The rivalry between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons goes back to the beginning, says Gambit sportswriter Bradley Warshauer.
“Most people, if you ask them why they hate the Falcons, they don’t immediately have an answer. There’s no one thing that jumps to mind for them,” but it’s generally agreed that nearly everyone just hates the Falcons, Warshauer says.
Some people bring up the horrible losses the Saints suffered at the hands of the Falcons in the 1970s, some people bring up more recent events like the time Atlanta airport workers threw eggs at the Saints bus.
Warshauer says it really comes down to the rivalry now being a sense of tradition — people hate the Falcons because they’re supposed to, and the team has been there since the beginning of the Saints franchise.
Read a great story about the rivalry on ESPN.com
How should you psych yourself up for the game? Warshauer says there are plenty of highlight reels on YouTube to get your blood pumping.
“If you really want to get up some hate [for the Falcons] it helps to watch the end of the 2010 game in the Dome, where Garrett Hartley missed an easy field goal in overtime, which resulted in the Saints losing that game,” he says. “That always gets me, just because that was the last time they really broke our hearts.”
The Saints and Falcons kick off their regular season Sunday at noon in the Georgia Dome.
In addition to his work for the Gambit, Bradley Warshauer is a co-founder and editor of the sports and culture blog Black & Gold Review.
