In most cities, when the home team leads 24-0 halftime, fans start celebrating.
Sunday in Atlanta, many were still holding their collective breath, remembering 10 yards short. Eugene Robinson’s solicitation. Jim Leyritz’s home run. And Drew Pearson’s catch.
Long conditioned to expect the worst, the Falcons Sunday reminded Atlantans not all their sports memories are bad.
We have Sid’s slide. Morten Andersen’s field goal. Tom Glavine’s masterpiece. And now (until someone thinks of a better handle), the smackdown of Pack town. Or the Green slay. Whatever you want to call it, the Falcons’ 44-21 victory over Green Bay was a most un-Atlanta outcome, a big league victory for a big league city that has long suffered under a pall of expected failure in big moments.
The Falcons were something Atlanta’s sports teams have rarely been: dominant from start to finish, closing out the Georgia Dome on the highest note possible and grabbing by the throat the chance the play in the biggest game on the planet.
“It’s surreal,” said Gainesville native Kim Christian, a Falcons fan since the early 1980s. “It was just fun. No agony at all.”
Winning is one thing. Winning easily, quite another.
Julio Jones’ mad dash, which gave the Falcons a 31-0 lead, erased that familiar trepidation. And provided a rare opportunity to gloat.
At the start of Sunday, it was Packers fans, emboldened by four Super Bowl victories, wearing an air of confidence.
“We did it last week,” said Skyler Gant, a server at Gwinnett’s Olde Towne Tavern and Packers fan. “We can do it this week.”
“Not happening,” said patron Princess Green, a Georgia Power retiree and Falcon fan.
Not even close. Not this time.
So what made this day different? Sure, the Falcons’ dynamic offense was crucial, but don’t overlook Al Tiede’s musty sweatshirt.
The Dunwoody resident went to the depths of his closet before Sunday’s game, digging for some Falcons swag he didn’t think he’d find.
And then, “this thing fell off the shelf,” Tiede said of his nondescript black sweatshirt, which honored the Falcons’ first and, until now, only trip to the Super Bowl, 18 years ago in Miami.
“I went to the game, I bought this and I haven’t seen it since I got back,” he said as he watched the win over Green Bay at Dunwoody Tavern. “I already got an offer on Facebook to buy it.”
Tiede said it’s not for sale. And it’s not going back to the mothballs.
“All of a sudden it’s got panache,” he said.
But can it get Atlanta over the hump when the Falcons travel to Houston for Super Bowl LI?
“This game is a blip, we’re ready for another world championship,” said East Atlanta landscaper Jay Winter, the @mayorofponce on Twitter.
After all, a loss in the Super Bowl would only compound the city’s misery. In 173 seasons, encompassing the histories of the Falcons, Braves, Hawks and two hockey franchises that relocated, Atlanta has but one championship.
In The New York Times' 2015 ranking of America's most cursed sports cities, Atlanta came in second, behind Cleveland. But that was one year before LeBron James led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship.
Sure, Buffalo and San Diego haven’t won any, but they have fewer teams. For Atlanta, more has translated to less.
As The Times noted, “Keep in mind that an average city will have three times as many close calls (using our definition) as championships, because there are three losing semifinalists for every champion. Atlanta’s ratio? A heartbreaking 14 to one.”
At the very least the 25-year-old Georgia Dome will go out in grand style. It was home to three NCAA Men’s Final Fours, two decades of SEC championships, two Super Bowls, two NBA seasons and an Olympics. And now, after 205 Falcons home games, a NFC title.
“I remember going to a Falcons-49ers game back in the 90s when the Falcons gave up about three touchdowns in the last few minutes of the half,” said Ormewood Park resident Charles Davidson, who moved to Atlanta in 1986. “The crowd was already restless and in comes an Elvis impersonator on a motorcycle. Rousing boos rang through the Dome.”
But that was yesterday.
“I’ve never felt the energy in the city like I do now,” said Patrick Whiddon, watching the game at Limerick Junction in Virginia-Highland. “The Cubs won. Cleveland won. Now it’s our turn.”
It’s been a long time coming. Atlanta waited 25 years to even get to a championship game, and when it finally happened, in 1991, fans were just happy to be there. Even though the Braves lost the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in heartbreaking fashion, an estimated 750,000 people still turned out for a parade through downtown.
Four years later, the Braves won their only World Series but would lose in three other visits to the Fall Classic.
Three years after that, the Falcons played in their first Super Bowl, losing soundly to the Denver Broncos. The following year, they finished 5-11.
The frustration would continue over the next two decades, with plenty of punches to the gut. The Braves kept making the playoffs and kept falling short. The Falcons seemed poised for a bright future with Michael Vick at quarterback but those hopes died when the dynamic quarterback was sentenced to prison for his role in a dog fighting ring. The Hawks finished with a league-best 60 wins and then were swept in the 2015 Eastern Conference finals.
No matter the sport, the futility was contagious. The playoffs weren’t something to cheer, but dread.
After all, how many times have Falcons fans left the Dome chanting “Super Bowl, Super Bowl?” Try never.
“We may not be going to Disney yet, but we’re going to the Super Bowl,” said Princess Green.
The Falcons next opponent has the most Super Bowl appearances ever, multiple championships and an expectation for more.
“Don’t underestimate us,” said Tonya Bell, watching from The Sports Cafe on Tara Boulevard, where the crowd began chanting “Houston Bound!” with a minute left to play Sunday. “It’s our time to shine. It’s been a long time coming. A long time coming.”
True for the Falcons. Truer still for Atlanta.
“Getting respect for our city had always been and always will be a struggle,” said Winter, watching the game at Manuel’s Tavern in Poncey-Highland. “People still discount the fact we got the Olympics. To quote (Atlanta-based Grammy winning rap duo) Outkast, ‘the South got something to say.’ “
Staff writers Tammy Joyner, J. Scott Trubey, Eric Stirgus and Mark Niesse contributed to this report.
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