Greetings, Falcoholics, I’m back with another edition of The Falcoholic’s “Fan Spotlight.” This segment highlights Atlanta Falcons fans from around the globe, and shares how they became a fan of the team and their thoughts on the franchise.
This week’s Fan Spotlight is on Mike Newton, a 42-year old father of two from Raton, New Mexico. Mike currently resides in Colorado Springs, where he has lived for the past 21 years. Growing up in New Mexico, there’s obviously no NFL teams nearby, so he had to choose a team that he could relate to and stick with them. In 1990, a player named Deion Sanders caught his eye, and he’s been an Atlanta Falcons fan ever since. He loved everything about Prime Time, that “bad boy” attitude of his, and it molded him into a hardcore fan.
Who is your favorite Falcons player of all-time?
I have many favorite players, Deion Sanders, Julio Jones, Tim Dwight, Terance Mathis, and Deion Jones, but my favorite all-time is Roddy White! I loved the way Roddy played, he wasn’t the biggest receiver but he played with so much passion, and he was a great route runner. I will never forget the touchdown catch he made against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Roddy burned Richard Sherman (who was probably the best cornerback at the time) and then Roddy made sure to trash talk Sherman that he got burned. That play hyped me up so much, I will never forget it! It’s shame we never got Roddy a ring.
What are your thoughts on the 2019 offseason?
I agree with all the players that we released so far. Although it’s sad to see Matt Bryant go, it had to be done. I am not sure about keeping Vic Beasley, but we will see. The Falcons really need to fix the offensive and defensive lines. If the Falcons fix both of those, I truly believe we will be a contender again.
What are your thoughts on Dan Quinn so far?
I know some Falcons fans may disagree, but I really like Dan Quinn. I feel a lot of the Falcons short comings last year were out of his control, in regards to injuries and poor-play calling. Last year was their first losing season under him, and the guy is 3-2 in the playoffs – that’s more than we can say about Mike Smith. With that being said, if he has another losing season this year, it will be time for him to go, this team has way too much talent to have another losing record.
Favorite Falcons memory?
Obviously the two NFC Championship games we won, but one of my favorite memories is when we ended the Carolina Panthers’ perfect season in 2015. It was the day after Christmas, and the Panthers were 14-0 with the Falcons being huge under dogs. I will never forget the touchdown catch Julio made. I was in Albuquerque for Christmas and I was wearing my Falcons gear, and everywhere I went people said “Go Falcons!”, “How about those Falcons?” It was like the Falcons just won the Super Bowl! I was also playing against Cam Newton in my fantasy championship and I won, so that was a cherry on top. It felt so good to ruin their perfect season!
What would you like to tell your fellow Falcons fans?
This is a funny story I like to tell people. When we found out our second child was going to be a boy, we really loved the name Cameron. Well my last name is Newton, therefore his name would be Cameron Newton. All I can think of was people associating him with that bum Cam Newton, so we immediately scrapped that idea. I despise Cam Newton!! Finally, to all my fellow Falcons fans: I have met a lot of you in many different places. I must say that every single Falcons fan I have met was like meeting a new friend, or a long-lost family member, I love my fellow fans. Rise Up!!
I appreciate Mike for sharing his thoughts on the Falcons, and for being the focus of this weeks ‘Fan Spotlight’ article. If you’d like to connect with Mike and discuss how inaccurate Cam Newton is, you’ll find him on Twitter at @Mikey2180.
Additionally, if you’d like to be considered for a future ‘Fan Spotlight’ or know of someone who deserves to be, let me know on Twitter where you can find me at @EvanBirchfield. Thanks for reading!