Falcons fan confidence has not merely adopted the dark, it was born in it, molded by it

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to fandom. There’s the one where being a fan means you’re supposed to be positive and supportive no matter what’s happening with your favorite team, and there’s the thought that loving them no matter what but also being furious with them when they screw up is a perfectly acceptable way to be. The one thing no one is when the Falcons in particular lose is surprised.

I think it’s clear by now that most Falcons fans fall into the latter camp, unless they’re scrambling to jettison the escape pods and latch on with another team. In our latest Falcoholic Reacts poll, fan confidence went from 15% after the crushing Week 1 loss to the Seahawks to...14% after the loss to Dallas. Apparently, despite the historic nature of the loss and/or the inspiring performances contained within, the game changed nobody’s mind in terms of how they should feel about this team.

I respect it, honestly. The exact circumstances of the loss were shocking, but how many times have we watched this Falcons team climb out to a lead major or minor and then fritter it away? There’s no way more than a small number of fans are going to be like “okay, we got this” when you start 0-2 after a year you started 1-7, and there’s no way you’re going to shake that last 10% out of it short of losing against a team that looks vastly inferior on paper, which I think all but 10% of fans are hoping does not happen anytime soon. If Atlanta wants fans to feel good, they have to win, period, starting with Chicago this weekend.