Okay Atlanta Falcons' fans, everybody take a deep breath. Relax. Take your chill pill. Get over your feelings of being disrespected, it is starting to sound like you are developing an inferiority complex. I know the airwaves and print media are full of Falcons' supporters touting the accomplishments of their beloved team are being overlooked, but try to step back and take a broader view. There is a long way to go -- even if you are 11-2 and have clinched the NFC South. The rest of the NFL fan base really does not care.
In fact, until the Falcons win (at minimum) consecutive games in January the respect desired will not begin to flow.
National sports radio commentators, columnists, and bloggers around the country are having a heyday with Atlanta's failure to win at Carolina last Sunday. After all, the lowly Panthers were mired deep in a weak division and handled the visiting Falcons with ease. Cam Newton looked like the "Superman" he emulates after every scoring play. The media vultures have been waiting for this all season. They have been salivating for evidence of Atlanta's vulnerability, but it has been difficult to "prove" until this latest loss. Winning -- regardless of the competition or margin of victory -- tends to keep the nay sayers at bay. Echoes of "They are who we thought they were!" are cascading across the land. Couple that with the Texans' sound defeat at the hands of the Patriots Monday night, and you will hear experts everywhere discounting the Falcons' and Texans' accomplishments of September, October, and November.
It's December! C'mon man! Everybody knows the cream rises to the top in the last quarter of the season. So Falcons' fans, get ready to hear all about the Packers, Giants, and Niners strength and superiority in the NFC until your team can do something about it in January.
Does the road to recovery start Sunday? Not really. The Falcons host the defending champion Giants this week and could create a serious setback for the visitors, but win or lose it's still not January.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers experienced this same issue several years ago. Remember when they couldn't win the 'big' games? Eli Manning and the Giants dealt with it. Even San Francisco fans hear about their inablity to get back to a Super Bowl, but the respect they receive is a result of recent playoff successes (and they still have that Montana-Rice era thing going for them too). This Falcons team of the Mike Smith era is still looking for a playoff win and really has not even been competitive in their last two playoff appearances. In America, we celebrate championships, not regular season accomplishments. (insert your own Atlanta Braves analogy here).
So enjoy the regular season Falcons' fans, but don't expect the rest of the country to even take this team seriously until you can reach an NFC Championship Game -- if not a Super Bowl.
