The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).
In their 55 years of existence, the Falcons have compiled a record of 379–487–6 (369–473–6 in the regular season and 10–14 in the playoffs), winning division championships in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2016. The Falcons have appeared in two Super Bowls, the first during the 1998 season in Super Bowl XXXIII, where they lost to the Denver Broncos 34–19, and the second 18 years later, a 34–28 overtime loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
The Falcons' current home field is Mercedes-Benz Stadium...
2020
In their first game with new uniforms, the Falcons lost to the Seattle Seahawks at home 38–25. The Falcons then suffered comebacks made by both the Cowboys on the road (39–40) and then back in Atlanta against the Bears (26–30). On October 11, after the team suffered a 23–16 loss at home against the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons announced they fired head coach Dan Quinn after 5 seasons and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff.
The Falcons have called three stadiums home in their 51 years of existence, and its third home in their history opened in the late summer of 2017. The first was the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium,
sharing with the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team until 1991. In 1992, the Georgia Dome was built,
and the Falcons played there from its opening to the 2016 season. The Dome has been frequently used for college football, including Georgia State football and college bowl games such as the Peach Bowl.
In an effort to replace the aging Georgia Dome and potentially host a future Super Bowl, team owner Arthur Blank proposed a deal with the city of Atlanta to build a new state-of-the-art stadium not far from where the Georgia Dome is located. Blank will contribute $800 million and the city of Atlanta will contribute an additional $200 million via bonds backed by the city's hotel/motel tax towards the construction of a retractable roof stadium. Blank will contribute additional money for cost overruns if it is needed. The team will provide up to $50 million towards infrastructure costs that weren't included in the construction budget and to retire the remaining debt on the Georgia Dome. In addition, Blank's foundation and the city will each provide $15 million for development in surrounding neighborhoods. Though the total cost of the stadium was initially estimated to be around $1 billion, the total cost was revised to $1.5 billion according to Blank. In March 2013, the Atlanta City Council voted 11–4 in favor of building the stadium. The retractable roof Mercedes-Benz Stadium broke ground in May 2014, and became the third home stadium for the Falcons and the first for the new Atlanta United FC Major League Soccer club upon opening in 2017.
The Atlanta Falcons' colors are red, black, silver and white. When the team began play in 1966, the Falcons wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo. In the center of the helmet was a center black stripe surrounded by two gold stripes and two white stripes. These colors represented the two college rival schools in the state of Georgia; rival schools Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (white and gold) and the Georgia Bulldogs (red and black).
In 1990, the uniform design changed to black helmets, silver pants, and either black or white jerseys. The numbers on the white jerseys were black, but were changed to red in 1997. (The red numerals could be seen on the away jerseys briefly in 1990.)
Both the logo and uniforms changed in 2003. The logo was redesigned with red and silver accents to depict a more powerful, aggressive falcon, which now more closely resembles the capital letter F.
When NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle heard that the new league was going to set up shop in Atlanta, he booked the next flight and forced the group to decide between the AFL or the NFL as an expansion team. The established league won out.
In 1989, the Falcons drafted one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history with Deion Sanders.
In a “name-the-team” contest, 558 separate nicknames were submitted. Several suggested "Falcons", but the entry of school teacher Julie Elliott was chosen with her summation that “the falcon is proud and dignified with great courage and fight.”
When we first taste-tested this recipe in the Test Kitchen, we practically had to form a single file line, so everyone could get a chance to pull-apart their piece. Once someone got a bite, it was hard to keep them from finishing the whole dessert on their own! All kidding aside, this Apple & Spice Pull-Apart Bread may be one of the best recipes we've ever created.
- 1 round loaf hearty white or sourdough bread, unsliced
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, melted
- 1/2 cup dry spice cake mix
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Using a serrated knife, make a criss-cross patter in the bread slicing 1 inch apart, cutting almost all the way to the bottom but being careful not to cut through completely. Place bread on baking sheet. Evenly pour butter between each bread section.
- In a medium bowl, combine dry cake mix and brown sugar; mix well. Add apples and toss until evenly coated. Evenly sprinkle apple mixture between between each of the bread sections, being careful not to break the bread apart. Sprinkle any remaining mixture over the bread.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is crispy on top and bottom.
- In a small bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm bread and serve immediately.
1947 – Kevin Kline, American actor
1960 – B.D. Wong, American actor
