The Indoor Football League launched its inaugural IFL Cup this Monday with two showcase games taking place at the American Dream. The American Dream is the second largest Shopping Mall in the United States. It is located in New Jersey, and comes complete with a multi-use venue built into the building. This venue has played host to many sports, but saw football for the first time for the AFL Championship in 2024.
This event was touted as the first-ever in-season tournament for a professional football league, and while the overall event was a success there is certainly some room for improvement in future seasons. Let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the first two games of the IFL Cup. We will also look forward to the IFL Cup Championship game set to be played Memorial Day weekend.
Table of Contents
The Ugly
As my co-host on Around the Indoor Football World, Krish Vyas, would say, “There are levels to this s***.” Vegas and Arizona proved they were on another level, not just beating their opponents but blowing them out in embarrassing fashion on nationally broadcast games. If the IFL Cup was designed to showcase the league, then you have to wonder if two 40+ point blowouts are what the IFL had in mind.
Arizona vs New Mexico
Arizona and New Mexico kicked the day off with a game that very quickly got out of hand. By the end of the first quarter, the Rattlers had opened up a 15-point lead. Kevin Guy, known to be a gracious winner, clearly was going to pump the brakes, start calling clock chewing plays the rest of the way, and send New Mexico home admirably… right?
Wrong. By halftime that 15-point deficit more than doubled with Arizona going into the half holding a 42-8 lead. At this point, Guy did ultimately decide to start inserting some backups. However, when your backups include the 2025 IFL MVP, there is not a dramatic drop off. In fact, Meylor entered the game and ultimately led Arizona to 19 points. The Rattlers allowed just 7 more points, and when the clock read zeroes, the score was 61-15 Arizona.
Many of us had assumed the first game would end in this manner. New Mexico was 1-5 coming into the game with a new quarterback, against a 5-2 Rattlers team. The thought was that the more competitive of the two games would be the later game, between 4-2 Orlando and 5-1 Vegas.
Vegas Knight Hawks vs Orlando Pirates
The Pirates came out fast and looked to be a lot more competitive early in this game than New Mexico proved to be. In fact by the end of the first half Orlando had held the lead much of the game. However, Vegas went into the locker room holding a 2-point lead. The one thing that stuck out was that the Pirates’ defense seemed to wear out quickly and that trend continued in the second half.
Vegas had noticed a weakness: Orlando only had 3 active defensive linemen for this game. Dj Dale a big part of the run defense for the Pirates was ruled out for this game. This left 6’6 265 lb Zykeius Strong, Jaques Bristol 6’1 295 lbs, and Mike Mason 6’3 280 lbs as the only true defensive linemen active. Offensive Lineman Jeremiah Crawford saw some snaps at nose tackle, and Jay Person their 6’2 250 lb linebacker played some defensive end.
You may notice this left the Pirates with a lot of size to utilize but not much in the way of elite edge rushers. This limited their effectiveness in putting pressure on Jayden De Laura, and was exacerbated by the fact that Vegas has one of the more dynamic running backs in the league. Vegas attacked the edges and tried to force the defensive line to move off their spot and pursue Tomas. Utilizing the hurry-up offense also put more pressure on the defense and at times prevented substitutions. This was all designed to wear out the players putting their hands in the turf and allowing Vegas to impose its will.
At times, Orlando attempted to counter by using Jay Person at defensive end. When Person kicked down to the defensive line, the Pirates were forced to insert a defensive back at linebacker which helped contain the stretch run, but made them susceptible to inside runs and by this point, their linemen were winded and struggling to keep up with the pace of Vegas. Once Vegas realized they had the Pirates’ front four on their heels they doubled down and went all-in on the run.
A calculated gamble that Orlando would not be able to find a solution, that worked like clockwork. The thing is this strategy was not simply offensive, the Vegas defense planned to pressure Paxton DeLaurent early and often. They wound up pressuring him right into one of his worst performances of the season. 19 of 27 for 206 yards 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. James Blackmon entered the game and also threw an interception. The defense also recorded one fumble forced.
In the third quarter, Vegas scored 22 unanswered points, and then closed out the game by outscoring Orlando 23-7 in the fourth quarter. Vegas would walk away with the victory 73-33 showing just how scary the defending Champions can be. Jayden De Laura finished the game with fewer incompletions (2) than the Pirates threw interceptions with a stat line of 12 of 14 for 107 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Avaun Rucker came in and threw two passes for 22 yards and 1 touchdown. The difference however was 36 carries for 165 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground. Orlando came in talking smack believing they could get in the heads of the Vegas players and prompt penalties, instead all that talking got them punched in the mouth 36 times.
