Coming up short

Last week, the Atlanta Falcons stormed out to an early lead on Seattle and barely hung on for the win. Yesterday, they stormed out to a big lead on San Francisco and then let their chance for an appearance in the Super Bowl slip away. I love the fast starts but this team needs to find a way to keep up the intensity and stop opposing teams momentum.

I slowly warmed up to the Falcons this year. I am a New England sports fan, born and bred, but I love the Georgia Bulldogs and really like the Atlanta Braves. The Falcons and I were acquaintances and I always wished them well. This year, I enjoyed their games much more. The offense was exciting and with some standout players on defense like Asante Samuel and William Moore, I was hopeful that this might be the year for a Falcons-Patriots Super Bowl.

Both teams failed me and I was more upset with the Patriots.

I suppose the minute Aqib Talib was knocked out of the game I knew there was trouble. When the New England secondary started looking as bad as they looked in the first few weeks of the season, I knew it was over.

And now we have the Harbaugh Bowl. Hooray (please read that sarcastically).

I will root for San Francisco because I can’t physically root for Baltimore. I hate Ray Lewis and Bernard Pollard. I do not want to see them smiling or pouring Gatorade on their coach. I do not want them to go to DisneyLand.

Now the Falcons and Pats must focus on next season. The Falcons need a better running game and they need a better defensive line. I do not think Michael Turner will be back and I think Jaquizz Rogers is a complement to another running back and not destined to be the main guy for the club.

I think the Patriots need some spark on defense and I think they need to find a way to keep Rob Gronkowski healthy. He might not have made a difference last night, but he certainly would have helped.

This is the part of the sports year I hate the most. No football to care about until August and the good days of baseball still months away. Yes, there is March Madness and it will be here before you know it but it’s not the same. There is no college basketball team I would follow like I follow the Patriots.

I’m bummed out today. I was excited all week for the games yesterday and within the span of three hours my hopes for a great Super Bowl weekend were dashed. I will need to find something else to do that night. You think “The Hobbit” will still be at Tinseltown then?

Photo/Stan Prophitt