's helping us out! 

 

I started playing in high school back in King of Prussia. We had a pretty competitive league within the school, so bragging rights were on the line each year. Played with a bunch of friends who eventually played in college. I'm amazed how far the game has come since.

 

I love how the flight of the disc works. How you can get such distance and yet the disc can just float down into someone’s hands. But on the flip, you can have athletes jumping over each other making amazing catches. When it's at its peak, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.

 

I mean it’s the atmosphere you can create there with fans. Winning is still priority one. But a lot of times it's not really the scores we remember as much as it was the experiences we had. When you make friends with strangers, share emotions with parents and children, that is what makes being a fan great.

 

We’re going to be louder with more energy. All gas no brakes, much like the game itself. It’s the summertime, so why shouldn’t we be having a party? The lads will get us going on the field, but they will feel us in the stands. We will make it feel like no other Phoenix game (before this season.) 

 

I love this sport! I want to see it grow and reach its potential. I also love this city and want to help give them another reason to smile. The Phoenix are a great representation of what makes this city unique. A diverse group of people willing to work hard to create a great product. That will be something that always attracts me.

 

Winning a title!