How Do You Demand A Championship?

[PHALCONABERNATHY]

I'm sick of hearing everyone who talks about the Falcons saying, "Oh, Atlanta is fair-weathered fans. They only root for their team when they're winning." Then turn around in the same breathe and say "They don't demand championships like New England and Green Bay." Can someone explain what you're supposed to do? Is there a fan manual that we're all missing somewhere? I'm a diehard Falcon fan and will be until I die, but who wants to go see the garbage product on the field? I don't have the money to go to games to be see them lose, knowing they don't have a chance to win. It's like that for all the teams in our city right now. I understand the team needs support, but if the team doesn't want it as bad as the fans, what's the point in "demanding a Championship?"

[Mega Flare]

Unless and until the team wins a Superbowl, the team and its fans will be stuck in this paradox. HeII, the same could be said for the city and all of its teams, and the baseball team ruined its legacy with all those failed playoff runs while their window was open.

[FalconinPA]

We as fans can demand all we want, but It comes down basically to our owner, front office and coaching. How much they want to win. They are solely responsible for fielding the crap that we are paying witness to week after week. I can actually speak for a large majority of Falcons fans when I say we all want to win championships like the Patriots and Steelers etc. Hellz, I just want to see one and I am good. But I guess we can speak my not buying gear, tickets for the shiny new stadium, or spending money watching these clowns on the Sunday Ticket every year. But ultimately the ball is in Mr. Blanks court.

[birdz4i]

by whining about it on the internet untill it becomes true

[JOEinPHX]

There's an interseting conundrum here. Steelers fan demand championships (to the extent that such a thing can be done). But they don't demand that coaches who have brought them great success be fired if things go temporarily south - this has been true through 46 years of Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin.

And for what it's worth, Mike Smith has a better winning percentage as a head coach than either Cowher or Tomlin, despite working for a franchise that is far from storied.

Arthur Blank dumped Smitty amid fears that a disgruntled fan base would jump ship at a time when he had to sell thousands of PSLs to cover massive debt service for a new stadium. The Rooney family benefits from the most loyal fan base in pro sports, but that doesn't excuse the mistake Arthur Blank made.

[Falconjerome]

There's an interseting conundrum here. Steelers fan demand championships (to the extent that such a thing can be done). But they don't demand that coaches who have brought them great success be fired if things go temporarily south - this has been true through 46 years of Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin.

And for what it's worth, Mike Smith has a better winning percentage as a head coach than either Cowher or Tomlin, despite working for a franchise that is far from storied.

Arthur Blank dumped Smitty amid fears that a disgruntled fan base would jump ship at a time when he had to sell thousands of PSLs to cover massive debt service for a new stadium. The Rooney family benefits from the most loyal fan base in pro sports, but that doesn't excuse the mistake Arthur Blank made.

So are you saying we should have kept Mike Smith as HC?

[tl;dr]

Atlanta fans have no loyalty. They cheer for the opposing team whenever the Falcons are bad. Just wait until the Falcons/Panthers game this year. Some of the same people that are normally in Falcons colors will be in the Dome in Panthers colors. Go up to Foxboro, Green Bay, or Pittsburgh and you would never see that, even if the team had lost 6/7.

Say what you want, but Atlanta fans suck.

[theDIRTYcode]

I don't know, but I'm considering writing a letter a week to Flower Branch until we get at least one Lombardi trophy. It worked for Andy Dufresne.

[tl;dr]

Let's examine the 2003 Alabama Crimson Tide. The team finished 4-9 and was in the midst of a new head coaching situation that sucked. *Spoiler alert* they sold out every game because they are FANS.

[theDIRTYcode]

Let's examine the 2003 Alabama Crimson Tide. The team finished 4-9 and was in the midst of a new head coaching situation that sucked. *Spoiler alert* they sold out every game because they are FANS.

And UGA fans are just as loyal to their team(even to a fault). You can't compare college and pro's in the south. In GA the Dawgs are king and they always will be. Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Philly, etc fans can't compete with the south's collegiate fan base.

When you have traditions like Dooley, Walker, Champ Bailey, an actual national championship, a field known around the country, the most recognizable mascot in the world, and then compare that to the Falcons.....who's claim to fame is one of their best players getting arrested for soliciting a prostitute to the night before the Super Bowl....yeah.

And I haven't even mentioned the transplant factor of Atlanta.

[FalconinPA]

Atlanta fans have no loyalty. They cheer for the opposing team whenever the Falcons are bad. Just wait until the Falcons/Panthers game this year. Some of the same people that are normally in Falcons colors will be in the Dome in Panthers colors. Go up to Foxboro, Green Bay, or Pittsburgh and you would never see that, even if the team had lost 6/7.

