We are in the thick of the 2023 NFL regular season, as the 4-4 Atlanta Falcons are looking to move above .500. As the season moves along, the MLB postseason just wrapped up as the Texas Ranger have won their first ever World Series, an accomplishment 62 years in the making.
With that victory by the Rangers, our beloved Falcons now move into the national spotlight for being the oldest franchise out of the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL to never win a league championship. If you’re thinking “Wait a minute, the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and Minnesota Vikings, and Cleveland Browns are old and haven’t won a Super Bowl.” You’d be right, but all of those teams have won league championships prior to the AFL-NFL merger.
Not to take a sad trip down memory lane, but the Falcons have been close to reaching the mark. In 1998, the Falcons won an NFC Championship thriller against the Vikings only to then lose in the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. Most recently, the 2016 season led to a lot of fun topped off by a heartbreak. I’m not going to even talk about it; you know what I’m talking about.
I’m not sure what the future holds, but I do hope as a fan that in my lifetime the Falcons are able to raise the Lombardi Trophy and let some other franchise enter the unfortunate spotlight for not winning a championship. Is Arthur Smith and company the ones to take us there? Perhaps. The Falcons do find themself with a lot of offensive talent, and a defense which is top-10 for the first time in a long time. We’ll likely need to figure out the quarterback situation, as I'm not sure if Desmond Ridder or Taylor Heinicke are the ones to take us there. We shall see.
