After canceling the 2009 season and virtually disbanding as a league, Arena Football is back in full force with a number of changes in store for 2012. Three teams that competed in the 2008 campaign, the Philadelphia Soul, San Jose SaberCats, and Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade), will return to competition. Two teams that competed in 2010 have relocated and assumed the history of former AFL franchises.

The Alabama Vipers will become the Georgia Force and the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings have morphed into the New Orleans VooDoo. The Milwaukee Iron officially changed its name to the Mustangs, taking the name of the original franchise, while the city of Pittsburgh was awarded an expansion team called the Power, which is the first AFL team to call Pittsburgh home since the Gladiators, one of the league's four original franchises.

The biggest change of all, however, comes in the form of the schedule with each team now playing 18 games with two bye weeks over the course of 20 weeks. It is the longest schedule in the history of the league and it remains to be seen whether all these new developments will help jump-start a league that has experienced a tumultuous existence since being founded by former UFL and NFL executive Jim Foster way back in 1987.

Despite being played on a smaller field than American football, which results in a faster pace and higher scoring, the sport has struggled to achieve mainstream relevance. The AFL would play 22 straight seasons from 1987 through 2008 before large debts forced suspension of operations in search of a more profitable business model. Foster served as the original commissioner of the league, but the man at the helm now is Jerry Kurz.

On the field, the Detroit Drive emerged as the league's first dynasty thanks to highly regarded players like George LaFrance, Alvin Rettig and Art Schlichter. The Drive reached the ArenaBowl every year of their existence (1988-1993), capturing the title four times, but they were surpassed by the Tampa Storm (the only team that existed in some form through the first 20 seasons), who can claim five ArenaBowl championships.

Other successful franchises include the Sabercats with three ArenaBowl victories, and the Orlando Predators and Arizona Rattlers with two apiece, while the most famous player in AFL history is Kurt Warner, who went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame NFL career, bringing tremendous credibility to the league. The only All-Star Game ever took place in 1993 in Des Moines, Iowa, but Kurz may well consider staging another one soon, as the AFL continues its effort to garner the attention of the American public.

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