Say what you want, but Atlanta fans suck.

I believe that loyalty comes with winning, winning titles, trust and building tradition. All the teams you listed above Patriots, Packers and Pittsburgh have that. Multiple championships and organizations that know how to build great teams. Even Alabama has it , one of the best winning schools in the history of college football. What has this this organization given fans to be loyal? Tons of losing seasons and misery. We just got our first back to back winning seasons recently. That is a long time to never have back to back winning seasons.(since 66) Now, I have nothing for Falcons fans that wear other teams gear in the dome and cheer for the other team. Not sure if I would even call them Falcon fans, just posers.

Say what you want, but Atlanta sports sucks as bad as there fans. Start winning and winning championships and I believe you will see a change. Just my opinion.

[B_Lo_Touchdowns]

Stop supporting the team with your hard earned money. Only watch the games on tv, dont spend any money on any Falcons related material. Take the money you saved and buy a newspaper ad or billboard.

Start a petition saying we wont support this team unless they start making the right decisions in the draft/Fa/Fo and show progress on the field.

Boycott outside of Flowery Branch during OTAs

If you decide to go to a game voice your displeasure with the team with big,bright, poster board signs.

[*Old Pappy Falcon*]

He11 no we won't throw....He11 no we won't throw

[JOEinPHX]

So are you saying we should have kept Mike Smith as HC?

I thought that was obvious. Smitty had a couple shortcomings that were clear but easily correctable - they were far outweighed by the positives.

[HOYLE]

I thought that was obvious. Smitty had a couple shortcomings that were clear but easily correctable - they were far outweighed by the positives.

Any word, through the grapevine, on when he will coach again?

I bet if he does he will have it in stone that he is not changing

"the Process".

[slamee101]

I'm sick of hearing everyone who talks about the Falcons saying, "Oh, Atlanta is fair-weathered fans. They only root for their team when they're winning." Then turn around in the same breathe and say "They don't demand championships like New England and Green Bay." Can someone explain what you're supposed to do? Is there a fan manual that we're all missing somewhere? I'm a diehard Falcon fan and will be until I die, but who wants to go see the garbage product on the field? I don't have the money to go to games to be see them lose, knowing they don't have a chance to win. It's like that for all the teams in our city right now. I understand the team needs support, but if the team doesn't want it as bad as the fans, what's the point in "demanding a Championship?"

I kind of think you're mixing two issues up. While they are somewhat related I think being "fairweather" and "demanding a championship" are separate.

Fairweather? We've been hearing that for years and it's old and lame when the national media beats Atlanta up for it because the city is really no more fairweather than any other city. However, it became the thing to say so people just take it and run with it even though essentially every team in the league that struggles or consistently remains mediocre has trouble filling the seats up. Look at any team that consistently loses, is average, or disappoints and look into the stands.

Demanding more of their team...that's another story. I think that in Georgia/Atlanta there's generally a "stay the course/we don't wanna rock the boat/don't wanna sound crazy like Philly" mentality. We're very soft on our local teams in general. While I get annoyed with hacks that write for the paper or shock jocks...there's very little calling out of teams and players and when fans do they're often painted as being nuts. That's true sometimes, but sometimes the criticism is fair.

Take the Falcons right now, the only radio personality I've heard be fairly critical is Steak Shapiro or Mike Bell and even then it's not over the top because I think they're afraid of losing access to the team and front office personnel if they really go in. Part of being in a "smaller" city. This would never happen in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philly, etc. Matt Ryan would be getting ROASTED! Quinn would be getting ROASTED! Dimitroff would be getting ROASTED! Here, there's some talk of it, all the personalities are afraid to "call for a guys job", and throw some criticism but not much. That kind of echoes the sentiments of a lot of the fans I think.

[slamee101]

I believe that loyalty comes with winning, winning titles, trust and building tradition. All the teams you listed above Patriots, Packers and Pittsburgh have that. Multiple championships and organizations that know how to build great teams. Even Alabama has it , one of the best winning schools in the history of college football. What has this this organization given fans to be loyal? Tons of losing seasons and misery. We just got our first back to back winning seasons recently. That is a long time to never have back to back winning seasons.(since 66) Now, I have nothing for Falcons fans that wear other teams gear in the dome and cheer for the other team. Not sure if I would even call them Falcon fans, just posers.

Say what you want, but Atlanta sports sucks as bad as there fans. Start winning and winning championships and I believe you will see a change. Just my opinion.

Exactly! Pats are a great example. How loyal was Pats nation before the Belicheck/Brady years?

[FalconinPA]

Exactly! Pats are a great example. How loyal was Pats nation before the Belicheck/Brady years?

I like this.

