
### _[26 IN 26 STOP 17](/26in26list)_

_\*This trip occurred on June 3, 2026. For more on USL2, [here's an overview](usl2_overview)._

Morris Elite Soccer Club was founded in 2016 by a former player after his "pro career" ended, and has become one of the fastest growing youth soccer programs in the United States (according to the club). In 2021, the club started up a USL League Two team; however, said team has yet to make the USL playoffs. Also, despite being named "Morris" Elite and the organization being headquartered in Madison, NJ (where FC Motown happens to play), the USL2 team’s home stadium is not in Morris County - it’s at my (true) alma mater: Rutgers Newark!

I can’t really tell you much about the school (though trust me: it's not that exciting)[^1] or the field itself, as information is kinda sparse (at least for the field; after all, Rutgers Newark is a D-III school[^2]), but I can tell you that I used to see it ALL THE TIME: during my time as a student, the computer lab I frequented in my later college years (thanks to it being WAY LESS BUSY than the main computer labs) was in a building adjacent to the field, so I’d often walk past it before/between/after classes. Apparently they replaced the turf in 2019 (which was after I graduated), but I have no idea what the new field offers that the old one didn’t (outside of it apparently being cooler). Also, the field was officially named after Frederick Douglass in 2018 (and has a plaque commemorating Douglass and a few historical sites near where the field is now), but I could have sworn that it held that name when I was in college (maybe I’m Mandela-ing this).

There are NO PERMANENT SEATS here: the field serves both soccer and softball, and in order for both sports to be able to coexist in the small space it has, portable bleachers are utilized (which have covers over the seats - something rather uncommon at this level). Outside of that...there really isn’t much to say: this is a D-III multipurpose field after all - but given that the bleachers are set up ON the field itself...

![A photo of Frederick Douglass Field from field level](/images/2026/0603-runewark.jpeg)

There is one other thing worth mentioning: the field itself is at the bottom of a hill, and there's a parking lot for Rutgers staff at the top of the hill overlooking the field (next to the building I mentioned earlier). A small set of bleachers overlooking the field is present near this lot, and while there is a gate (seemingly to limit access when not intended for use), it was open for this game (plus the field is quite visible from the parking lot and the adjacent street).

In all honesty, this trip was a bit of a crapshoot because...Newark[^3]. While the neighborhood (University Heights) is PROBABLY one of the better parts of the city (at least compared to the parts I saw while driving in), I did get asked for money IN BROAD DAYLIGHT once back when I was in college (plus this game had a 7:30 start time and the field is kinda far from the highways). Also, parking is a bit odd: I'm not fully sure what the "public status" of the Rutgers lots are (i.e. if they're supposed to be free and open to the public), but I was able to find some street parking across the street (which was free). However, I felt that I wanted to do this, and since THIS date fell neatly into my calendar, I ended up choosing to come here[^4].

I'm not sure if this game qualifies as the "Morris County Derby", as it saw Morris Elite take on USL2's other team based in Morris County, NJ: [FC Motown STA](2026-05-22_fcmotownsta). Yes, this just so happenes to be the THIRD time I've seen FC Motown STA this year, and they continued their dominance over the Metropolitan Division - cruising to a 4-0 victory (which means that not only have they won all three games I've seen, they've outscored their opponents 13-1 in those three games)[^5]. I also must note that they have one of the most vocal coaches in USL2 that I've noticed - though that may be because it's super easy to pick out his accent...

Also, like [Ironbound SC](2026-05-31_ironboundsc) (which just so happens to be another "youth academy with a USL2 team"), there are no concessions or merchandise to be found here. However, if you are hungry, RU Hungry (a New Brunswick staple with a Newark location that opened - you guessed it - AFTER I graduated) is about a block away with its famous fat sandwiches.

---

### ON DECK

It's been a bit since I've done one of THESE, and that's largely because I've had my plans get changed last minute quite a bit these past few days (case in point: I had to cancel plans to see THREE separate games last weekend).

Having said that, NEXT weekend is a bit up in the air as well - by which I mainly mean Saturday...

