Here are the arena football team names you suggested

But the fetid cherry on top of the inedible Empire sundae was when the team was evicted from the league for, you know, not paying to be in the league.

With indefatigable hubris, Antonio Brown steered the Empire with the deft touch of a box truck driver under the Glenville bridge. And fans of arena football are left to wonder what’s next.

Bob Belber, general manager of MVP Arena, says arena football will be back next year. 

“There definitely will be an arena football team that will play in Albany in 2024,” Belber said. “I’m positive of that and I’m not even the least bit worried about whether there will be. There will be.”

Albany has proved that there is an appetite for the sport here, and teams have had a lot of success. So the question is, if arena football returns, what should the new team be called? The Times Union asked readers and subscribers, and you did not disappoint. Here are the top results. We hope that a new name and a fresh start will revive a season we kinda want to forget. 

Top name suggestions

Let’s get the angry ones out of the way first: You suggested Brown Destroyers, Brown’s Follies and The Browns. Those seem unlikely as we try to scrub ourselves from that memory. 

The most popular option is to revive the Firebirds brand. Overwhelmingly, arena football fans are looking to repeat past success. 

Speaking of past success, we still miss the River Rats, and many of you would like to see this name transferred to the next arena football team. Bonus, we can wear our River Rats gear again. And honestly, we think that name would strike fear into visiting clubs. No one wants to come face-to-face with an aggressive aquatic rodent. 

On the fringe, you offered The Potholes, The Beavers (many times), Knickerbocker Sabres, Average Joes, Sillynannies, Albany Corruption, the…