After every NFL game the teams have a period of time to hear from their coaches and reflect on the game that they just played. It’s the same for ever team, either win or lose. We in the media know it as the cool down period and it usually lasts 5 minutes or less.
Think about the Falcons after their Super Bowl meltdown. They had 5 minutes to process and digest what just happened to them and now they had to try and put it into words that make sense. I know it was difficult for them because it was impossible for me and I was just watching the game. This on hurts folks, because we actually got to see the finish line!!
I saw the same 4th quarter that you did, and while I’m sure I said something,right now I can’t recall a single word.Coach Quinn said it best,”You have to tip your cap to the Patriots”. Oh how bitter the taste and it will linger for a long time. Look folks, it was amazing to watch this Falcons team do what it did over the past 6 weeks and at the same time see this city embrace and believe in the team in a way that I have never seen before.When I said “I Got A Feelin'”, it was the feeling that I got from a city and a fan base that went from asking “Why Not Us?”, to saying “It’s Our Time “.
Consolation is hard to find on the day after a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss, but if you take the time to drive north on I-85 and take the Clemson exit, you might just find a little bit of hope. You see, the Clemson Tigers played well enough to beat Alabama the first time they met in the College Football Playoff Championship Game. But there was this wiley and crafty coach who kept an ace or two up his sleeve and played them at just the right time.
It sounds painfully familiar doesn’t it ? It was the same bitter taste that Deshaun Watson, his teammates and all the Clemson faithful were made to carry around for an entire year. Last month we saw Coach Swinney’s crew make it back to the championship game and this time the Tigers were victorious. I am sure that the fine folks up the road will quickly tell you that the taste of victory is twice as sweet.
So, I say,”Hold On”!! Hold on, to the fact that Falcons team that was ahead of schedule played in the first overtime period in the 51 year history of the Super Bowl. Hold on,to the fact that this team has a young nucleus of players who will all be back next season. Hold on, to that feeling of BROTHERHOOD that lifted not just a team, but a city and state to the top of the football world.
Look folks, this team has a window that will last the next 2-3 years to get back to the big game. I believe that the Falcons will make it back, and I hope that Brady and Company will be there,too. For now, it’s the off season. The Falcons off season will be shorter this year. It’s what happens when you play in the Super Bowl. While the off season will be shorter it will feel like an eternity for the team and for all of us because we got to see the finish line !!!
Just remember to Hold On to the BROTHERHOOD, and when you need a little hope take a drive north on I-85. I Still Got A Feelin’ !!! #RiseUp Atlanta