Raph Malbrough on how the Saints-Falcons rivalry has changed for the better, now that both teams are good:
Don’t get me wrong, hating the Falcons is already quite delicious. My hatred for all things Falcon warms my soul on a cold November night during the football season. My hatred for the Falcons has been pure and good except beating the Falcons has never really meant anything.
Sure, beating the Falcons in the Superdome used to mean not having to watch Atlanta fans leave the stadium doing that drunken cousin version of the chicken dance they called the ‘Dirty Bird’ and that was reason enough to celebrate for a month. But the Saints-Falcons games always had the importance of two hungry men fighting over a can of cat food. It didn’t really matter who won because deep down both team’s fans knew they were losers. Hating the Falcons most of the time was like watching your dumb next door neighbor fall down in the mud and then laughing at him. Then the next day you fall in the same mud he did the day before and he mocks you. This has gone on for 40 plus years.
Well my friends it’s all about to change. The Saints have the Lombardi trophy and the Falcons finally managed to cobble together two straight winning seasons for the first time ever. The Saints-Falcon games are important now. Playoffs, division titles, and homefield advantage might all be in play! So the hatred will only intensify - just you wait.
We agree with our whole, hateful hearts. The battle for last place has become a battle for first, and that makes us so happy we're cinder-blocking a huge stack of Ataris out back in a couple minutes. Bring your camera. For success; for hate!