Atlanta Falcons is an American football team based in Atlanta - Georgia. It is a member of NFC South (National Football Conference). This team joined the NFL (National Football League) in 1965. The Falcons are well-known for its record of 275-400-6 and division championship in the 1980, 1998 and 2004. They have made only one appearance in the Super Bowl in 1999.
After the construction of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the city thought of pursuing a spot on the professional football scene. The NFL was coincidentally looking to expand its fan base activities in the South and to also get a franchise. On 30 June 1965, the Atlanta Falcons were envisioned. Rankin M. Smith Sr. who was an executive vice president of Life Insurance Company of Georgia was granted ownership by NFL Commissioner, Pete Rozelle. The name Falcons was suggested by a high school teacher of Georgia, Julia Elliot in a contest held in 1965. Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas was drafted in the first draft and became the first Falcon.
The first season of the Atlanta falcons was in 1966. They lost nine games and finally won their first game against New York Giants. They won their first home victory against St. Louis Cardinals. They won their first ever Monday Night Football game in Atlanta in 1971 season. In 1978, the Falcons entered their first playoff series and won the Wild Card playoffs against the Eagles. Later they lost to Dallas Cowboys in Divisional Playoffs. They again lost in the Divisional Playoffs to the Cowboys in 1980.
When the Falcons made their way to the playoffs and lost to the Minnesota Vikings, the coach Leeman Bennett was sacked because of the loss. It was later in 1991 when the Atlanta Falcons made it to another playoff game when they lost to the Washington Redskins in the Divisional Playoffs. The team was nicknamed 'Dirty Bird Falcons'
The greatest season till date for the team was in 1998, quarterback Chris Chandler and running back Jamal Anderson led the team to one victory after another. The Falcons won by 40-10 over New England Patriots. They finished with 14-2 regular season. On 18 Jan 1999, they defeated the Vikings with 30-27 at Minnesota in the NFC Championship game. However they lost to Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.
Atlanta Falcons has held the most number of seasons without consecutive wins among all major American football teams. They broke the streak in 2009 season by beating Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the final resulting in the improvement of their record by 9-7.
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