---

[^1]: Rutgers Newark used to tout its identity as "the most culturally diverse campus in America" back in the day, but I don't know if they still do that - nor do I know how that is viewed by modern America...

[^2]: Our men's volleyball team (yes, that's a thing in the NCAA) was D-I when I went there, and I actually knew one of the guys on the team, but it went down to D-III around the time I graduated.

[^3]: I had some thoughts about seeing a few soccer games at NJIT across the street, but concerns about Newark ended up scuttling BOTH trips (though one was also due to a prior commitment).

[^4]: For a while, this game was going to be earlier in the year as well as the first "youth academy with a USL2 team" on this blog, but then it got delayed and I ended up seeing Ironbound first.

[^5]: The record improves to 4-0 with a 18-1 goal differential if you include the [NPSL squad](2026-05-17_fcmotown_npsl).

Summer soccer at my alma mater

Morris Elite SC (USL League Two) @ Frederick Douglass Field (Newark, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on June 2, 2026._

If you know anything about baseball, then you probably don’t need me to explain the history of the New York Yankees. Heck, as someone who viscerally _dislikes_ them, I feel like the less I say here, the better.

So how the hell did I end up going to a Yankees game?

The story of this trip begins with the Somerset ~~Patriots~~ Semiquincentennials. Back when I saw them [in April](2026-04-17_sompatriots), I bought a Semiquincentennials jersey, and it came with a voucher for two free tickets to a Yankees game. Originally, I was going to give the voucher to one of my friends, but then I realized:

_**This blog is kinda my job right now, and I should not stick my nose up at an opportunity for CONTENT.**_

With that in mind...I decided to go for it - but one BIG thing to keep in mind for this voucher: the jersey cost \$148. Therefore, in order to “maximize” the value of the voucher, I had to make sure that the cost of the two tickets met or exceeded that price - if they would have been less, then I didn’t feel it was enough value to justify using the voucher (i.e. “why spend \$148 to not have to pay $20 for tickets?”). You might think that this would be impossible to do as the Yankees would not be so willing to give “discounts”, but you’d be surprised what seats were available from the voucher. Sure, the “best” seats were still second deck or outfield seats, but the prices I saw for some of them were surprisingly high (case in point: the tickets I got would have cost around \$170 “firsthand”).

I’ve already talked about Yankee Stadium before, as I visited it both [last year](2025-08-13_nycfc) AND [this year](2026-04-27_bananaball_ny2), but for those who need some context: the stadium opened in 2009 as a replacement for the “original” Yankee Stadium built in ~~1923~~ 1977. As the home of the New York Yankees, the team wants you to KNOW who they are and what they represent - testaments to the team and its championship pedigree are (annoyingly) found around the stadium. This includes Monument Park, a team museum, a large image of George Steinbrenner in the outfield, and the years the team won the World Series plastered all over the walls. This trip, however, saw me check out the museum a bit closer (as I wasn't able to get down to Monument Park before it closed), and I saw that the museum had a collection of signed baseballs - some by legends, some by rather obscure players, and one signed by one of my favorite Yankees of all time: Carl Pavano[^1].

This is also somehow NOT my first Yankees game: I saw the "old" Yankee Stadium back in (what I'm FAIRLY sure was) 2007, where they lost one of the final games in Tampa Bay Devil Rays history (as they dropped the "Devil" and became the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008). This time, they were taking on the Cleveland ~~[REDACTED]~~ Guardians - a team I had thoughts about seeing because of Jose Ramirez, but ended up selecting after they called up 2023 [Cape Cod Baseball League](ccbl_overview) MVP and 2024 #1 overall draft pick Travis Bazzana. While I was mainly interested in the aforementioned Guardians players (plus two other former Cape Leaguers in Cleveland's Chase DeLauter and Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler), it must be noted that sadly, this game did NOT feature Aaron Judge (who, it should be noted, is ALSO a Cape Leaguer[^2]) or Giancarlo Stanton, who were both injured.

