Jonas Pate is not a shrink, but he once directed the movie “Shrink,” starring Kevin Spacey. It’s more because of his rooting interests, however, that he is qualified to speak on the dark subjects of pessimism and angst.
For when he moved west to Los Angeles, he took with him his affection for his hometown of Atlanta and all the pro sports teams that wear its name.
So, he can’t help it. Even as he dresses his 10-year-old son up in a Falcons jersey, even as he slips off from a shoot in New York to watch the unbeaten Falcons win at Philadelphia this season, Pate fears what might lie ahead.
Being an Atlanta fan, he said with dramatic emphasis, is like being “a dog that expects to be beaten.”
“I died a little when the Cowboys beat the (Steve) Bartkowski-led team in 1980 (playoffs) but I’ve been a loyal — and cynical — fan ever since,” he said.
Rick Van Haveren is a shrink, an Atlanta sports psychologist, who likes what he sees in the way these Falcons are going about their business.
“They seem to have that confidence, that swagger, that they will find a way to win,” he said. Quarterback Matt Ryan most embodies that, he said.
The conflicting emotions among fans have been shaped in no small part by the legendary flameouts of Atlanta pro teams. The magic of Chipper Jones’ final season with the Atlanta Braves crashed in a one-game playoff last month, adding to the long list of early post-season exits in the 1990s and 2000s. Atlanta Hawks fans experienced but one round of the NBA playoffs a year ago, assuring a 44th year of not advancing even so far as a conference final.
More often than not, dashed hopes and expectations are the price Atlanta fans pay for their devotion to its professional franchises.
The Falcons have made it halfway through this season without a blemish, the only unbeaten team in the NFL. Their fans are caught between delirium and dread. After all, this is the same franchise that on the morning of finally making it to the Super Bowl in 1999 was greeted by the news that one of its upstanding leaders had been busted the night before for solicitation.
“I try to start each season with low expectations because I’d rather be pleasantly surprised than bitterly disappointed,” said Hiram’s Mark Owens, a lifelong fan.
“I have been let down so many times that I have trouble being too positive. I find a healthy dose of skepticism helps ward off heartbreak.”
Earlier this week, a call was put out to fans on the AJC's Falcons blog to bare their feelings about their team's fast start. They responded in bulk, and displayed all the conflicting emotions that come with standing by Atlanta's often dispiriting pro franchises.
In the Falcons case thus far this season, the victories have not always been high art – they required a desperate last-gasp pass to beat last-place Carolina; they muddled past Oakland at home. They are 8-0 heading to archrival New Orleans Sunday, but only one of those victories has come against a team with a current winning record. They strain against the yoke of history and all those other promising seasons turned to ash in the playoffs.
These flaws have been well documented by media attempting to figure out the Falcons place in the cosmos. Are they are a bona fide Super Bowl contender or just another cruel tease?
One national radio host compared his feelings for the Falcons to those for Ben Affleck. One has lost all three playoff games under the Mike Smith/Ryan regime. The other made “Gigli.” No matter how many good works either has done since, those kind of mistakes are difficult to wash away.
“The national media starts saying things like that and people locally hear it and follow along,” said Dave Archer, the former Falcons quarterback turned radio analyst.
And more than that, there is the wariness and weariness that naturally comes with being an Atlanta fan. If some followers are slow to give their whole heart to the Falcons, it is because the franchise is paying in part for the sins of its own past, as well as those of other Atlanta teams that have foundered in the end.
Why will these Falcons be different from the 13-3 team of 2010, which compiled the NFL’s best record then lost at home to Green Bay in the playoffs?
What makes this team different from last year’s, the one routed 24-2 by the Giants in the postseason?
Here are the Falcons in the midst of their best first half ever and, as running back Michael Turner realizes, “(Winning a playoff game) is what everyone is waiting on us to do.”
The far-flung fans are weighing the present against the past and trying to decide just how much passion they dare invest in this version of the team.
After last season’s humbling playoff loss to the Giants — the Falcons mustering only a safety — Atlanta’s Kimberly Johnson renewed her season tickets, but vowed to buy no more team merchandise until it won at least one postseason game.
“This has been very hard for me, but I have full faith that I’ll get to buy some new gear in January,” she said. She covets a new Ryan jersey.
The Falcons success has set a stew pot of attitudes on simmer out there.
Some choose to live in the now.
“Yes, I have bought into the current Falcons,” said John Loconto of Sandy Springs. “Yes, I am somewhat hesitant about expecting too much, but I have learned to enjoy the moment and savor each victory.”
Some are unwavering.
“I believe you can’t be an off and on fan. Falcons, I have your back no matter what,” said David Sikes of Clarkesville.
Others are plain demanding.
“I love my team and will root for a win every game, but show me the postseason victories,” said Darryl Millard of Acworth.
The search for hope is on again. Pate, the Falcons expat living in California, found some again in the innocence of a child.
“My son’s optimism about our chances has begun to weaken my time-worn doubt,” he said. “Maybe this is the year.”
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