Former Soul wide receiver Donovan Morgan: Return to Philadelphia bittersweet Saturday night

For New Orleans VooDoo wide receiver Donovan Morgan, his return to the Wells Fargo Center was bittersweet.

Morgan spent the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Soul, where he broke some single-season franchise records and was an integral part of the team's Arena Bowl appearance last season.

But during the offseason, he made a big decision. His decision wasn't football related. It was family related. Despite re-signing with the Soul during the free agency period, Morgan requested a trade to the VooDoo.

Morgan, a New Orleans native, wanted to be closer to his family during the season — something he was not able to do during his time in Philadelphia.

The Soul reluctantly obliged, shipping him off for the VooDoo's spot in the waiver claim order.

Morgan returned in a big way Saturday night but the VooDoo fell to 2-9 on the season after losing to the Soul, 65-56, spoiling his football homecoming.

"It was bittersweet," Morgan said after the game. "It was good coming back and seeing some of the old fans and some of the people I used to run with, but it was bitter because we lost the game."

Morgan admitted after the game that coming back to Philadelphia added some extra motivation to play well Saturday night, and he did. Morgan caught six passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

After his first touchdown, Morgan ran to midfield to do his patented "Captain Morgan" celebration, which he made famous in Philadelphia.

The Soul defenders playfully attempted to break up the celebration. Morgan, with the help of his new VooDoo teammates, was not deterred and went on with his celebration anyway.

Morgan was never penalized for the celebration when he played in Philadelphia, but the entire sideshow between him and the Soul defenders Saturday took a little too long for the officials' taste and flagged Morgan for unsportsmanlike conduct.

After getting penalized, Morgan didn't attempt the celebration for the rest of the game.

"A lot of them sent me a message telling me not to do the 'Captain Morgan' in the middle of the field," Morgan said. "I think of this arena as my home and at the end of the day I feel I can do it."

His former teammates were happy to see him again and expressed that there were no hard feelings between them and Morgan.

"I like seeing him except when he's running into the end zone," Soul quarteback Dan Raudabaugh said of Morgan. "[He's a] great guy and wish him the best."

"Donovan is a great player," Soul wide receiver Tiger Jones said. "We came in the league together back in 2008 and he was Rookie of the Year. He's one of the guys I look at to see what he's doing."

"You love games like this where you can compete against guys like that," Jones added.

During his two seasons with the Soul, Morgan caught 200 passes for 2,977 yards and scored 65 total touchdowns. His efforts in 2011 earned him an All-Arena selection.

Despite the rough season on the field, Morgan said he is happy to be playing for New Orleans. For if nothing else, he gets to be home with his daughter every day.

"It feels good because I'm around my little girl," Morgan said. "She loves it. Every day she's able to see daddy. She's able to come to every game so that's a blessing."

"That's my motivation every day to go out there and play because she's wanting to watch daddy play and she criticizes me more than I criticize myself, so I have to go out every day and give it my best," he said.