Howie’s Preseason Rankings – Albany Doesn’t Just Talk About Winning. It Builds It.

By Howie Hanson

There’s a difference between a team that wins and a team that expects to.

The Albany Firebirds have crossed that line, and that’s why they’re sitting on top of Arena Football One like it’s their front porch.

They went 12–0 last season and didn’t flinch once. Not in the regular season, not in the playoffs, not in the championship moment when most teams start thinking about what could go wrong. Albany never played that game. They played their game — fast, violent, disciplined, and without apology.

Now head coach Damon Ware says this year’s team is better.

That’s not noise. That’s a warning.

Because Albany’s dominance isn’t built on hype, or social media chatter, or the kind of offseason bravado that fills space and empties quickly. It’s built on something far more difficult to manufacture — organizational clarity. They know exactly who they are, and more importantly, they refuse to drift from it.

2025 AF1 Coach of the Year – from Firebirds Facebook

Start with culture, the most overused and least understood word in sports. In Albany, it actually means something. It means veterans who understand the league. It means players who know how to travel, how to prepare, how to win tight games in unfamiliar buildings. It means accountability that shows up on film, not just in quotes.

Most expansion-minded teams in this league are still chasing identity. Albany already owns one.

Then there’s continuity, the quiet advantage nobody wants to talk about because it’s not flashy. Same leadership. Same expectations. Same standard every week. While other teams are still figuring out how to operate, Albany is refining.

That’s how you go from 8–3 and a runner-up finish in 2024 to 12–0 and a title in 2025. You don’t reinvent. You tighten.

And now, apparently, they’ve upgraded.

Ware’s comment that this roster is better than last year’s championship team lands differently because of who’s saying it. This isn’t a coach trying to sell tickets or win a headline in March. This is a coach who just ran the table and is still looking for weaknesses.

That’s the uncomfortable truth for the rest of the league. Albany isn’t satisfied with being the best. It’s trying to become untouchable.

Meanwhile, across the league, there’s a lot of talking. New teams, new coaches, new energy — all of it expected, all of it necessary to build interest. But there’s a fine line between confidence and noise, and too many organizations are still learning where that line is.

Albany already crossed it. Quietly.

That’s why Ware’s recent comments about “motivating somebody that doesn’t need any extra motivation” should land with a little more weight. The Firebirds aren’t chasing respect anymore. They’re defending it. And they’ve built a structure that feeds off doubt, not comfort.

The deeper issue for Arena Football One isn’t whether Albany is good. It’s whether anyone is equipped to close the gap.

Because dominance at this level doesn’t come from one great player or one hot season. It comes from alignment — front office, coaching staff, roster — all pulling in the same direction without deviation. That’s rare in startup leagues, where instability is often the norm and patience is in short supply.

Albany has both.

And until someone proves they can match that — not for a week, not for a highlight, but for an entire season — the standings are almost secondary.

The Firebirds aren’t just winning games. They’re setting the standard for what winning looks like in this league. And right now, nobody else is close.

Howie’s 2026 AF1 Preseason Power Rankings