Over the last decade, Darius Prince has been one of the best wide receivers in Arena Football. He has earned numerous league MVPs to go along with an Arenabowl and a pair of National Arena League championships.

“I missed this place. I’ll say that,” said Prince, standing at midfield inside the MVP Arena. “I’ve been here since 2021. This has become my second home and I’m glad to be back.”

What You Need To Know

  • Albany Firebirds will kickoff the return of the Arena Football League with a matchup against the Orlando Predators 

  • The game is set to get underway 8 p.m. Saturday at the MVP Arena and on NFL Network

  • The Firebirds are one of 16 teams in the AFL 

As year eight of arena football gets underway for Prince, he’s back in the Capital Region but with a new team and new league. This weekend marks the debut of the rebranded Albany Firebirds and the revival of the Arena Football League.

“Just having this logo that we have right here on our field. Just playing with the AFL logo on our chest. It just brings back old memories from back when I first started my career in 2017,” Prince said.

“It’s going to be fun exciting, fast pace, a lot of points scored, and hopefully we can get a win,” said Damon Ware, head coach and general manager of the Firebirds.

In October, former Albany Empire owner Mike Kwarta and two other Capital Region businessmen announced their efforts to give arena football another go in the resuscitate AFL and with the Firebirds nickname, a team beloved by the region in the 1990s.

Damon says this 24-player roster is a mix of tough and physical rookies and veterans, like linebacker Nick Haag.

“This is a spot that very near and dear to my heart and a lot of guys on this team,” said Haag, who also won a NAL championship with the Albany Empire.

“Having all those guys back is great,” Ware said. “They can kind of teach the young guys what the ropes are going to be around here.”

For guys like Prince and Haag, they’re looking to pick up where they left off with the Albany Empire before the takeover by former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, which led to a tumultuous 1-6 season and termination from the NAL.

“I think I got a little bit more excitement this, this time around because of everything that happened last year to be honest, kind of took a toll on a lot of us,” Prince said.

With the band back together, the focus now is on bringing home another championship. That quest begins with a home game against the Orlando Predators Saturday night at the MVP arena. It’s the 25h anniversary of the rematch of the Arenabowl XIII, which resulted in Albany’s first title.

“We've been juiced up. We've been ready to go, just getting that vibe back together again, everyone and I, the culture, that's all,” Haag said. “I'll be in that championship mindset. So that's what we're going to focus on.”

“That's our number one goal here is to put the best product on the field, game in and game out, and we're champions,” Prince said.