A Letter to the Fans

A letter to fans:

    The Super Bowl is over and the Atlanta Falcons blew it.  They were on the cusp of being crowned the best team in the world only to lose it in the end.  Falcons fans do you remember how you felt when the score was 28-9 in the 3^rdquarter?  Do you remember how happy you were about the fact that your team was about to be named Super Bowl Champs?  The majority of you were not alone watching the game either.  You were at a Super Bowl party, a tailgate or even in the stadium, if you made it to Houston.  You were elated.  Your heart was pumping.  You were smiling from ear to ear.  You went out of your way to high-five anyone within reach.  This felt like one of the greatest points of your life.  And it was gone in an instant.  The instant James White crossed that goal line and the Patriots won the game.  You lost one of the greatest feelings you probably had in a long time. 

     The irony of it all is you were celebrating a victory so hard that you didn’t have a damn thing to do with accomplishing.  Don’t get me wrong the team can’t play without fans.  Not because they wouldn’t be able to run up and down the field but because they wouldn’t have the money to keep the business afloat.  You can talk about the 12^th man and home field advantage all you want but in the end the Falcons organization does all the hard work to get every win on their schedule.   To the fan that pays for a ticket or watches on television, it’s just a game.

    Winning the Super Bowl is a result of blood, sweat and tears.  It’s not just a game to Julio Jones.  He has put it thousands of hours of hard work to get to this point.  It’s not just a game to the equipment manager who has to be at Flowery Branch the entire off-season to keep the players football ready all year long.  It’s not just a game to the assistant coaches who watch thousands of hours of film.  It’s not just a game to the scout who’s logged thousands of miles looking for the next Julio Jones. 

     But to the fan it’s a game because there’s been no blood, sweat and tears shed on your part.  Yeah it was real difficult stopping by the liquor store and then driving to your homeboy’s house to watch the game.  Better yet it was super hard getting on that bus and going to Houston to party and tailgate.  For those that planned ahead it was extremely difficult booking a plane ticket and hotel weeks in advance.  Every success you’ve had is a result of the work you’ve put into it.  Sometimes that work is behind the scenes and not directly associated with the result, like graduating college with honors.  Sometimes the work is clear and directly related, like running a marathon. 

     But just because you didn’t work for the Super Bowl win doesn’t mean you can’t desire it.  My challenge is why did you desire it so much?  Unfortunately too many of you desired it so much because it was an easy way to bring that feeling of success into your life without having to work for it.  Because you didn’t get it you are hurt and distraught.  You are at work all week looking like Droopy’s long lost twin.  You are on the Internet screaming conspiracy theory; sharing pictures of a knee down and the ball not across the goal line.  You didn’t get your fix of happiness that you oh so well deserve.  This was an easy way to get it and the Falcons took that away from you.  How dare they do that? How dare the NFL do that?  How dare Las Vegas do that to you?

     They took a feeling away from you.  Yet it was just that, a feeling.  A feeling you can capture again and it doesn’t take a Super Bowl win from the Falcons to feel it.  Many of you couldn’t wait to have the parade on Tuesday.  You couldn’t wait because you knew how good that would feel.  The feeling is what we all are in search of but the question is how much work are you willing to do to get it?  You see you could get 100 of your friends to meet downtown on Peachtree and have your own parade.  You could call it the “Just Because We Want To Have a Good Time Parade”.  I’m sure it would be fun walking down Peachtree waving and hollering at all the cars driving by.  You probably wouldn’t get on TV though so it wouldn’t be the same.  Hmmm but maybe you could.  I’m sure if you went down to WSB and told them about the parade they would send a camera crew down to film it.  You could actually do this.  You could be on TV and have a memory of a lifetime.  No, that would be too much work.  Let’s get back to reality; you need the Falcons to win the Super Bowl, which is a much easier route. 

     Yes I wanted the Falcons to win the Super Bowl.  It would have been great for the city.  We could have continued the fun of this season.  We could have gone out with a bang.  We could have had new ammunition to talk trash with other fans for seasons to come.  All of that is true.  However on the scale of importance those facts barely move the needle.  That’s why it should be very easy for you to get over the loss.  Your time is better spent working on your next success.  The success you can celebrate somewhere in the Caribbean with a gang of friends and family.  That feeling will be tenfold compared to the Falcons winning the Super Bowl because of all the effort you would have personally taken to get there.  Yes we all would take the easy route if given to us but you shouldn’t put any effort to it cause it’s too easily wasted. 

     Your life success is more important than your hometown football teams success.  You’ve spent your money.  You’ve bought your apparel.  You’ve watched the commercials on television.  You’ve supported your team.  Above all it’s a business and you’ve done your part to keep the business afloat. But you’ve also put in the work to achieve your own success.  You’ve had hours of schooling.  You’ve spent hours commuting to work.  You’ve spent hours parenting your children.  You’ve spent hours working out.  All of your hard work has resulted in success in your life.  All of that work will result in many more successes in your life.  Don’t let the unfortunate loss of your favorite football team derail you from working to celebrate all of your successes past, present and future. So get out of your feelings and get back to work.  You have your own celebration to create.

    By being sad, angry or just in a bad mood you are derailing your success.  Nothing good can happen when your feelings are in a negative state.  To put it simply, like attracts like.  If you don’t agree please leave a comment about a great success you had when you were sad, angry or in a bad mood.  And no you cannot confuse determined and focused with being angry.  The only thing you are determined and focused about when it comes to the Falcons is the fact that they should have won the game.  That is not the same as angrily pushing your coworker aside so you can complete a task because they just keep messing up.  Negativity will never win.  It just won’t.  As Shirley McClain once said, “Dwelling on the negative will only contribute to its power.”

     As Falcons fans we all should thank the Falcons for a great season.  In the end they couldn’t pull out the victory but we are grateful for the celebrations we had along the way.   We’ll be back supporting the team again next year.  In the meantime we’ll be busy making Atlanta a better city by achieving our own successes.  We will do our part to make Atlanta Rise Up!

Signed A Die Hard Falcons Fan Who Only Wants the Best For You.