The Falcons have long been the punching bag of the NFL, and it continued before Sunday’s Week 2 slate, with Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton taking a shot at the fan base.
Ahead of Denver’s game against Pittsburgh, Singleton said he wasn’t worried about Steelers fans taking over Mile High, adding “We’ll be fine. I think we have better fans than the Falcons.”
Broncos LB Alex Singleton isn't worried about Steelers fans taking over the stadium in Denver: “We’ll be fine. I think we have better fans than the Falcons.” #Steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) September 14, 2024
To a certain extent, yeah I guess he’s right. The Broncos do have great support from their fan base, but this is a perfect instance of throwing stones from a glass house. Singleton and the Broncos would go on to lose the contest 13-6 as Denver dropped to 0-2.
Granted, the Falcons haven’t had a true home field advantage since the Georgia Dome, so he is correct. The hope was this season with Raheem Morris, Kirk Cousins, and (hopefully) more winning would provide more incentive for fans to show up. If Week 1 is any indication, it’s not going great.
The Steelers travel as well as any fan base in the league, so it’s not exactly a surprise that they showed out in Atlanta last Sunday. Falcons fans were present; it was loud, but the offense eventually had to go to a silent count because the Steelers fans were so loud. That shouldn’t happen at home.
It’s not the first player to take a shot at the fan base either. In the offseason, Amon-Ra St. Brown bashed Falcons fans for their lack of support.
“I hate the Packers’ fans,” St. Brown said. “Just because it’s Green Bay, I play for Detroit. But I think some of the worst fans was the Falcons. When we played them my rookie year, no one was there. Terrible… I hate Green Bay, their fans. They have good fans for the team, but I hate them. But is there that much to do in Atlanta? I don’t know, because ain’t nobody going to the game.”
St. Brown is referring to the Week 16 contest in 2021 when the Falcons were 6-8. Atlanta beat Detroit by a score of 20-16 to improve to 7-8 but would eventually finish the season 7-10. St. Brown put up an impressive performance in that contest, with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Falcons fans are like most fan bases. They show up when times are good and don’t when they’re not. It’s not a secret. If the Falcons start winning football games again, the Benz could finally turn into a home field advantage on Sundays.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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