Falcons fans: Are you rooting for or against the Saints?
The Falcons have been going against the Saints forever. So should Falcons fans be pulling for Indianapolis? (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Had an interesting exchange last night with Falcons coach Mike Smith, when I spoke to him about two conference championship games. At one point, I asked Smith if he had any feelings about the New Orleans franchise finally making it to the Super Bowl.
“No, not really,” Smith said.
So the whole thing about the tormented franchise . . .
“No.”
This wasn’t surprising, I suppose. Smith coaches the Falcons. Football coaches don’t get emotional about other team’s conquests, particularly when the other team is a division rival. (The Falcons lost two close meetings this season). But I was wondering: How do Falcons fans feel about this?
In the live blog off championship Sunday, several Falcons fans chimed in, saying no true Falcons fan should be pulling for the Saints. Maybe because I didn’t grow up here, I can’t relate to the hate in the rivalry. Plus, I’ve never gotten a sense of that “hate” in annual Falcons-Saints games that I do Georgia-Florida, Georgia-Georgia Tech and even Braves-Mets.
Question: Am I wrong for liking the fact the Saints finally made it, especially with the backdrop of the problems in the city of New Orleans? How to do you feel about the Saints being in the Super Bowl, and will you be pulling for them or Indianapolis?
Let me know what you think and I’ll check back.
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307 comments Add your comment
DangerousDan87
January 31st, 2010
8:29 am
been a Falcons fan since 1966. Buck talks about the Falcons-Saints as an NFC-South rivalry but it goes deeper than that. I remember our birds winning 62-7 in 1973 with our backup QB-Dick Shiner, but most people here haven’t lived here long enough to remember outdoor pro football. The Saints have a loud, obnoxious, passionate fan base throughout the city, state and region. We don’t. I was at Waffle House yesterday talking about Mark Price’s coaching contributions with the Hawks and the guy next to me asked if he was from here. WHAT?? ANYway, next Sunday-I will pull for the Saints even though they had 2 gift wins against us AND I would love to be in the french quarter after the superbowl because they will celebrate no matter what. Ya I KNOW Price played at tech is from oklahoma
DangerousDan87
January 31st, 2010
8:33 am
O–the 87 in my name is for Claude Humphrey–best pass rusher of all time
Bruce
January 31st, 2010
3:33 pm
Well let me tell you folks. I was born in N.O. and lived their for 30 years. I moved to Alt in the late 80s. Every time the Falcons played the Saints I would get ragged at work when the Falcons won. Not that I was much of a saints fan. But all that changed when the Dirty Birds go Anderson,Hebeart and Heywood. I turned to the dard side. And the other post are correct. There is nothing worst than getting beat by the Saints. With the Who Dat Nation and all of there other stupid lingo. GO COLTS
Who Dat Nation
February 1st, 2010
1:00 pm
The Saints all the way!!!! I can’t believe they actually are in the Superbowl… Unbelievable!!!! Who Dat Baby!!!!!
Sports' feel-good list: Saints No. 1, Braves, others follow | Jeff Schultz
February 8th, 2010
12:21 am
[...] of you are having a hard time embracing this moment. Two weeks ago I asked how you felt about the Falcons’ No. 1 rival reaching the Super Bowl and — despite the feel-good nature of the New Orleans Saints’ story — it was clear [...]
Garble
February 8th, 2010
11:52 am
Awfully quiet here today.
Falcons fans: Are you rooting for or against the Saints? | Jeff … | NFL Topics Blog
February 12th, 2010
10:33 pm
[...] NVDaily wrote a very interesting post today. Here’s a quick excerpt:The Saints’ berth in the Super Bowls ends decades of torment for the franchise and the city of New Orleans, but how do Atlanta Falcons fans feel about it? [...]