There's a coin displayed in the Atlanta Falcons' team museum in the lobby of the franchise's headquarters in Flowery Branch, GA. It's inconspicuous enough that the average passer-by may neither notice it, nor recall its significance.
Last February, in the wake of a miserable season, the Atlanta Falcons flipped this coin to earn the rights to the third-pick in the NFL Draft, a draft that landed the Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
Owner Arthur Blank said it was the most important coin flip in the franchise's history and newly-minted General Manager Thomas Dimitroff said he hoped winning that coin flip was merely a start for bigger and better things in Atlanta.
Little did they know, that small event would possibly change the course of the embattled franchise for years to come.
The nation came to know the quarterback, known around Chestnut Hill as "Matty Ice" (the nickname he earned in high school, but solidified its use during his time at Boston College), through the course of last season's college football season as he lead Boston College up the rankings.
This nickname was on full display Oct. 25, 2007 when No. 8-ranked Virginia Tech hosted No. 2 B.C. on a soggy Thursday night in a nationally-televised ESPN game.
Dominated for the entire game, B.C. found itself on the remarkable side of Ryan's right arm. Down 10, with less than three minutes left, he engineered a comeback, culminating with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining in the game. This would not be the last time Ryan would find himself in an 11-second situation.
"Special" was a word that came to be synonymous with Ryan last season.
Said B.C.'s offensive coordinator, Steve Logan, "I knew Matt was good. It's his intellect. When I start teaching quarterbacks, I tell them, 'You've got to be a good defensive coordinator before you can be a good quarterback, so you can understand what the defense is doing.'"
While with the Eagles, Ryan learned the fundamentals of being a good quarterback: Intelligence, patience, composure, and commitment.
The lesson on commitment came early, in the first game of his junior year. In that game, he suffered a high-ankle sprain. Not playing through the injury was never a question.
With six games to play in that season, he broke a bone in his left foot. Always one to seize an opportunity to rally his team around him, he continued to play the season on the broken foot.
There would never again be a question about this young quarterback's commitment.
His lineman, Gosder Cherilus said, "Think about it. It makes you want to go out and compete for him. As an offensive line, it makes you feel good knowing if you do your part, he'll do his."
As the college football season wound to a close, speculation began on the draft status of every player, including the fifth-year senior Ryan.
At 6'5", 225 pounds, Ryan looked like the prototype NFL quarterback. However, questions arose regarding his penchant for the interception (19 in 2007, second most among college quarterbacks).
Would the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner be the next Manning or the next next Tim Couch?
Baltimore, Kansas City, and Atlanta were quickly identified as prime candidates to draft a quarterback.
Baltimore's Steve McNair experiment ended sourly with the aging quarterback's declining 2007 performance and retirement at the end of the season.
Kansas City had a young quarterback in Brodie Croyle, yet there was concern about his ability to lead the Chiefs.
And Atlanta, on the heals of the Mike Vick incarceration, were not only looking for a quarterback, but a new face to represent a franchise sorely needing a makeover.
Asked about his thoughts on Atlanta, Ryan said "I don't think one person will be the cause for change down there, but I certainly think that I can help. Community has always been something that's important to me and it was important to me while I was at Boston College. It may work out, it may not. We'll have to see."
Fans in Atlanta would quickly learn of Ryan's pragmatic and reasoned approach to all things football. This was just something else Ryan had to learn.
The realization that football is a game and there are some elements and events within it that will be out of your control, much like life, is a lesson Ryan gained at 16.
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