Sports fans from across metro Atlanta are counting down the days until Sunday’s Super Bowl battle between the Falcons and New England Patriots.
At CARE the bond of football fandom brings together a diverse group of fans, even when everyone doesn't fully know the rules of the game.
The downtown Atlanta-based humanitarian agency delivers emergency relief and aid across the globe, and many of CARE’s employees come from beyond the borders of the United States. They’ve also come to learn—and love—American football, feeling just as pumped as any American fan for the big game.
Hamed Ahmad, a grants and finance manager, grew up playing soccer in Afghanistan. He’s been in Atlanta since 2008 and has attended CARE’s Falcons rallies since 2014.
“I love the competitiveness, the energy and the passion of American football,” he said. “I’ll be watching the Super Bowl at at a sports bar, maybe Taco Mac. There’s more energy at a place like that compared to at home.”
Ahmad said he likes the variety of sports available in the United States. In Afghanistan locals play mostly soccer, with basketball running a distant second. Here, athletes can choose those two sports along with football, baseball, tennis, golf, hockey and any number of other sports.
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CARE is home to its very own Falcons fan club. Joanne Strivero, a native of The Bronx and converted Falcons fan, is the president, while Atlanta native Curtis Peters is the executive vice president and unofficial DJ.
Peters formerly hosted tailgate parties at Falcons home games as CP1, his DJ name, but after having children that proved to be too much of a time commitment. Now he channels that energy into Falcons pep rallies in the CARE employee lounge every week before home games.
This week brought one of the biggest parties of the year with lots of barbecue and, as always, was punctuated by Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2,” otherwise known as “The Hey Song.”
“We’ve been doing this for years,” said Peters, an 18-year CARE employee and the originator of the pep rally. “People have moved on and some have moved in, but we always rise up!”
Several dozen CARE employees joined in wearing their red and black, including CEO Michelle Nunn.
“It’s great to see how unifying sports can be,” Nunn, a former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said while wearing a red shirt and black jacket. “It really brings a community together.”
The employee lounge is also decked out in Falcons paraphernalia, including Deion Sanders and Julio Jones jerseys, pompoms, a red carpet, framed T-shirt commemorating the team’s 1998 Super Bowl appearance and an oversized team flag.
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The rally starts with Samuel L. Jackson’s famous recording urging the team and fans to rise up, which is the Falcons’ official motto. The fan club stands and puts their hands in the air as instructed by Jackson. After that the music plays, and then it’s time to hang out and watch some highlights or maybe tape from a previous win.
“Some of us have tickets. Some only tailgate. But we all experience the game in our own way. CARE is a melting pot so there are all sorts of demographics and nationalities,” Peters said. “We come together for these pep rallies and we ‘Rise Up!’ in support of our team, show spirit and hopefully get a victory.”
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