You've felt it if you've been to a Falcons game. That thrumming goodness that envelopes your chest and tickles its way down to your toes, to your fingertips, and finally to your brain, where Matt Ryan highlights play on repeat indefinitely. You bump fists, you hug, you congratulate, you pontificate. You do this with the fans around you. You do this with the fans on the way out of the stadium. You may even honk and whoop at cars with Falcons regalia on the way home.
But why oh why won't you do all of that outside of game day? I can't count how many times I've been passed in the store, on the sidewalk, on the road by someone in Falcons gear while I wore my own. I try to acknowledge them. I try to wave. I try to say, in so many words, "Go Falcons" and all I get is silence in return. Or a weird look.
Case in point: guy dressed in huge Falcons jacket and Falcons santa hat walks by me in Target, takes in my Falcons jersey and hat and keeps on walking. I say "That's what I'm talking about!" and point to his huge Falcon logo'd jacket and he looks like me as if I'm some sort of alien assaulting him.
Look, this is our third consecutive winning season and our second trip to the playoffs in three seasons. We're getting more and more fans by the minute, despite all the media bashing. The Dome is getting more and more rockin' by the game. The city is starting, to quote the Atlanta Falcons' marketing campaign, to "Rise Up." Let's Rise Up with them wherever we are and acknowledge each other in our day-to-day lives.
We need a camaraderie as a fanbase that is recognized outside the normal confines of game day. So if someone you see is a Falcons fans, give him or her a "Rise Up!" or "Go Falcons!" and if someone acknowledges your Falcons fandom with the aforementioned greetings, return them in kind. We're going to be getting a lot more attention during the Dimitroff/Smith era and we should let the world know that we fans are united in supporting our team. Break out of your every day routine to acknowledge a fellow fan. Spread the cheer.
Go Falcons!