Falcons, Fans Celebrate Season

February 1, 1999 / 7:51 PM EST / AP

No championship, no matter to loyal Falcons fans.

For these traditionally dispirited rooters, seeing Atlanta in its first Super Bowl was satisfaction enough Monday afternoon as thousands turned out to welcome the team home from a 34-19 loss to Denver.

On a raw, mucky day, fans ditched work and cut class to celebrate the team's astonishing season, if not a victory against the Broncos. There were, literally, no fair weather fans.

Perched on fire trucks, the team rolled down Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, many players filming the crowd for posterity, savoring the end of a season that amazed football watchers nationwide because of the team's dismal history.

Several fans said Atlanta's chances to win were killed by turnovers and inexperience. Others simply noted that the better team won. But one loss, even at the Super Bowl, wouldn't alter their affections.

"It's just a party, man," fan Delman Collier said. "They were going against the world champions, after all."

Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell said the city would mount a plaque at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport commemorating the Falcons' winning the 1998 NFC championship. Next year, the city hopes to celebrate a Falcons' Super Bowl victory at their home, the Georgia Dome.

"This is only a temporary sign," Campbell said.

Jane Bates, a fifth grade teacher from Alpharetta, skipped school and donned her homemade "Dirty Bird" costume: a cardboard beak and red and black feathers glued to cardboard wings.

"They were out of their league," said H.C. Turner of Atlanta. "I'm just glad they made it this far. They made it to the party."

After the parade, the players assembled on a stage at a small park, where an estimated 5,000 fans gathered to hear from the team.

The loudest cheers went to coach Dan Reeves, running back Jamal Anderson, cornerback Ray Buchanan and safety Eugene Robinson, arrested on a sex charge Saturday night in Miami.

"All the things they said we couldn't do, we did," Reeves said. The Falcons' two victories during this postseason matched the total for the last 32 seasons.

And when Atlanta plays host to the 2000 Super Bowl, Reeves has set a new goal for his team:

"There's never been a team that has played in the host city, the home team," Reeves said. "That's our goal next year. We want to be the team."

Reeves also made good on his promise to dance the Dirty Bird in downtown Atlanta after the Falcons' improbable win over Minnesota to advance to the Super Bowl. He did the flapping dance twice, the first time on a fire truck.

Quarterback Chris Chandler, rattled into three interceptions by the Broncos' defense, was booed loudly. So was Gov. Roy Barnes and Campbell. This was a day for football players, not politicians.

"We want the Falcons, we want the Falcons," went the cheer.

"I'm s proud of them," said Cecelia Hamrick, a Decatur grade school teacher who brought her daughter to the parade and relied on a substitute to cover her class.

"The Atlanta Falcons were in the Super Bowl, and I probably won't live long enough to see it again."