Now let’s be very clear, the IFL can not control how games unfold. They can not control untimely injuries (Dj Dale), or roster construction on individual teams (only carrying 3 active defensive linemen). They can do their best to introduce rules with parity in mind but sometimes blowouts are unavoidable.
Was it a good look for casual fans? Not at all, but to use some coach speak, the IFL focused on the things they could control and managed to make a first-time event a net-positive for the league.
The Bad:
Banners for goal posts?
Are we serious? Two years ago when the AFL played its championship game in the Mall (The Brawl at the Mall) many people made it out to be a joke, criticizing the league for playing in such an odd venue. At that time the AFL managed to hang goal posts, and yet the reaction was much more negative.
Perception apparently changes everything as the IFL has more or less gotten rave reviews from these first two games. Now I am not naive to the fact that the IFL is the Gold Standard of indoor football leagues, and at times the gap is very visible, however in this game, the gap looked a lot smaller between leagues than most care to admit. If the NAL, AF1, or AAL attempted to hang banners for goal posts, it would have gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
This is the underlying hypocrisy of some arena/indoor football fans. If “my” league or team does something Off the Wall (puns intended) it’s okay, but the leagues I don’t follow? Their ideas are terrible and they are crazy for trying them. It’s like confirmation bias for fans who adopt a tribal mindsight afraid to venture outside of their comfort zone. This is one facet of this community I will never understand, if we want football year round, we must stop bashing one league just to build another up.
The reality no one seems to care to face is none of these leagues are perfect. Most ideas are recycled, and people go from league to league all the time. People who helped build the foundation you love in one league may now be involved with another and vice versa, so why not set aside our preconceived biases, and support indoor and arena football as a whole.
As my friend Trey would say #GrowtheGame.
Audio Issues:
Throughout the broadcast, there were audio issues. At several points, the team in the booth tried to go to one of the sideline correspondents only to see their lips moving without any sound coming through. The camera operators at times stayed on these people long enough that it was impossible to miss these issues.
At times it affected the booth as well with minor glitches causing some distorted audio throughout. This is partially due to the venue itself, but these issues are certainly avoidable with some preventative measures put in place.
iPad Malfunctions:
In both games yesterday the league had issues with the iPads provided to the teams for replays. In both games, only one team’s iPads worked and the league rightfully made both teams play without iPads or any other way of challenging calls. This made for some interesting scenarios during the game, and perhaps even created some calls that were upheld that may have been overturned otherwise.
To be clear technical difficulties such as these occur in the highest levels of the sport and should not be considered “bush league” simply because this is not the NFL. The IFL approached it precisely how any professional league would. One set of iPads isn’t working so therefore no team gets the benefits of utilizing them keeping it an even playing field for both parties. Although in hindsight maybe they should have allowed New Mexico and Orlando this luxury but not Vegas and Arizona. Maybe we get less than a 40-point deficit.
The main reason I am even mentioning either of the technical issues is the fact that the league had a gap of time in between games in which I am positive they had tech support working to try and correct the issues at hand. Unfortunately however, the issues persisted into the second game of the day, making the iPad’s completely useless, and the audio seemed better but was still not perfect.
Again technical issues happen, and this is simply an all too familiar aspect of live broadcasts regardless of the league. My one gripe is I would have liked to see the issues corrected by the second game. Small complaint during an otherwise great event.
Update: Per Sources Teams are individually responsible for their iPad functionality before the game. The issues in the first game ultimately got corrected in the second game thanks to the team representatives who were on site. We were told this should not be a concern this weekend.
The Good:
Other than the audio issues the broadcast of the games was amazing. Having Brent Stover and Kurtis Riggs in the booth with 3(!) different sideline reporters providing different insight was a unique way of covering the game that made it feel like they had every angle covered, including an iconic play.
They had a camera at one endzone that caught the entire scene when Orlando Pirates running back Pooka Williams returns a kick for a touchdown, hurdles the wall and runs to get a strawberry banana smoothie at Smoothie King. This moment was something you can only see in a venue like this and created a viral moment that will be passed around in arena/indoor fan groups for years to come.