![A](/images/2026/0602-why.jpeg)

<figcaption>Former Harwich Mariner Cam Schlittler throws the first pitch of the game to former Falmouth Commodore Travis Bazzana</figcaption>

This game was a rather close affair as the Yankees and Guardians spent a few innings trading the lead, but around the time I had to leave (so as to not get home well after midnight), Cleveland(town) took a lead they'd never lose - going on to win 9-4, which means that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yfkvxibi-o" target="blank">I have an excuse to post a link to this</a>[^3].

Also, I've heard that Yankee fans don't like how many random noises there are in games nowadays, and while it's not Savannah Bananas level "music blaring the whole time" bad, those "YOU HAVE TWO STRIKES...WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?" sounds are very much NOT necessary. In addition, I'm almost certain I saw the "home run bandit" Zack Hample (partially as he was wearing an MLB Umpire hat which is almost impossible to find)[^4] as well as Jomboy Media's Joez Mcfly during the game.

### MERCH

I won't go over too much regarding Yankees merchandise (as I've gone over the stadium's merchandise areas before), but my goodness were there a TON of stands. I didn't go through all of them, as most of them had the same items which I'm REALLY not that interested in (replica jerseys, random other shirts, and various small collectibles which I'm trying to cut down on due to space limitations). I will mention that there was a special deal: buy a fitted hat, and you'd get a free mini bat. I will NOT say whether or not I ended up taking the deal however (though I've recently been getting fitteds again due to my old ones being too small for me now...).

Also, one thing I forgot to mention when I visited the Mets: MLB’s jersey template has gone through many changes over the years, but a 2016 change has a highly unfortunate flaw where jerseys with pinstripes (those thin vertical strips on some jerseys) look awkward as there are sections that do not have the pinstripes (most notably the "tail"/bottom of the hem). Alas, the three MLB teams closest to me (the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies) all have pinstriped jerseys, which means that they all have this rather unfortunate defect (though the idea of buying a Yankee jersey for more than bargain bin prices is very much something I'd rather NOT do). There was a change made to the template in 2024 that "fixed" this issue, but the other issues it created were so egregious that it didn't last very long, and MLB has gone back to the template with the "incomplete" pinstripes.

Personally, I'd prefer to AVOID these jerseys, as the blank areas make them look incredibly strange (especially if the jersey is untucked, as the intention is that the "blank" area is to be tucked in).

---

[^1]: I did not find a Jaret Wright signed ball (who's also up there on my list - but for those wondering, Randy Johnson is NOT in that echelon).

[^2]: For those wondering, Bazzana, DeLauter, Schlittler, and Judge played for Falmouth, Orleans, Harwich, and Brewster respectively.

[^3]: I linked this video instead of embedding it because it screws with the mobile layout for this post (as YouTube seems to have a "fixed" embed size - see [the Winter Village](2025-12-21_rubasketball2) for an example of this).

[^4]: I say this as someone who is currently trying to find the MLB Umpire Jacket I ordered from eBay a few years ago...

I CANNOT believe this is a thing

New York Yankees (Major League Baseball) @ Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)


One of the more interesting things about going to a sporting event: there's TONS you _don't_ get to see. The most "common" example of this would be luxury areas for people/companies who pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to access them, but there are areas of stadiums even _they_ don't see on a typical gameday.

Take, for example, the [Gotham FC Open House I attended back in October 2025](2025-10-18_gothamfc2)[^1]. While it allowed fans to see some of the luxury areas (which, again, cost HUNDREDS of dollars for a game), there was also access to one of the changing rooms and the tunnel the players walk through at the start of each match. However, many stadiums in the United States offer special guided tours which offer access to these areas to fans.

This time, I decided to take a tour of Citi Field. [I've talked about the place before](2026-05-01_nymets), but I did not get to see EVERYTHING that it had to offer on that trip (most of which was NOT part of this tour, but I may get to at some point in the future, as I'm thinking of going back for another game). Of course, much like the Gotham Open House, there's parts of the stadium that are completely inaccessible to fans - such as our starting area: the press conference room.

