MUSKEGON – One of the best parts about the West Michigan Ironmen experience has always been the on-the-field postgame meet-and-greet sessions between the team and fans.

Since the Ironmen started playing 11 years ago, they have opened the main entrance to the field at Trinity Health Arena just minutes after every home game – win or lose – and hundreds of fans have ascended to meet the players and coaches, shake hands, get autographs and photos, and form bonds with their local arena football team.

The fans love it. The players and coaches love it. They say it’s what Iron Nation is all about.

But arena officials, who work for the city of Muskegon, reportedly don’t like it very much at all, and have repeatedly asked the team to end the tradition, according to Ironmen General Manager Nate Smith.

The Ironmen have always responded to that request with a flat no.

“The arena wanted us to get away from doing that, but we just always say that’s not happening,” Smith said. “We 100 percent think it’s the coolest part of the night. People come down on the field after the game, no matter how it went, with huge smiles. They’re having a great time.

“Our fans feel like they have access to the players they cheer for – and they do! It’s just so cool.”

Fans will get another chance to be up close and personal with the Ironmen on Saturday night, after they host the Central New York Blue Devils at Trinity Health Arena in an American Indoor Football league contest.

It will be the final regular season home game for the 4-0 Ironmen, and by far the biggest crowd of the season is expected.

“There are about 850 tickets left for sale right now,” Smith said. “I believe 3,545 is a sellout. It’s going to be great.”

The Ironmen have had a deep love affair with their very loyal fan base throughout their existence.

While so many other arena football franchises around the nation, in various leagues, have started up and folded 0ver the years due to a lack of public interest, Ironmen fans have continued to turn out to support the team through thick and thin.*

That has never been more true than this season, when the Ironmen were confronted with some new scheduling challenges, courtesy of the city of Muskegon.

The Ironmen were told they had to start their season far sooner than in past years, weeks before the rest of their league kicked off, and well before Ironmen fans typically start thinking about the games again.

The city also relegated the Ironmen to three Friday night home games, which typically draw far fewer fans than Saturday night games, when more people tend to be rested and ready for a weekend night out.

The trouble is that the Ironmen compete for weekend arena dates with the Muskegon Risers soccer team and the Muskegon Lumberjacks hockey team – and this year clearly drew the short end of the stick.

Ironmen officials were concerned about how the schedule changes might impact their fans and hurt crucial home game attendance.

As it turned out, there was no reason to worry at all, because Iron Nation turned has out for the games in pretty impressive numbers – just like every year, despite the unwanted schedule changes.

It started on opening night on Friday Jan. 23, when the temperatures in Muskegon dipped to around zero and area roads were icy and dangerous. The Ironmen contemplated cancelling the game at one point, and did not expect much of a crowd to show up in such harsh conditions.

But a surprisingly big crowd of 1,426 fans turned out to welcome the team and the new season, much to the delight of everyone in the Ironmen organization.

“With the minus-zero wind chills, everybody had every excuse to stay home,” Smith said. “It showed us what the Ironmen really mean to the community of Muskegon.”

“It was a really good turnout,” said Ironmen head coach Terry Mitchell, minutes after his team whipped the Michigan Falcons in the season opener. “It just shows the love that the fans have for the Ironmen, to see so many come out in freezing weather to watch us play. It means a lot to the players. It fires us up.”

The Ironmen had another really good turnout a week later, when they hosted the Pennsylvania Union in the first AIF league game of the season. Close to 2,000 showed up for that game, even though it was once again on a Friday night, in the middle of the high school basketball season.

The biggest crowd so far turned up two weeks ago, on Feb. 28, when the Ironmen hosted Cedar Rapids in a showdown between the AIF’s two best teams. A total of 2,572 fans filled up the arena, a crowd that any of the downtown-based teams would love to have.

“We’ve got some great fans,” Smith said. “They have been so supportive of us for the past 11 years. They love the games, and they love being able to do something very affordable with their families.

“At the last game we had such a great throng of fans, and our guys feed off the energy they bring, and the interaction with fans, especially the kids.

“I sat back and looked and saw the Grand Haven High School football team there, probably about 120 players and parents, watching the game and making memories. That’s what it’s all about.

“The Friday games were a strike against us, and then you have to factor is some of the freezing weather, but the fans have still been awesome.”

Ironmen owner Mario Flores says the team’s corporate sponsors have also played a huge role in keeping the team afloat. For instance, about 1,200 employees from GE Aerospace, a major partner, are expected to be in the crowd on Saturday.

Flores believes the fan base and corporate sponsor base could still grow substantially in coming seasons.

“We’ve just scratched the top of the iceberg,” Flores said. “There are still a lot of people in the community who don’t know about the Ironmen, which means we still can do a better job of promoting it, and with the people we have in the front office now, I look forward to that happening.”