[octoslash]

If you think withholding dollars from t-shirts and bumper stickers is going to actually HURT the Falcons organization, I have news for you: It isn't. NFL teams equally share in the billions of dollars the league rakes in from TV rights. That's how they all stay alive....they almost couldn't care less about merchandising. Heckfire, even ticket sales pale in comparison to the bucks they're shoveling in via the boob tube. ....Coffee mugs and jerseys are merely gravy to the owners. You want to hurt the team? Stop buying tickets, period. And that won't REALLY hurt either, because you'll just be insuring a stadium FULL of opposing fans. It's the STUBHUB generation. ...... So, bottom line....unless you can hack the NFL's checking account on your laptop, there isn't a heck of a lot you can do besides complain....and I doubt the Falcons are going to acknowledge that, because, like I said, they already have their money, and nothing else matters.

[slamee101]

I like this.

The opening chapter does exactly what’s necessary to introduce Knight’s theories. Beginning with the inaugural season of the 1960 Boston/New England Patriots, Knight impresses as he thoroughly recaps every season up to the 2007 campaign.

Knight compiles dates, scores, locations, and attendance records for every home game played by the Patriots, effectively explaining the startling trends between drops in attendance and losing seasons.

From the Pats’ 17-game television blackout streak to record-breaking attendance totals in seasons following a Super Bowl appearance, Knight drives home his point about fair-weather fan support in New England.

It's not exactly a novel concept as most working-class fans shouldn't be expected to purchase tickets to see a losing team, but startling nonetheless.

However, it’s Knight’s history lessons of failed teams prior to the Boston/New England Patriots that provides the biggest indictment of Boston sports fans and their inability to remain loyal to their gridiron franchises.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/114565-the-truth-about-patriots-fans-new-england-bandwagon-nation

[paulitik]

There's an interseting conundrum here. Steelers fan demand championships (to the extent that such a thing can be done). But they don't demand that coaches who have brought them great success be fired if things go temporarily south - this has been true through 46 years of Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin.

And for what it's worth, Mike Smith has a better winning percentage as a head coach than either Cowher or Tomlin, despite working for a franchise that is far from storied.

Arthur Blank dumped Smitty amid fears that a disgruntled fan base would jump ship at a time when he had to sell thousands of PSLs to cover massive debt service for a new stadium. The Rooney family benefits from the most loyal fan base in pro sports, but that doesn't excuse the mistake Arthur Blank made.

4 Super Bowls wins in the dawn of the era of primetime football was a big part of it too.The Steelers were pretty futile for almost as long as we have been before winning a Super Bowl, I guarantee of the 1980, the 91, and 98 teams won rings, we'd have a whole different fanbase.

[FalconFanSince1969]

40% of the NFL hasn't won a super bowl, but poor little falcons fans like to pretend like it's just us. They like to think they're 'owed' one just for being a fan. Guess what, those other 12 teams have fans too. Shouldn't they be 'owed' a super bowl? What makes ATL fans so great that they deserve a super bowl? In fact, I'd say the opposite is true.

[slamee101]

But you also have Raider and Browns fans who are loyal as heck and they stick with there team no matter how bad they are. When I visited Ohio, I saw more Browns fans than Bengals fans even though the Bengals had been far more successful since the Browns came back.

Last year vs the Browns, the Browns fans had a sizable population in attendance. So did Bears fans.

Raiders are a storied franchise although they've been down for a while but make no mistake they've had attendance issues even with the Black Hole and how rabid they're painted to be. They were barely avoiding blackouts a few years ago and had some.

Can't really judge by how many fans attend when those teams come to Atlanta. Transient city. It's easy for folks living away from OH to decide to catch the Browns when they're in town even when they do suck.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/12/a_lot_of_people_stayed_home_fo.html

That was from the Browns game two days ago. Don't believe the hype. Most teams don't win and they have a problem with attendance.

[FalconinPA]

But you also have Raider and Browns fans who are loyal as heck and they stick with there team no matter how bad they are. When I visited Ohio, I saw more Browns fans than Bengals fans even though the Bengals had been far more successful since the Browns came back.

Last year vs the Browns, the Browns fans had a sizable population in attendance. So did Bears fans.

The Raiders are on of the franchises that have a storied history. Although for awhile now they have been horrid. But they already created a culture there. They have 3 super bowls and there was a time no one wanted to go into the black hole and play the Raiders. I really can't explain the Browns, I think they did win a few NFL titles back in the day, but I sill have no answer for them. (scratching my head)

[JOEinPHX]

Any word, through the grapevine, on when he will coach again?

I bet if he does he will have it in stone that he is not changing

"the Process".

The current most likely scenario has him taking over the Titans.