![An image of the area where the New York Mets hold press conferences](/images/2026/0602-pressarea.jpeg)

<figcaption>[Insert your own inane question for whoever is managing the Mets when you read this here]</figcaption>

The tour was neat in that while yes, decent chunks of it were luxury areas (one of which I had access to during the game I went to), and we did go into the press box for a bit though I felt it was mostly just okay (though the Home Run Apple went off while we were there), a lot of it was actually in the first floor tunnels connecting the two team clubhouses (though we were not allowed IN the clubhouses as rehabbing players were present). This included a visit to the right field premium area, which has probably the best physical seats in the stadium in my opinion.

However, the most interesting stop of the tour was the last stop, as we got to stand on the track around the field behind home plate:

![An image of Citi Field from the field itself](/images/2026/0602-citifield-field.jpeg)

Which included a close up view of the Mets' dugout:

![An image of the New York Mets dugout at Citi Field](/images/2026/0602-metsdugout.jpeg)

I will end this by admitting that part of the reason I made THIS trip was because I made plans for later that day - [something I NEVER thought I would do...](2026-06-04_nyyankees)

---

[^1]: The reason for it was to try and sell season tickets to fans, but the team may have just nuked any market for potential season ticket holders as reports have indicated they're looking into moving to Queens...

An inside look at the home of the New York Mets

A tour of Citi Field


### _[26 IN 26 STOP 17](/26in26list)_

_\*This trip occurred on May 30, 2026. For more on USL2, [here's an overview](usl2_overview)._

So far, I've talked about four pre-professional/high-level amateur teams on this blog: [Vermont Green](2025-08-21_vgfc), [FC Motown](2026-05-17_fcmotown_npsl), [New Jersey United](2026-05-24_njunited), and the [Staten Island Monarchs](2026-05-25_simonarchs). Today marks a bit of a change however, because where these teams are all mainly just small local teams with not much going on "outside" the main team (save for maybe the whole [STA thing](2026-05-22_fcmotownsta)), today's team is quite different: it's an entire youth soccer program designed to teach kids how to play soccer (aka an academy - which none of the other teams mentioned really have).

Ironbound Soccer Club - named after a district of Newark known for its Portuguese culture - has been around for some time. I couldn't find an EXACT date of "founding", but their website indicated that they won a youth title as far back as 2010. They also have some partnership with [Red Bull New York](2026-03-01_rbny), but I'm not fully certain as to what said partnership entails.

Information on Ironbound SC's history in USL2 is rather sparse sadly, but indications are that they joined the league in 2023 (by which I mean Wikipedia and the USL2 website). However, despite being named after a neighborhood in Newark (the Ironbound - which is known for its Portuguese culture), the team doesn’t play IN Newark: when I found out about the team last year, they were playing at a high school stadium in neighboring Elizabeth, NJ[^1] - another major city south of Newark which, unfortunately, has seen MUCH BETTER days in the past. When the USL2 schedule for this season was released, I found out that they had moved to the other side of Newark - playing their games at another local high school in Harrison, NJ (which also happens to be the home of [Sports Illustrated Stadium](2025-09-08_gothamfc)).

One thing that separates Harrison High School's field from others in the area: the field has baseball and softball diamonds in addition to the football/soccer/lacrosse field, but unlike [Hinchliffe Stadium](2025-08-12_njjackals), the "bat and ball" diamonds do NOT overlap with the football field. Therefore, the "field" itself is much larger than your normal high school stadium (it's more "square" than "rectangular"), and while there is still a running track here, it's quite different from your average high school running track as it's way more square than "ovaloid".

Said track is also how spectators get to the main stand from the school's parking lot, as it's on the opposite side of the field from the school. It's a rather large grandstand, and unlike some other high school bleachers (such as [St. Joe's](2026-05-24_njunited)), there's a decent amount of concrete (as well as bathrooms and changing rooms for the two teams). Strangely, it feels like it has a fair amount of areas meant for wheelchairs/accessibility despite being completely ADA inaccessible due to the need to climb stairs to reach the bleachers (i.e. wheelchairs cannot reach the seats).

