Streetalk: What’s the difference between a Steelers and Falcons fan?
January 25, 2009 at 12:01 pm by Jeff Slate in Streetalk
Bubbles: Pittsburgh fans have much more heart and soul. We love smash-mouth football. It’s all about the team. Falcons fans really don’t have much to go on. The fans and players are fluffy. They play in a dome, so they don’t play as hard. Steelers play in the cold, the snow, broken bones – things like that. It’s a whole family thing in Pittsburgh. Falcon fans are wishy-washy. With the Steelers, we got our Terrible Towels. With Falcon fans, I don’t know what, but they need something.
Matt: It’s hereditary. My dad is a Steeler fan, my grandparents were Steeler fans. They had no choice but to root for the Steelers. You grow up caring for the Steelers more than anything else other than family and health. The Falcons have never had a historical fan base. No one is interested. Atlanta has such a disparate fan base. No one is from here. In Pittsburgh, the entire identification with the city is with the Steelers. Atlanta is the Georgia Bulldogs or Georgia Tech and a bunch of northerners that moved here for work.
Holly: The passion. We’re not fair-weathered fans. It’s deep. We’re born with Terrible Towels. It’s in our blood. Falcons fans don’t have the passion. They just suck. In Atlanta, there are more Steelers bars than Falcons ones. The Steelers is such a great NFL organization. We’ve had three coaches since I’ve existed. The Falcons have had multiple coaches, multiple issues. Pittsburgh is a hard-hitting, blue-collar city. You go up there anytime of year and they’re wearing Steelers. Here, they may wear Falcons stuff ’cause they got it from Wal-Mart for five dollars. It’s just not the same thing.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
What a load of crap. If you wanted to stereo type you could’ve said all black folks like fried chicken or something stupid like that.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I’m a PGH transplant, Steelers fan and recent Falcons fan (hey, Falcons are NFC, Steelers AFC so my allegiance will really only be tested if they meet in a future superbowl!)
Atlanta has all of the pieces in place to build a strong, competitive team and hopefully a 2nd consecutive winning season will turn local fans around. The wounds of the 2006 and 2007 season are still healing, however.
Atlanta’s transient population, the popularity of college football and the Falcons lack of tradition all play into why Atlanta doesn’t share the same numbers of hardcore fans that the Steelers do. However, Atlanta is a big enough city that the Dome *should* sell out each and every game (as the Steelers have done every game since 1972 – before the SB rings started coming in).
There is definitely room in the Atlanta sports market for the Falcons, and more Atlantans should take great pride in the new foundation which the Falcons front office, coaching staff and players have set firmly in place with their 2008 season.
Steelers fans may rule the roost, but there is NO reason why there shouldn’t be just as many crazed fans getting the GA Dome rockin’ once again – and sooner rather than later. The current Falcons organization deserves a strong fan base to root them on – and that hasn’t always been the case.