This is a different team, Douglasville fan Henry Carter said as the Falcons prepared to kick off Saturday in the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Atlanta sports fans have to tell themselves that, considering the sorry playoff history of its pro franchises. The Falcons entered Saturday’s game 7-12 all-time in the postseason and had lost 4 of their last 5.
But it looks like Carter was on to something.
These aren’t the same old Falcons, judging by their dominant performance Saturday afternoon. It may or may not have been the final game in the history of the Georgia Dome, home to so much frustration for the Falcons since its opening in 1992. If the Green Bay Packers defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s divisional playoff, Atlanta will play host to an NFC championship for only the second time in the team’s 51-year history.
Atlantans are eager to embrace a winner even as they confront the familiar dread that comes with being a supporter of any of the city’s pro sports franchises.
Falcons fans were feeling it even before the Seahawks marched down the field on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.
“It was there long before that,” said Bobby Mercado, 37, of Candler Park, a fan since 1986. The Falcons were 7-8-1 that year, halfway into a 9-year playoff drought.
You don’t have to be from Atlanta to know about the city’s sports futility.
“They always disappoint,” said 34-year-old Shawn Keith, who moved to DeKalb County from Hempstead, N.Y. “They get so close. I hope they get to the Super Bowl. It’d be great for Atlanta.”
The team’s only Super Bowl appearance, against the Broncos in 1999, is best remembered for the arrest of starting safety Eugene Robinson, who was charged with soliciting an undercover officer for sex the night before the game. Denver QB John Elway would burn the veteran safety twice, including an 80-yard touchdown to Rod Smith that gave the Broncos a 17-3 lead en route to a 34-19 victory.
The city’s only championship came four years earlier, when the Braves defeated the Indians in the 2005 World Series. Still, the Braves are better known for their postseason failures. They came short in the World Series three times and, since 2000, Braves fans have seen the Cardinals (twice), Giants (twice), Diamondbacks, Cubs and Astros celebrate playoff series clinchers at Turner Field, now the home of the Georgia State Panthers.
At least the Braves came close. The Hawks, who moved to Atlanta in 1968 from St. Louis, have never advanced to the NBA Finals.
But the sports landscape has seen bigger droughts than Atlanta’s come to an end in the last year.
Sandy Springs resident Keri Williams, 32, believes our time has come.
“If the (Cleveland) Cavaliers, the (Chicago) Cubs and Clemson can win (championships), why not us?,” said Williams as she watched the game at Taco Mac in Dunwoody.
The Falcons certainly have the momentum, winning six of their last seven games. In five of those games their prolific offense accounted for at least 36 points.
On Saturday, one play seemed to change everything. With Seattle leading 10-7, former Falcon Devin Hester returned a punt 79 yards, giving the Seahawks an excellent chance to build a double-digit lead.
A holding penalty negated the return, and on the very next play Russell Wilson was tripped by one of his offensive linemen, falling backward into the end zone for a safety. On their next possession the Falcons responded with a field goal to take a 12-10 lead.
“For a team that never gets breaks in the postseason, the safety was huge,” said Arthur York, 36, of Decatur. “But with our track record in the playoffs, every hopeful moment is tempered by a distant but looming sense of doom.”
Minutes later, Matt Ryan hit Tevin Coleman with a 14-yard pass to put the Falcons up 19-10 at halftime. Suddenly, fans were feeling, dare we say, optimistic?
“I feel like the defense is showing up,” said Jelani Hill, 28, an Atlanta native who lives near Turner Field. “Given the fact that this might be the last game in the Georgia Dome, I feel like they’re leaving it on the field.”
“It’s kind of hard going for the home team because they’ve let you down so many times,” Hill said. “But that’s what’s being a true fan is all about. You have to stick with them through the ups and downs. “
And if any city is due some ups, it’s Atlanta. Even the skeptics seem to be coming around.
“There isn’t a defense left in the playoffs that worries me,” York said. “None of them can stop this team.”
