The real winners are the Falcons fans

I didn’t use my immense pull as a sports writer to score a ticket to the Atlanta Falcons/Seattle Seahawks game this past Sunday (truth be told I was in the city covering a college basketball game) but wanted to be on hand to see how the Falcons fan base would react to being back in the playoffs again after a year-long hiatus. What I saw outside the Georgia Dome was a thing of beauty. People from all over the state and in some cases states all over the south, were tailgating up and down Georgia Dome Drive. Black people, white people, Falcons fans all. I watched parts of the game from mini-televisions on makeshift stands and on a 50-inch television that took up the entire rear of a white panel van. One way or the other, fans were going to get to see, feel and be at the game, tickets be damned.

The barbecue chicken and ribs could be smelled from almost a mile away as I made my way up Northside Drive back to the Georgia Dome from Morehouse College, where I was covering a basketball game. At one point, four horses were ridden by along with a four-wheeler and a number of honking cars with Atlanta Falcons flags positioned out of every possible window. The game was in the late second quarter, but the Falcons were positioning themselves to go ahead before halftime and the energy of the crowds in front, behind and all around me were ready for their team to take the lead. When they did, all heck broke loose and the feelings I felt watching these people cheer and in one case, cry, was first one of jealousy — I am a lifelong New York Jets fan and can remember a few times where I displayed that level of euphoria — and then immediately pride.

I was proud of the city, proud of the state of Georgia and proud of Falcons fans. They deserved this win — as I’m sure you know the Falcons won 36-20 — and deserved another shot at playing for the right to play in the Super Bowl for only the second time ever. The last time they played for one a few seasons back, it didn’t end so well. Let’s not even bring up the one and only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Eugene Robinson, anyone.

In the shadow of their new home, the Mercedes-Benz Dome, Falcons fans from all over the city, state and region all rose together as winners. The victory over Seattle is good, not just for the fans but for the franchise (Not that ownership needs extra money, ever been to a Home Depot?), the people that work for the team, work at the Georgia Dome, who park cars, work as security at the Georgia Dome and most importantly live and die (not literally, relax it’s just football) with their favorite professional football team.

With the Falcons hosting the NFC Championship game against Green Bay and (who should be the unanimous selection for the league’s 2016 Most Valuable player award) quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the party is just getting started.

The real winners of the Falcons playoff game on Saturday, Jan. 14, were the fans. Congrats to the fans. The unity I witnessed on display was direct proof that America is already great, and despite the opinion of a certain politician, District 5 and the city of Atlanta as a whole is doing just fine, thank you very much. May it and its football team continue to Rise Up, Rise Above.

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