Top News

Finally, the Falcons-Saints is a real rivalry

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-27 08:18

Finally, one of the NFL's hottest rivalries has two teams that are worthy of all that passion.

For much of the past four decades, the fans of Atlanta and New Orleans got fired up when their teams met - but hardly anyone else paid attention.

That's all changed now. The Saints (10-4) are the defending Super Bowl champions and are closing in on a return trip to the playoffs. The Falcons (12-2) have the best record in the NFC and their sights on home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

Heading into a crucial game Monday night, the teams already have combined for their most wins ever in the same season.

"It's a really good time to be a Falcons fan. It's a really good time to be a Saints fan," said retired NFL kicker Morten Andersen, who played for both teams and now lives in Atlanta. "All you can say is, 'Merry Christmas!' It should be a great game."

These teams are linked by more than just proximity (about a seven-hour drive). They entered the NFL one year apart, the Falcons in 1966, the Saints following in '67. They have been in the same division since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970, giving them home-and-home games each year.

When the Saints head north to face the Falcons, thousands of fans from the Big Easy usually descend on the A-T-L. The situation is reversed when the teams play in New Orleans, giving Atlantans an excuse to party on Bourbon Street.

"Certainly in the fans' minds, this was the game you put an 'x' beside and said, 'That's the game I'm definitely going to'." Andersen said. "You could take a long weekend, have a good time and forget about everything else because you had the Saints and the Falcons."

The already strong bond between the two cities was strengthened further by Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and resulted in thousands of people evacuating to Atlanta in search of shelter. Many decided to stay rather than return to their battered hometown.

The teams have been linked by their misery on the field.

New Orleans went 20 years before its first winning season, those early years defined by bag-wearing fans too embarrassed to be seen cheering on their "Aints". The history of the Atlanta franchise isn't much better - an occasional playoff appearance overwhelmed by one dismal year after another.

When Arthur Blank bought the Falcons in 2002, someone mentioned to him that he was now the proud owner of a franchise that had never even managed back-to-back winning seasons.

"I was like, 'That's not right,'" recalled Blank, who had been a longtime season-ticket holder. "But I went back and checked it myself and I'm like, 'You know what? You're right.'"

The Falcons have put that ignominious streak to rest, compiling their third-straight winning season - a run that's even more remarkable since it came on the heels of franchise quarterback Michael Vick being sent to prison for running a dogfighting ring in 2007.

- AP