Freeze Framing for Football Heroes

Tom Brady glancing  at Matt Ryan with a look that asks, "I wonder how he likes his balls."

It's that time of year again!  And this time, with a team we really care about!  Yes, The Atlanta Falcons have made the Super Bowl for only the second time!

Alison loves professional football, but mostly she loves her Atlanta Falcons.  It's the team she grew up with, and although many in this area are enamored with the Jacksonville Jaguars, she remains loyal to her GEORGIA team.  It's true that Jacksonville is technically closer, but she is acutely aware that the Jaguars are in a different STATE.

Some of us follow teams from other states, because we grew up in other places.  I grew up in Michigan and am a Detroit Lions fan.  This is not an easy thing.  Now that the Cubs have won a World Series, the Lions are the new never-wins.  Literally.  They have never won a Super Bowl. Heck, they have NEVER been IN a Super Bowl!  And yet, I remain loyal and true, knowing that someday, maybe, they will be in one.  I am not holding my breath.

Like many, we have our superstitions about how to watch the game.  What we wear, how we position ourselves on the sofa or chair, what we say or eat or drink, is vitally important as to the outcome of the game.  Once the Falcons do something good, we may have to hold the pose we're in for the rest of the game.  What makes this ability to supernaturally influence the game extra special, is the fact the we are often watching the game on the DVR on a time delay basis.  We are trying to influence events that have already happened!

Outside of our home state teams, our other favorite is the Green Bay Packers.  Why?  They are the only NFL team that is owned by the fans.  This makes it extremely loyal to the area, and their games sell out years in advance.  They are a rough and tough blue collar team, ready to play outdoors in any kind of weather.  I think that the NFL would be so much better if all teams were owned that way. But, of course, the billionaire owners of the other teams have ruled that no other team can be owned that way.  That is a shame and a tragedy.

There are other teams that are "owned" that way.  Those are the local public school teams that are "owned" by the taxpayers, the local citizens of the area.  And it is something that we will lose if we drift more to private and/or charter schools.  It just won't have the same feel.  Schools designed to promote religious faith over community, or ones built to enrich private interests, just don't have the same spirit and civic pride.

But maybe loyalties can still build.  We love the Falcons. and try not to think of them as just a wholly owned subsidiary of Home Depot.  And we hope when they score their first touchdown, we are not standing up with one foot off the ground and one hand on top of our head.  That would be a hard position to hold for the rest of the game.

But if it's or our beloved Falcons, we might very well try!

RISE UP!