![An image of Harrison High School and its athletic field with the Newark skyline visible on the left side of the image](/images/2026/0530-ironbound.jpeg)

<figcaption>Gotta love magic hour!</figcaption>

This game was rather even throughout - both teams scored from a corner and had a penalty shot, but only the visiting Long Island Rough Riders scored from theirs. However, Ironbound found an equalizer from "open play", and as two other goals they had were ruled out by the offside flag going up, this game ended as a 2-2 draw - the first honest to God, no-weird-tiebreaker-because-we-need-to-give-one-team-a-fake-win draw/tie I've covered on this blog (see: [MLS NEXT Pro](2025-09-22_rbnyii) and [college](2025-10-25_bentleyhockey) [hockey](2025-11-04_harvardhockey_mens)).

As a final note, it seems that there are VERY FEW people associated with the club who work in USL2 gameday operations - the team doesn't have any of those portable tents/awnings that a lot of other teams have, this game was free to attend (apparently), and neither concessions nor merchandise were sold (the Monarchs had a few snacks and drinks available despite not having merch FWIW). Also, I feel like this is REALLY stretching thin the idea of which venues should get _26 in 26_ consideration, but I felt between counting other similar venues PLUS this game being the first draw I've discussed, I'd count it.

---

[^1]: Fun fact: IIRC, Elizabeth High School was once the largest high school in America in terms of students, but a restructuring of the school in the 2009 split it into multiple separate schools.




A seemingly innocuous game produces a blog first (NOT CLICKBAIT)

Ironbound SC (USL League Two) @ Harrison High School (Harrison, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on May 29, 2026._

If you’ve never heard of Ultimate before, it’s a sport where players throw a disc around and try to catch it in a part of the field known as the endzone (yes, very similar to gridiron football). The main rules I think are important are that a player can't really move with the disc (though they're allowed to take a few steps in certain situations such as coming to a stop while/after catching the disc), and if the disc is dropped/not caught, it's a turnover. Due to this latter rule, teams typically have entire "offensive" and "defensive" units similar to football and box lacrosse, though UNLIKE those sports, the defense does not switch off after turnovers (i.e. they have to get the disc to the endzone like the offense does when they take it away)[^1].

If you’re wondering why I've been using "disc" instead of "frisbee", that’s because "frisbee" is a trademark (much like [Wiffle Ball](2025-08-16_mlwwiffleball)[^2]). In fact, it’s due to this trademark situation that the main "professional" Ultimmate league in the United States (i.e. THIS one) was known as the American Ultimate Disc League until 2024, when it partnered with the company that owns Wham-O (i.e. the owners of the frisbee trademark) and became the Ultimate Frisbee Association.

In 2012, the then-AUDL started up its first season with eight teams. In year 2, four teams were added - including the New York Empire. The team has actually been one of the UFA’s most successful teams - they’ve only had one losing season (which just so happens to also be the only season they missed the playoffs), and they’ve gone undefeated THREE TIMES - each of those seasons ending in a championship (which actually gives them the most championships in the league).

I couldn’t find any SOLID information on their stadium history, but I do know that for a while, they were playing in New Rochelle, NY (basically one of the last major "towns" between Connecticut and New York City heading south on Interstate 95). However, it appears that they have moved to [The Stadium at Memorial Field](2026-03-08_westchestersc) for this season, and as I've visited the Stadium at Memorial Field before, I won't get too into it here (since I did that already). I will note that seating for this game was basically limited to the two middle sections with chairback seats however, and there were large banners over several of the bleachers on either end of the "seating section", but all tickets are sold as general admission, so...

![A view from the front row of The Stadium at Memorial Field](/images/2026/0529-memorialfield-frontrow.jpeg)

However, with the "open" seating, I also figured I'd see what the view from the top looked like as well:

![A view from the last row of The Stadium at Memorial Field](/images/2026/0529-memorialfield-lastrow.jpeg)

My original thought for the Empire was actually to visit on May 10, as that was the only afternoon game on the team's schedule (this was BEFORE I saw Westchester SC and the stadium's area)[^3]. However, I was unable to make that trip, so I ended up choosing this as my "new" date. This game also marks the SECOND time I've seen the Empire: when I was living in Massachusetts, I saw them take on the Boston Glory[^4] at a stadium in Medford, MA, but I didn't write about that game and don't exactly remember much outside of New York winning and me going home with a vuvuzela.

