A Gen Z guide to arenaball
- Logan Kremer
- Oct 1
- 4 min read
Hello everyone! My name is Logan Kremer and here is my personal history with arena football, and how I plan to grow the game and keep it alive for years to come.
I believe that a majority of people will be impressed by my arena football knowledge, even as a young gun myself. I hope in the future to one day own my own franchise that will stand the tests of time, such as the Orlando Predators, Arizona Rattlers, Philadelphia Soul, Tampa Bay Storm, Sioux Falls Storm (we will get there shortly) -- hell, even the ill-fated Miami Hooters. I'm thankful to have this outlet and I'm hopeful you guys will see the evolution from diehard fan to owner.
So just a small bit about myself, I currently reside in the city of Sioux falls and am 21 years of age. My 1st memorable arena football memory was probably much later than many, it came in 2015. Me and my friend were downstairs playing video games and we went upstairs to see what our parents were doing, and low and behold there was both of our dads watching the reincarnated AFL... an absolute classic shootout between the LA Kiss and the Philadelphia Soul ending in a Soul victory 56-48. it was then and there I fell in love with the sport of arena football.
We moved away about a year later to a little redneck crapshoot town far away from a team, but I always would casually turn it on in the background during those muggy summer nights in a town with nothing to do.
Fast forward a couple seasons and I figured out the Bismarck Bucks were moving up to the IFL (North Dakota is where I'm originally from). So that season me and my dad took the 4 hour trip up to Bismarck and stayed in some cheap Motel 6. That night was some of the most fun I've ever had a ballgame, meeting Vikings legend Chuck Foreman and former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant was definitely a very memorable moment for me.
The game ended up being an absolute classic, Bismarck winning at the last second walking off Frisco and winning the game 43-42. I went back to the hotel that night with a brand new dream, find a way to break into arena football.
Fast forward about a year and I am a senior in high school, After my school blew up (google Miller SD high school explosion for that one) I got a couple friends together and we drove 2 and a half hours to come see the Green Bay Blizzard play the Sioux Falls Storm, and once again, what a ballgame. To start, my buddy ended up getting a ball after the kicker kicked it through the uprights without a net, so that was pretty sweet. Green Bay ended up winning 47-41 and the whole time me and friends were respectfully talking to the Green Bay running back who I called 'Dollar General Derrick Henry'. He came over after the game and gave me and my other buddy his gloves.
Kerrion Moore, I understand you no longer have social media, but thank you for that experience. I still have that glove in my room at my parents house to this very day.
After that experience...the winter starts and Bismarck suspends operations?
Alright...
My favorite team is on hiatus. cool. Ended up adopting Sioux Falls for the 2023 season and went to a game or 2. Ended up actually moving out here in 2024 and supporting the team as much as I could. We ended up going 3-13... Bismarck ended up rebranding to the "Dakota Bucks" and still never played a game... but at least I still got the Sioux Falls Storm, a team owned at one point by the commissioner, the IFL headquarters are still here and the team has been here since 1999 when they were originally the cobras.
And then I wake up one cold October morning and see "the Sioux Falls Storm have filed for dormancy for the 2025 season as they couldn't come to a lease agreement with the Denny Sanford premier center" and when I tell you my heart shattered was an understatement.
2 teams I supported both just.. dead within 3 years of each other? ouch.
Also seeing Frisco go dormany hurt as they will always hold a special place in my heart for that 1st game I ever attended. So just like that, I shouldn't care about the product anymore right? wrong. Seeing these teams fall has given me motivation to go get it. I'm hopeful one day I can build major connections and have that dream of owning a team one day come to fruition.
I am hopeful this outlet can help me get where I want to go in life.
I believe that a majority of gen Z does not know that arena/indoor football exists and I'm hopeful that this will show the progression of a fan who wants to see arena football get back to where it was before I was even born (end of 2003). I'm hopeful I can help teams and leagues stabilize and actually turn a profit and make my name known in these arena football circles as I eventually work towards my ultimate goal of one day owning a profitable, well-run, community driven team. I believe that my knowledge of the past will impress, my current knowledge will help arena football teams grow and stabilize, And the future will have a lot more all time brands.
Follow along on social media as we get this thing going! Instagram - @arenafootballhistorian
Twitter - @afbhistory
Honorable mention: shoutout the CIFL and the rapid city marshals. The CIFL was truthfully never a massive league but I went to 2 games out there an it was lots of fun. Hopeful to see somebody give that market a shot again as its a great ECHL market and considering recent trends... you never know.