Side Note: Per Off the Wall: Following this return touchdown Vegas went on a 52 to 7 run to close out the game. Remember, the game ended 73-33 which means Vegas was losing 26-21 when the return touchdown occurred. Maybe we need to investigate The Smoothie King Curse.
Presentation
The overall presentation from top to bottom was great. The field looked great, the banners used as goal posts were distracting at first but by the second half of game 1 didn’t bother me at all anymore. The walls and dasher pads looked professional, and lived up to the standard the IFL has created for itself.
Overall IFL President Jared Widman must be pleased. Two years ago he set out to achieve this Dream. Playing football games in the American Dream mall under natural lighting and in a coliseum-like seating arrangement creating an atmosphere that indoor football fans have never experienced quite like this before.
He spoke of Melinda’s Hot Sauce as a potential sponsor and looked to the future of games at this venue. Some did not see the vision and ultimately Widman left the AFL following that first game in the American Dream. It took a full season for Widman to return with the IFL, but instead of 1 game in the venue, we were given four.
Rumors are this is just a precursor to a bigger partnership with the American Dream in the future, and that these games will serve as a test for future endeavors in the market. If that is the case we still have two more games to see what the future could hold for the IFL and the American Dream.
First Professional Football In-Season Tournament
Adopting an in-season tournament is a clever way of creating intrigue mid-way through a long season. Was the event perfect, No, but few things in life we do for the first time finish flawlessly. Outside of first-time hiccups the IFL should be pleased with the overall product from the first two-games, with a clear direction to correct some of these negatives by the next two games later this week.
The IFL has the longest schedule of any indoor or arena football league with 16 games on average. With the longer schedule sometimes you will see slight lulls in attendance because inevitably the games at the beginning of the season and end of the season are more intriguing and important.
Adding the IFL cup in the middle of the year gives fans and teams an external attracting factor for these games that otherwise would not exist. The question is will teams be okay with stomaching the loss of home games each season, and how does the league choose teams in the future? Do they take the top four seeded teams to try to make the most competitive games? Do they take the worst four teams to try to incentivize fans to come watch those teams? Only time will tell on that front.
Extra Points
The IFL got handed a bit of a gift when two weeks ago a situation between Arizona Rattlers Head Coach Kevin Guy, and Vegas Knight Hawks Head Coach Mike Davis got heated during a game. In a world where coachspeak and pleasantries are the norm, it is not often that two Hall of Fame-level coaches exchange shoves on the field. This wound up unintentionally turning into a promotion for the league as the moment and following interview with Kevin Guy went viral.
Now with the first two games in the rear-view mirror, we know we will get a rematch of the Arizona Rattlers and Vegas Knight Hawks just two weeks removed from the aforementioned shoves. This adds extra intrigue to a game taking place hundreds of miles from the markets either of these teams call home, and it also adds storylines to follow along with for the sideline reports during the game that will serve as the culmination of the IFL Cup.
If there is one thing that has become abundantly clear about the IFL, it is that they are extremely strategic. Perhaps they wanted Arizona and Vegas to be in this game all along because there are few franchises that better exemplify the level of talent, coaching, and presentation these two teams put forth.
Given that this upcoming week is Memorial Day weekend, and the game takes place at something of a tourist attraction not far from multiple beaches, it could help their attendance for the late game. My guess is, that IFL factored all of these considerations into their decision.
Final Word
Overall the Indoor Football League should consider the first two games of the IFL Cup as wins for the league. Attendance could be better but they are neutral-site games featuring only one East Coast team that plays in Florida. While the logic of having each specific team in this tournament is not lost on me, I have to wonder if having more of an East Coast presence as a league long term, will help the Cup grow in popularity and see more and more fans attend.
In a league that has an eye at being the “Major League of Indoor Football” sometimes you have to take risks to push the envelope. The 2026 season has shown the IFL is willing to take calculated risks such as the IFL Cup to grow the league, spread the footprint, and continue to grow partnerships that can sustain this league many many many years into the future. Indoor football fans should be excited as we have been watching a resurgence of indoor and arena football over the past few years as each and every streaming service searches for their way into live sports broadcasting, this will only continue.
If you happen to be attending the IFL Cup keep a look out for two of our Shady Sports Network Reporters: Tj Bartholomew, and Krish Vyas.
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