That game (which I THINK happened in 2024) was rather close, which I mention because this game...wasn't. New York scored the first six points of the game within the first five minutes, and ended up winning by 23 points - that's more than three _football_ scores.

There was also some high school All Star competition that occurred before the game - there were separate games for boys and girls teams, and I arrived sometime after the girls' game had started. In addition, a drum line (which was decked in Empire colors) performed before the game, at halftime, and after each Empire score of the first half (though seemingly not the second half).

### MERCH

I felt like the Empire had a larger merch area than Westchester SC did. It was a bit closer to the gates than the Westchester one, and while it did feature largely "standard" items (i.e. jerseys, shirts, and discs)[^5], I will mention that apparently, the company that supplies the UFA with its jerseys (which, it should be mentioned, is solely focused on ultimate) has two different fabrics which they make jerseys with - though I'm not FULLY sure on how they differ.

Also, they had special shirts for the All Stars (which were made from the "less expensive" fabric), and some were available for purchase. It seemed like they REALLY wanted to get rid of them, as they were essentially selling them at clearance prices (but only AFTER the game mind you). Dave and Busters also had a table at the game, and I won a Shadow the Hedgehog plush toy from them.

## \-\-\-

One final note: there is one more team that calls The Stadium at Memorial Field home (the New York Exiles of Women's Elite Rugby), but I don't think I'll be able to catch a game due to them only having five home dates - and none of them work well with my schedule.

---

[^1]: One other thing that I wasn't sure how to mention: game length for most Ultimate competitions is based on points scored (i.e. half time occurs once one team has "x" points, and then the game ends once a team reaches "y" points), but the UFA uses a clock akin to the other major sports leagues (four 12-minute quarters just like the NBA).

[^2]: Speaking of Wiffle Ball, I am sad to report that MLW is not stopping in New York City this year...

[^3]: Westchester SC only has 7 PM games FWIW

[^4]: Who, it should be noted, are the current UFA Champions

[^5]: Speaking of Westchester SC, I visited a local store which sells their merchandise before this game. Unfortunately, their selection of Westchester items was somewhat limited...


The Ultimate Sporting Experience

New York Empire (Ultimate Frisbee Association) @ The Stadium at Memorial Field (Mt. Vernon, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on May 24, 2026._

That’s right - **I WENT BACK**.

As I said during the [preliminary round](2026-05-19_iflcup), I originally had other plans for this day, so I wasn't thinking of going back to see more of the IFL Cup. However, rain and general wetness ended up affecting said plans (as well as my schedule for the whole weekend)[^1], so I decided to come back to check out MORE indoor football (as it _sorta_ fit around the [Staten Island Monarchs](2026-05-25_simonarchs) game I went to).

One thing I forgot to mention in two prior posts about the sport[^2]: indoor football games have a tendency to be MUCH higher scoring than outdoor football (or at least they did in the old AFL days). Case in point: I didn't mention this in the original post for...some reason, but Arizona and Vegas scored 61 and 73 points respectively in their wins on Monday. Only five times has an NFL team scored 61 points (with the last time being in 1989), and 73 points is the **ALL TIME NFL RECORD** for points scored in a single game (set in the league's 1940 championship game and yet to be matched)[^3].

Anyway, since I've already gone over the league, event, and teams before, I won't bore you trying to re-explain things (though one thing that did change: IFL Cup game balls were now available for purchase). Instead, let's just get to the games:

### Consolation Game: New Mexico Chupacabras vs. Orlando Pirates

I also realized that I didn't talk too much about how the IFL Cup teams are doing THIS season in the last post, but let's just say...things aren't going great in Albuquerque. The team has only one win on the year (over another team that only has one win on the year), and have scored the fewest touchdowns in the league (not to mention the multiple endzone interceptions they had on Monday).

