Falcon Fever, They Still Good

I am a Falcons fan.  I was born and raised in Atlanta.  We are unfortunately a city of heartbreak teams.  Take the Braves for example: They have an impressive line of division pennants during the 1990s and early 2000s, but what do we have to show for it?  One World Series win.  Even the Hawks have had their moments of glory, from the days of Dominique Wilkins even to the almost there Hawks of today.  They show a glimmer of potential and then just as quickly as you realized “Hey this team may be good one day” a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats brings you right back down to reality.  

And so it follows with the Falcons, possibly the most heartbreaking team of all.  We shockingly made it to the Superbowl during the Dan Reeves era with Chris “Chandelier” at quarterback, but even true fans knew that probably wasn’t going to be our year for victory.  The real shot came when Mr. Vick showed up in a Falcons uni and electrified the Georgia Dome every Sunday when he played…key phrase: WHEN he played.  On the brink of becoming an elite team, a bizarre preseason injury sidelined Vick for the season and of course the dog fighting trial eventually sent him packing permanently.  

That was a tough one to swallow, but alas we found hope in the new look Falcons.  Even as Michael Vick flourished in Philadelphia (which made us proud but still wonder “what if” at the same time) Matt Ryan, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez gave the city a reason to look forward to Sundays again.  All of a sudden we were good!  Then the 2010 playoffs happened.  We lost in a gloriously terrible fashion at home to the eventual NFC champion Green Bay Packers.  

Which brings us all the way up to the start of the 2011 season.  Yet again, we found a reason for hope in rookie Julio Jones.  Teaming up with Roddy White at the wide receiver position seemed to make the Falcons extremely dangerous and fans and analysts widely looked at Atlanta as a team to watch for a Superbowl run.  But once again disappointment has set in.  The Falcons were hammered during the season opener by the Chicago Bears.  Matty Ice became Matty Ice Cold and suddenly fans began to say “Those sorry Falcons” again; all hope of a better ending to the season this year were stomped into the ground by an aging Brian Urlacher.  

I am of the belief that one game does not make or break a season, but it does put the team and the city in an interesting mental position.  Atlanta residents have a notorious reputation for being fair weather fans, and rightfully so.  As passionately as we cheer you on when you win, we will be equally as passionate in our disgust when you lay an egg.  The story of Atlanta seems to be we ALMOST make it, we have the right tools but can’t quite seem to get them to work together seamlessly like other teams can.  

So yes, we have “Falcon Fever”.  We are sick of almost.  Maybe this year will change things and Matt Ryan and the offense can come together in the way we all hoped they would.  A nice win this Sunday against our former hometown hero Michael Vick and the Eagles, however, could all but erase any doubts we had about the team just as quickly as they appeared…at least for a week, this is Atlanta after all.-   Miss Lee