Are the 2016 Atlanta Falcons experiencing a reverse of Murphy’s Law?
By Sinjin Snope
The Atlanta Falcons are having success, but is it because they going through reverse Murphy’s Law?
If I could sum up this year in one word: it would be crazy.
2016 has been probably the most interesting year in a very long time. We have had the single most zany election year, maybe ever. Clowns are roaming the streets. Kevin Durant broke up with the Thunder to form a super team in Golden State. Football players aren’t allowed to celebrate touchdowns anymore. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar. Violence and social issues seem to be out of control. It almost seems a little like Murphy’s law. The adage that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But, if you think about the law in a more positive light, it could mean anything that can happen, will happen.
You’re probably wondering why I bring this sort of thing up on an Atlanta Falcons website. Well if you stick around, I’ll tell you why. I have been a Falcons fan for as long as I can remember. I have endured dog fighting scandals, awful pass-rushes, and heartbreaking NFC Championship losses. Every fan of the Atlanta Falcons has experienced these things.
It almost seems like the universe is out to get this particular team in most cases. Everything that could go wrong, would inevitably, go wrong for them.
One game that sticks out to me, and always will, is the 2013 Divisional game against the Seattle Seahawks.
The storylines leading up to that game were that the Falcons, while a great team that season, still couldn’t win in the playoffs. Matt Ryan couldn’t win the big game and they always seemed to falter whenever given the opportunity to do so.
That game was different. Atlanta looked like a team possessed and rode a wave of momentum to a 20-0 halftime lead. Then, Murphy’s law seemed to rear its ugly head again. After allowing Seattle to score a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, the Falcons answered. Seeming to put away those doubters, Atlanta scored and held a 27-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.
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That fourth quarter, everything went wrong. The defense that had been stellar all afternoon, collapsed. Russell Wilson led Seattle back into the game with a score. Matt Ryan then threw an inconceivable interception to Earl Thomas just a few plays later. Seattle scored again. Now only up six points with a few minutes remaining, the Falcons tried to run off some clock but failed miserably. Wilson and the Seahawks got the ball once again and marched down the field to score the would-be game-winning touchdown with just under a minute remaining.
Think about what I said earlier. Everything that can happen, in theory, will happen.
Well, the Falcons shocked myself and fans around the country that afternoon by enacting this theory. A team that had done everything in their power to lose that game, flew into field goal range by way of two huge throws by Matt Ryan and sunk the Seahawks, and their playoff demons with a field goal from Matt Bryant with just seconds on the clock.
I bring this story up because Atlanta plays Seattle this upcoming Sunday. It will be just the second time since that game that these two teams will have played one another. The red-hot Falcons come in looking poised to make another statement against the class of the NFC for the past 4 years. History of the team, going back to just last year, tells us not to hold our breaths.
Next: Atlanta Falcons: Mirage or Reality?
After starting 5-0, the 2015 Falcons fell on their face and finished 8-8. Will that be the case this year? With the way anything and everything appears to be happening in this crazy 2016, wouldn’t it be fitting if the Falcons ride this tidal wave all the way to a Super Bowl appearance?
Remember, anything can happen.