FanPost

It's OUR Time- A Few Words from a Fan in Charlotte

Last year around this time, the Carolina Panthers were admittedly very, very good. From someone who lives in Charlotte, I know firsthand how pumped up the entire city was. People were dabbing all over the place and talking about how the team was destined for a magical Super Bowl run. As a Falcons fan, it was hard to endure. Sure, other than being a divisional opponent, I have nothing against the Panthers. Living here means that practically everyone I know and am friends with is a Carolina fan, so I have no issue with their fan base. However, it did feel like I was being left out of something big. While the Falcons were busy packing up their lockers, the Panthers were crushing every NFC team in their path to the Super Bowl.

I couldn't help but to think back to the last time I had felt postseason excitement. As we all know, that was in the 2012 NFC Championship game. Being a senior in high school today, I was a middle schooler at the time of that game. Some background information; I was born in Atlanta, but my family moved to Charlotte when I was 7 years old. My dad is actually a huge Panther's fan, so I'm not quite sure why I chose to latch on to Atlanta. Regardless I did just that, and began declaring myself a fan around 2009-2010, which is around the time the team entered its prime under Mike Smith. Julio Jones soon became my very player in the NFL in 2011, and we had what I remember as a wonderful season that year. I was so excited for the NFCC, and when we went up 17-0, I proudly told my dad we were going to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the football gods had other plans, and I came close to tears when that last Matt Ryan pass dropped dead.

Like many others, I thought that this defeat was just the beginning prosperous years for the Falcons (we were a popular Super Bowl pick that offseason if I remember correctly). Instead, the hometown Panthers won the division for the next 3 seasons (I was in the Dome for the Week 17 game against the Panthers that decided the division 2 years ago and got Mike Smith fired). I've had to defend my team countless times over the past few years, with many of my peers seeing the Falcons as a below average franchise. Last year was the culmination of it all. Our win against the Panthers was the only saving grace during the second half of last season. I kept telling all my friends that we would be contenders by 2018, but even I didn't expect it to come this soon.

As I'm sure many of you are, I'm PUMPED for this Saturday. It's been 4 years since I have been this excited about NFL football, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Matt Ryan is likely going to win MVP the season after Cam Newton did it, and our success this year has shut up many of the hating Panthers fans. I'm enjoying every second of it. I truly believe we can at least go to the Super Bowl this year, which would make me even more ecstatic. For the first time since I've been in high school, my team is better than all my friend's. I can tell the level of excitement isn't as high this year for playoff football in the city (I wonder why), but that hasn't dampened my spirits. Unfortunately, I won't be at the game this weekend, but I sure as hell will be watching every bit of it from my couch. Sorry if this is a little long, but I just felt like I needed to share my story to other fans right before we begin our postseason run. It's finally OUR time! Go Falcons and Rise Up!

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>