CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Nashville Kats have won 10 consecutive arena football games dating back to the beginning of the AF1 regular season. Now, the team will be going up against the defending champs, the Albany Firebirds, in the Arena Crown championship game on Saturday, Aug. 8, at F&M Bank Arena.
The Nashville Kats and Albany Firebirds each had first round byes to begin the 2026 AF1 postseason after compiling the best regular season records.
After having the first week of the playoffs off, Nashville faced off against the Michigan Arsenal, who they defeated 92-76. Then, Albany played the Minnesota Monsters, who they beat 69-56. Now, the Arena Crown championship game has been set between the Kats and Firebirds for Saturday afternoon.
What fans should expect: close, high scoring affair
With each teams’ season on the line this Saturday, fans should expect a tight contest, however, plenty of points should be scored.
Nashville and Albany have played twice before in 2026, with the first game taking place at the end of June, in which the Kats won 78-69.
Their next matchup was just as intense on July 11, when Nashville won the contest once again, but this time only by three points. The final score was 57-54.
Based off previous results, the Kats offense has averaged 67.5 points per game this season against the Firebirds, while Albany’s offense has averaged 61.5 points per contest against Nashville’s top ranked scoring defense.
Nashville Kats quarterback Tyler Kulka on championship game
When Clarksville Now spoke with Nashville’s starting quarterback Tyler Kulka during the Arena Crown media day on Friday, Kulka said the Kats need to treat the championship game just like any other contest. “We’re going in, we have to go handle business, so we’re ready to go,” the quarterback said.
When asked about facing the Firebirds for a third time, Kulka said these are the games players live for. “You want to go against the best,” he said. While speaking on Clarksville’s support throughout the 2026 season, Kulka said that Clarksville has the best fans in all of arena football.
“I am biased but I think we have the best fans in arena football,” he said. Kulka then shared a story from this past week’s performance when the Kats offense was facing a 4th and 15, and all of a sudden F&M Bank Arena started chanting his name.
“That was the coolest thing ever, it fired me up, and we made the completion on 4th and 15. Fans come out and support us, we’re excited,” Kulka said.
When asked what needs to happen tomorrow to take down the defending champions, Nashville’s starting quarterback said the team just needs to play their game and take it one play at a time.
The AF1 championship game is expected to kickoff around 3 p.m., and if you are interested in attending, visit F&M Bank Arena’s website for more information.
Nick Arvin contributed to this report.
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