Arena Football One kicked off the 2025 season with a spectacular event with Official Beer Sponsor Real American Beer on Friday. They then followed it up with an amazing opening night game on Saturday night that saw the host Southwest Kansas Storm take down the Nashville Kats 40-26.
Hulk Hogan and Jeff Fisher sat down with AF1 Sideline Reporter Sofia Gutierrez and shared their vision for a flourishing partnership between Real American Beer and Arena Football One.
“The energy at the event was electric,” said AF1 Commissioner Jeff Fisher. “To be surrounded by all of these fans who were excited to hear about the great things we are doing together was amazing. With amazing partners like Real American Beer, EvergreenNOW, and VICE Sports, we are going to keep growing Arena Football for this year and beyond.”
Hosted at the Armature Works in Tampa, Florida, there was a raucous and excited crowd on hand to hear Hulk and Fisher talk about their brands and the future of this partnership. Afterward, Fisher and Hulk both took time to mingle with fans, serve beer, and sign autographs for the large crowd.
Hogan even hinted at an interest and goal of adding co-branded merchandise, as well as potentially working on a Hulk Hogan-branded team down the line.
The entire event was streamed live by EvergreenNOW, the official streaming partner of AF1. This event gave AF1, EvergreenNOW, and the national production team a chance to debut their partnership and prepare for an action-packed season that kicked off on Saturday with the Nashville Kats traveling to Dodge City to take on the Southwest Kansas Storm. All the action was carried live on EvergreenNOW!
The Southwest Kansas Storm put on one heck of an opening night as the Nashville Kats came to town. Both the Kats and the Storm shook off the rust early and began scoring in bunches once the second half came around. There were long-bomb touchdowns, quick runs, and even an epic stretch on a quarterback keeper that had the game just about level heading into the fourth quarter.
As the fourth quarter progressed, the Storm’s defense took over the game as Michael Lawson had two pick-sixes to put the game out of reach and start the victory celebrations in Dodge City. Lawson was spectacular for the Storm, as he had three interceptions on the day. Also making an impact for the Storm was first-year quarterback Jalen Morton, who threw for 169 yards, ran for another 48, and collected three total touchdowns. Arena rookie Shiloh Flanagan caught two touchdown passes and amassed 76 yards, while speedy veteran Daquan Bailey-Brown also hauled in one touchdown to go along with 71 yards.
“I’m incredibly honored to have been a part of the inaugural game of the AF1,” said Storm Head Coach Gary Thomas. “I’m also incredibly excited for the world to see the kind of things we are building in this part of the country. We are located in a great city with great fans, a beautiful facility, and supportive and organized ownership. We have proven that you can build a sound business model and recruit top-level talent to a “small market.’”
It was a good night for the Kats as well as quarterback Jake Dunniway, who threw for 171 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another. The Kats also showcased a potent trio of receivers as Trevante Long caught eight passes for 78 yards, Jordan Gandy hauled in six for 56 yards, and Dezmon Epps pulled down the Kats’ lone passing touchdown to go along with 64 yards. Nashville’s offense converted on the ground as Carlton Brown and Trevante Long added rushing touchdowns for the Kats.
“Tough loss in a great arena environment,” said Kats Head Coach Darren Arbet. “But, I’m looking forward to playing again after I saw some good plays on the field and on film by our players. They understand that we have a lot of work ahead of us to get where we need to be at the end of the season.”
“We would like to thank the league and all the AF1 teams for making this such a successful weekend,” said Southwest Kansas Storm Owner Jamie Philips. “We could not have done it without them. We had an amazing crowd that kept the players and coaches energized. We are very excited about the future of the Southwest Kansas Storm and the AF1 league. We are looking forward to our trip to Washington next weekend to take on the Wolfpack. We would like to congratulate Coach Gary Thomas and his coaching staff on winning the inaugural AF1 game.”
All of this excitement leads into a jam-packed weekend of football next week with the debut of Sunday Nights in the Arena, exclusively on VICE Sports. To launch this amazing partnership, VICE will be traveling to Everett, Washington, where the hometown Washington Wolfpack will take on the Southwest Kansas Storm at 7:00 pm Eastern on March 16.
Through its innovative and strong broadcast partnerships with VICE Sports and EvergreenNOW, Arena Football One is delivering on its goal of making the great game of Arena Football accessible to fans all over. Couple that with a betting partnership with BettorEdge and a fantasy football partnership with AltFantasySports, and AF1 is delivering a comprehensive fan experience.
