I grew up in a town as far west in North Carolina as a person can go. This made Atlanta the nearest city with professional sports teams. This, compacted with the fact that my family is from the Atlanta area, made me a fan of the Falcons, Braves, Hawks and, I guess, the Thrashers.
Unluckily for me, the Braves won the World Series the year I was born. Since then, Atlanta sports have enjoyed mediocrity.
The teams have not been terrible, but they have been far from excellent.
The Falcons were good this year — very good. When I watched them, I knew we had a chance to be special. But I had a lifetime of experience of Atlanta teams failing to meet expectations.
The Falcons blitzed through the playoffs, destroying their opponents.
Then we met the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The only consolation I have is that I did not expect them to win from the start. I had seen the Falcons blow too many leads to believe they could win the Super Bowl. Even with a 25-point lead.
Sure enough, we blew the 25-point lead.
Even not expecting to win, it still hurts.
Not as bad as watching the men’s basketball team lose the NCAA Championship last year, but it hurts nonetheless.
