The Thomas Family Experience

Atlanta Falcons fans are some of the best in the business. My mother, Jeanna Thomas, who may have kind of blown you up on Twitter today, is a die-hard Atlanta fan and she is from OHIO. My dad is from Wisconsin and is a Packers fan, but he even likes the Falcons. We (by we, I mean my mom and dad) spend over 120 dollars per home game on the Falcons, not to mention countless jerseys, hats, and other souvenirs along that line. Heck, our dog has his own jersey and a football toy.

But you know, how can we compete with the Giants, especially with their fresh 2007 Superbowl wins under their belts.  People are focused on the Packers with their ACTUAL recent Superbowl win.

While we’re on the topic, let’s throw in a fun fact about football—the sound of the insanely loud Falcons fans doesn’t reach the viewer at home. You have to be there to experience the enormity of noise we make. Did you know that? No? Well, now you do.

Another thing is- a lot of us here in “Hotlanta” don’t actually drink sweet tea- this is Coke country, Mr. Parker. We eat us some Chik-Fil-A, unless of course it’s Sunday. Then we’re usually at the Falcons game anyway, so we eat there. But you know, that may just be my family and the other hundreds of families that are sitting in the Georgia Dome. The rest of ‘em are just sitting on their backsides at home drinkin’ their sweet teas and eatin’ their barbecue, wondering, “Hey! I wonder if the Falcons are playin’ in Hotlanta today?”

To quote you, “pathetic.”

Most of this letter has been about how all of the Falcons fans are not rednecks. We even have toilets in our house! So now I’m going to talk about the Falcons team themselves.

The Falcons record is 10-6. We have beat enough teams to be in the playoffs. Even if you still believe that the fans are stupid, how can you still say that the Falcons don’t deserve to be there? They practice, train, sweat, and prepare for the games. Are you the one out there tackling 300-pound men? No? Then shut your mouth about who does and doesn’t deserve to go to the playoffs, and focus on simply reporting the games. 

I would love for you to watch this video- it shows, quite plainly, how basically AWESOME the Falcons (ahem…and their fans) are. Rise Up

You wrote an article talking about the fans of the Atlanta Falcons football team. You were wrong on nearly every aspect. The one thing you got right was the part about the true-blue Falcons fans. Guess what? Yeah, you’re right. There are people who claim to like the Falcons. They probably try to go to Chick-Fil-A on Sunday. 

“Hey…” They say suddenly as they reach for another drink of their Coke. “The Falcons play today, right? Or did they play yesterday?”

Those people aren’t fans. Or the people that give up in the second half. They aren’t fans, either. They can claim to be fans all they want, they’re not. I could claim to be the president of the United States. It doesn’t matter what I say—we all know I’m not Barack Obama.  Some people are at the game because they won tickets.

That’s about two percent of “fans”. The other ninety-eight percent of real fans live, breathe, sleep, and bleed Falcons. (Sorry, I exaggerated. We don’t bleed Falcons, we bleed their colors.) 

I hope I proved to you that we are truly fans. The Falcons deserve to be there. As much as I hate to say it, everyone in the playoffs deserves to be there because they beat enough teams to be there. And Falcons fans love their team. They are loud, excited, passionate, and classy. They—we—love the game and the team. We are in the playoffs. On Sunday, fans everywhere decked out in their jerseys and gear will anxiously turn on the television hours before the game, getting excited and more nervous by the moment. Eventually, we will win or lose, but no matter what the outcome, Falcons fans will be standing by, ready for the next game or the next year, because we never give up on our team. Every fan will be watching and cheering and ready to prove you wrong.

Unless, of course, they’re at Chick-Fil-A.

Ashley Thomas

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Dear Mr. Parker, 

I am afraid that I must confront you on your despicable article about the fanbase of our Atlanta Falcons. We are very passionate about football in our house so this in my eyes was utterly uncalled for. It would have made more sense to call out the team or the players but to make a dramatic statement you chose to do the unthinkable, call out the fans. But not just football fans, you called out the entire Atlanta sports fanbase. To quote you, Mr. Parker, I believe you called us “pathetic” and unworthy to “lukewarmly enjoy a playoff win.”

Again, I must ask you a question, why did you call out all sports, including hockey? We are a southern state so is it as “pathetic” as you think it is that we lost the Thrashers to Canada? I must ask those question because I am utterly befuddled over the state of mind you were in when you got the idea for this abomination you called an “article.”

Clearly you have not seen the emotions and the headaches that come out the Georgia Dome. You have not felt the pulsing of the crowd on game day. Or the buzzing of your ears when the game is over, or a headache that you are glad you have for the win of the game. You know not one of the things I have just described. Well, maybe you do but you have not shown it this in this manuscript. Better luck on your next article. Until next time, Mr. Parker.

Regards, 

Chelsea Thomas