The Pirates, meanwhile, are apparently one of the weaker defenses in the league - allowing the most points per game, which when combined with a middle of the pack offense, leads to the team being somewhat "middling" at 4-3 (also, as mentioned on Monday, they apparently have depth issues). They're beaten a bunch of the teams behind them in the standings, but came up short against the one of actually good teams and got blown out by two others (one of those blowouts being the game against Vegas on Monday).

All of this points to this game likely being a bit less interesting, which in a way, it was: the Pirates ended up winning by 30 points (but scored far fewer than either the Rattlers or Knight Hawks did on Monday). However, I only saw THE FINAL MINUTE of this game, as I found out that despite American Dream being, well, American Dream, there is an advantage in being the only shopping mall fully open on Sundays in Bergen County...though it causes MASSIVE traffic jams (plus I was busy in the morning, and the game got moved up from 1 PM to noon). The Pirates did score in the time I was there, however, so I didn't miss ALL of the action (just MOST of it).

### Championship Game: Arizona Rattlers vs. Vegas Knight Hawks

Both teams are among the better teams in the league this season: Vegas came into this game with only one loss, while Arizona had two - but one of those losses was to the Knight Hawks a few weeks before the IFL Cup.

I actually didn't see the first half of this game, as I was coming from Staten Island as mentioned earlier. However, since that game ended about half an hour after this game started, I figured I'd try and catch the end of this game (i.e. see who wins the whole thing). Traffic in and around the mall was MUCH lighter than it was during the consolation game, and I was able to find a spot MUCH closer to the arena than my prior visits (as I arrived after 8:30 and everything had already closed save for a Wetzel's Pretzels which essentially served as the concession stand).

Arizona led by at the half, but Vegas was (once again) able to make the comeback and ended up claiming the victory (partially aided by Arizona not kicking a field goal at the end of the first half in what ended up being a four-point game). However, the most interesting part of the night was seeing Jerome Bettis (yes, THAT Jerome Bettis) involved in the presentation of the trophy...and being able to see it all unfold ON THE FIELD (do NOT ask how I got there).

![An image of the Vegas Knight Hawks lifting the IFL Cup trophy after winning it](/images/2026/0524-celebration.jpeg)

<figcaption>I took a BUNCH of photos, but this was the only one where you could see the trophy itself</figcaption>

The IFL currently has not announced whether there will be a "sequel" to the IFL Cup soon or a permanent team in the area, but did leave the door open for expansion to NJ/NY as early as next year. Either way, I'm interested in checking it out again (hopefully soon).

![A photo of the IFL Cup field](/images/2026/iflcupfield.jpeg)

---

As a final side note, I ended up walking around the Nickelodeon themed indoor amusement park while trying to kill time between the end of the consolation game and me heading to Staten Island. I must say that I'm impressed with how they managed to fit an entire amusement park with "full sized rides" in a space WAY smaller than your average amusement park. Also, the nostalgia bait of things such as Hey Arnold and freakin' LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE is definitely...interesting.

(And with this post, I'm now up to over 3,700 words on the IFL Cup as a whole)

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[^1]: My original idea was to see the [Wilmington Blue Rocks](2026-05-03_wilbluerocks), but I moved that trip UP due to the jersey giveaway. My next thought was to the [New Jersey Jackals](2026-05-20_njjackals2), but I was thinking about seeing the [Staten Island FerryHawks](2025-08-14_siferryhawks) again (as the Monarchs trip was pretty much locked in), so I moved the Jackals trip up. However, wet weather made me decide to skip the FerryHawks - a decision which ended up being somewhat prudent, as the FerryHawks ended up getting blown out without scoring TWICE IN ONE DAY...

[^2]: The other post was the time I saw [the Jersey Bearcats of the American Arena League](2026-04-19_jerseybearcats) - though I did mention them scoring 40 points in the first half. Also, I looked at other teams in their league, and all I can say is that they're probably not ready to be a TRUE pro team...and apparently the IFL has interest in expanding to the NYC area.

[^3]: The four IFL Cup games all ended with scores that have never happened in the NFL BTW...


Sportventures

Heck Friezes Over

A Citi Trip

The Ironbound

An Empire State of Mind

Mall Ball 2: Indoor Boogaloo