There are only three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and Atlanta sports fans jumping off the bandwagon at the first sign of adversity.
After browsing many message boards this morning, including several on the Atlanta Falcons website, I have come to a realization that I’ve suspected for a long time: True Falcons fans are the minority.
A tough loss yesterday and a vocal segment of the “fans” are ready to fire everyone in the organization and ship the franchise to Oklahoma City.
I can hardly count the number of absurd posts that I’ve read calling for the Falcons to cut Roddy White and comparing Matt Ryan to Ryan Leaf, proclaiming him a bust. Are you kidding me?
Those are not only some of the most asinine statements I’ve ever read, they’re downright laughable.
Roddy White is third in the NFL (second in the NFC) in receiving yards, and isn’t in the top 10 for dropped passes.
He has made several incredible catches this season and would be a No. 1 receiver on most teams. If he keeps improving the way he has the past two seasons, he can be among the NFL’s elite wide receivers.
Yes, the pass at the end of the game was catchable and yes, he was capable of making the play. But White did not lose that game; there were many factors that contributed to the loss.
What’s encouraging is this team’s unwillingness to lie down; they fight to the bitter end and always believe they can win. When they lose, the good sportsmanship that these players show is just one of the many reasons this city should be proud of their team.
Roddy White spoke about the dropped pass after the game: “I have to go out there and make those plays. I feel responsible for the loss today. I had an opportunity and I didn’t take advantage of it.”
Matt Ryan spoke about the same pass during his press conference: “It was a great attempt, which appeared to be wider than it needed. I threw it too much to the outside, but luckily Roddy made the adjustment and almost made the catch.”
Good luck trying to find a player on this team only thinking about themselves. There was no finger-pointing in the locker room after the loss, almost every player blamed themselves while offering encouragement to their teammates.
It’s becoming more and more obvious to me that Atlanta is a college football city.
This is an impatient fan base. In college football, it’s easy for the “football factories” to build perennial contenders by recruiting the nation’s best talent year after year, making a one-loss season a disappointment.
Keeping that in mind, there are things that college teams don’t have to worry about: salary caps, free agency, federal convictions on dog fighting charges, etc.
The NFL is built on parity and losses happen. Stand up and support a team you should be proud of, Atlanta! The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets aren’t the only football teams in Georgia, although it often feels like it.
This fact was evident when I recently went to buy a Falcons outfit for my first child (and Atlanta’s future No. 1 fan).
Not only did I have to drive to four different stores to find one thing with a Falcons logo on it (literally, one), at each of those four there were enormous sections of University of Georgia merchandise.
I can’t find a single Falcons t-shirt, but if you need to find a store that sells UGA napkins or pencils, I can show you four locations within five miles of my house.
It’s unbelievable the short-term memory of this fan base. No intelligent “fan” of this team would ever suggest cutting Roddy White, let alone proclaiming Matt Ryan a bust.
Yes, it is too soon to punch his ticket to the Hall of Fame, but he is playing incredibly well and not just for a rookie. He is already an above-average quarterback. Ryan has been drawing fair comparisons to Peyton Manning in his rookie season.
Sunday was his first and only interception at home. That's five games with one pick. Not many rookie quarterbacks protect the ball that well in their rookie season.
Even Peyton Manning threw 28 picks in his rookie year, on the way to a 3-13 record. Ryan has six picks through 10 games with a 6-4 record.
Bust?
Not a chance.
For the record, I am by no means saying every Atlanta Falcons fan is a fair-weather fan. The true fans (you know who you are) in this city are some of the most passionate and supportive of any fans I’ve ever seen.
Let’s be more vocal! Let’s get to the Dome and scream. Let’s out-post the bandwagon jumpers on the message boards. This is a team to be proud of. Show them we care.
I’ll see you at the Dome on Sunday.
7 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
John Carson 7 months ago
I live in Atlanta and nobody I know wants to get rid of Roddy White or Matt Ryan. Do we all think White should have made that catch? Absolutely, but we all know they are both studs. The real problem was our "vaunted" rushing attach averaging only 3 yards per carry against a terrible Denver defense. It won't get any easier against Carolina next week, but because of this bad loss to Denver, that becomes a must-win game if we expect to make the playoffs. Either way, we are all thrilled with this quick turnaround.
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Robert Huprich 7 months ago
No one I know wants those things either. Most of the "cut Roddy White" talk is coming from the ajc.com comments, read one too many last night I guess...
At least the loss was to an AFC opponent. If they finish strong this loss shouldn't hurt too much
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Allen Schultz 7 months ago
There are several things I find very encouraging about this year's Falcons:
-On third and long we stand a great chance of making a first down. I remember always having this gut wrenching feeling in previous seasons when we were facing a third and long.
-I used to get that same gut wrenching feeling when the opposing team's quarterback sat in the pocket and through a pass deep down field. I used to always complain about how much cushion our CB's gave the opposing receivers. I don't get these feelings anymore. We have a very adequate secondary and they are improving each week.
-This team is young and continues to improve week after week. If you look at the last several games we lost, we were in it 'till the end. We always had a chance of winning. The ref's stole it from us in Philly and we were a catch away from winning this one (I also think the ref's were against us here as well, not one holding call against Denver - give me a break!)
Remember before the season began, we were only supposed to win one game, if that. Now were 6 and 4 and could easily have been 8 and 2. This with a rookie team. Go Falcons!!!!!!
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Jason Roorda 7 months ago
Your biggest mistake was perusing the official AFMB. That MB has more tools in it than Home Depot. I run a Falcons MB, and while we have one or two knotheads, those types get weeded out fairly quick. Of course that also may be why we don't have the big member #'s like the AFMB.
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Robert Huprich 7 months ago
What's the URL? I'd like to check it out.
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Jason Roorda 7 months ago
It's simple and basic, because I'm a tightass, LOL and not many members, but pretty good ones anyhow. Here ya go: http://z13.invisionfree.com/Falcons_Fan_Forum/index.php?act=idx
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Michael Foster 7 months ago
Wow interesting. There must be alot of really dumb fans out there. I couldnt be more proud of what Atlanta has done. Roddy White is clear cut the best receiver Atlanta has had since Terence Mathis...heck, White may be able to claim the crown of the Falcons Greatest Receiver before its all said and done. Matt Ryan WILL be rookie of the year.
Even 7-9 would be acceptable for me this season, however I see this team going 9-7 or even 10-6
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