FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons let the 20th anniversary of the 1998 team reaching the Super Bowl slide by with little fanfare, but the 25th anniversary will be celebrated during the game against the Bucs at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Running back Jamal Anderson, wide receiver Terance Mathis, cornerback Ray Buchanan, quarterback Chris Chandler and tight end O.J. Santiago will be on hand for the celebration.
The team will do a community-service project at the Atlanta Mission on Saturday. About 50 former Falcons will take part in the project, which will include serving food to the homeless at three locations.
About 120 former Falcons are expected to attend the game.
During the game, the 1998 team will be recognized on the field at the end of the first quarter. There also will be pregame alumni appearances at MBS’s front porch, 300 level, and The Home Depot backyard – autograph signings and appearances.
“And I’m not (going to be) there,” Baltimore Ravens pass-rush coach Chuck Smith said. “I’m happy they are (though). ... Much overdue.”
Several players from the 1998 Falcons team noticed that the Minnesota Vikings honored their 1998 team during halftime of a home game in 2017.
“That was bizarre to me,” kicker Morten Andersen, who’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer, said in 2017. “I don’t know what the reasoning was there. Maybe they didn’t have one. I’m not looking for that, but that was a special team, and if it’s 20 years ago, that should have been recognized. Whatever. Maybe they are waiting for the 25th.”
The Falcons won 30-27 on a field goal in overtime by Andersen to upset the heavily favored Vikings on Jan. 17, 1999 in the NFC Championship game.
The Falcons were founded in 1966, and before the 1998 run, the team had reached the playoffs just five times. It was the Falcons’ first appearance in the NFC Championship game. The five previous playoff teams – 1978, 1980, 1982, 1991 and 1995 – lost in the wild-card round or the divisional round.
In 2017, some players got together during the season, but didn’t hold any formal ceremony on their own.
“Unfortunately, just amongst ourselves, myself, Chuck Smith, Jamal (Anderson), and a few other guys,” Jessie Tuggle said. “We’d just sit and talk and reminisce about the good old days. It was really just amazing that 20 years went by that fast.”
The 1998 team had to overcome some incredible hurdles to reach the Super Bowl.
After a game against the Saints that December, coach Dan Reeves complained of a burning sensation in his upper chest. He would have multiple-bypass surgery and miss some of the special season after a 12-2 start.
Reeves returned in three weeks to lead the team into the NFC Championship game.
The Falcons were heavy underdogs in the game.
After Andersen’s 38-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, bedlam ensued.
“I can remember laying on the turf,” Tuggle said. “Chuck Smith was on top of me. I said, ‘I can’t believe we are going to the Super Bowl.’ There were some great memories.”
The trip to Super Bowl ended with a 34-19 loss to the Broncos on Jan. 31, 1999.
The Falcons’ win over the Vikings helped to usher in a new era in the NFC.
Before that win, the NFC had been dominated by the NFC East and San Francisco for the previous decade. The NFC East teams – Dallas (three), Washington (one) and the New York Giants (one) – won NFC titles. San Francisco won three and Green Bay two.
The Falcons had major swagger as the “Dirty Bird” dance was sweeping the nation.
The 1998 team wanted to be linked to the current teams and bridge the two eras in front of the fans in the new billion stadium.
“The fans deserved to see their team in a different light,” Smith said. “We started the foundation that continued through the Mike Vick years. We started a fan base that believed that it could be done.
“The Falcons fans had been looking for a Super Bowl for a long time, and I’m just glad that we were the start of that it can be done and it can be done in Atlanta.”
It was the Falcons’ only NFC title until the 2016 team beat Green Bay 44-21 on Jan. 17, 2017. That team, which had an 11-5 regular season, went on to lose 34-28 in Super Bowl LI after leading the game 28-3.
While the Falcons are still in search of the franchise’s first Super Bowl title, the 1998 team is awfully proud of the breakthrough season from 25 years ago.
Among the players from the 1998 team expected to attend the game:
Darren Anderson, CB (1998)
Jamal Anderson, RB (1994-01)
Cornelius Bennett, LB (1996-98)
Omar Brown, S (1998-99)
Ray Buchanan, CB (1997-03)
John Burrough, DT (1995-98)
Chris Chandler, QB (1997-01)
Bob Christian, FB (1997-02)
Henri Crockett, LB (1997-01)
Steve DeBerg, QB (1998)
Gary Downs, RB (1997-00)
Timothy Dwight, WR (1998-00)
Randy Fuller, CB (1998)
Ruffin Hamilton, LB (1997-99)
Ronnie Harris, WR (1998-99)
Todd Kinchen, WR (1997-98)
Tony Martin, WR (1998, 2001)
Terance Mathis, WR (1994-01)
Ken Oxendine, RB (1998-99)
Eugene Robinson, S (1998-1999)
O.J. Santiago, TE (1997-99)
Edward Smith, TE (1997-98)
Robbie Tobeck, C (1993-99)
Esera Tuaolo, DT (1998)
Jessie Tuggle, LB (1987-00)
Bob Whitfield, OT (1992-03)
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