Oh Canada! Falcons fans from our neighbors to the north rep the team
By Lisa Shepard
Most football fans become fans of their teams because the team is based in their hometown or home state. Others become fans because of the television coverage their team received while they were growing up. Still, there are other fans who simply follow the NFL fandom of their parents or siblings. There are fans, though, that do not fall into any of the aforementioned categories.
Ernie Bugelli was born in Oshawa, Canada. Oshawa is a city in the province of Ontario. He now lives in a small town in northern Ontario named Kearney that has a population of 800. Ernie details how his love for the Falcons began in 1978 at age 11. He concedes that hockey was his sport of choice as a child. However, a chance visit to his father's friend's house ended up being his first time watching an NFL game. That game happened to be a Wild Card Game that matched up the Falcons versus the Eagles. He watched as Falcons' quarterback, Steve Bartkowski, led a 4th quarter comeback defeating the Eagles 14-13. It was that game that Ernie decided to become a Falcons fan.
Ernie's first time seeing the Falcons play in person was in 1999 when the Falcons played the 49ers in the playoffs in Atlanta. Throughout the years, he has visited many NFL venues. Even though he was still living in Toronto, he became a season ticket holder in 2017. His commitment to the Falcons is serious!
Ernie's fandom for the Falcons was so strong that he was featured in the "Toronto Sun" in 1999. The article states that for years, Ernie was the only Canadian member of the team's official fan club.
It should be noted that Ernie's fandom is a family affair for the Bugellis. His wife, Lisa, and five children are all along for this decades-long ride that Ernie takes them on with his favorite team. The children met Falcons' owner, Arthur M. Blank when they were attending one of the team's training camps. Now as adults, they are still repping the Falcons. They have done many family trips to see the team, and Ernie's two daughters have matching "Rise Up" tattoos.
In 1994, Ernie got a Falcons tattoo over his heart. This picture shows him showing off his Falcons ink.
Ernie has taken his fandom to his third generation. His granddaughter is named Georgia. He said her name intentionally reflects how the Falcons are part of the fabric of their family, He makes sure Georgia has the latest Falcons gear.
When in town for Falcons games, Ernie and Lisa make sure to connect with other Falcons fans. Here they are shown at a Dirty Birds Nest tailgate in 2023.
Whenever the Falcons had a coaching vacancy, he would send in his resume for consideration. Over the years, he received three rejection letters. The letters were signed by Jerry Glanville, Tommy Nobis, and Dan Reeves. The Dan Reeves letter was destroyed in a flood, but he kept the signed letters by Glanville and Nobis and has them saved electronically.
Spencer Gibara is from Mississauga, Ontario and is currently residing there. His fandom began in 2010 when he was still in high school. Up to that point, he had not followed the sport. However, he decided to participate in a friendly wager on a game in which the Falcons were matched up versus the Ravens. The Falcons won that game, and so began Spencer's love for the team. He loved the team's colors of red and black, and also Atlanta rapper, TI. Those three variables lead him into his fandom which is now over 14 years old.
Like Ernie, Spencer has recruited his wife, Chelsea, to join him in his Falcons fandom. They were married in 2022 and decided to honeymoon in the United States for a couple of weeks. After visiting California, and Vegas, they decided to conclude their visit in Atlanta so that Spencer could see the Falcons play in person.
That trip marked the couple's first time visiting Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons won versus the Browns. Since that game, they have gone on road trips to Detroit and New Jersey to watch the team play. Their 2024 travel plans include Las Vegas when the Falcons play the Raiders. Spencer looks forward to going to an international name game in the United Kingdom or Germany.
Juno Keizer is from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and currently resides there. Like Spencer, he liked the red and black team colors of the Falcons. Football was not a sport he followed growing up, but he enjoyed playing Madden using the Falcons.
Juno and another Falcons buddy road-tripped to Atlanta to watch the game versus the Chargers. Then after that game, he attended the game in Carolina versus the Panthers.
After experiencing a jaw injury in 2012, Juno had to be hospitalized. However, that didn't keep him from watching the Falcons in the playoffs and repping his team.
While Juno isn't sure if he will make it back to Atlanta for a game in the 2024 season, he does hope to attend training camp in Flowery Branch one day. He enjoys seeing all the videos and pictures that fans post "on the hill" while watching the team practice.
Unlike Drake in the rap beef with Kendrick Lamar, these Canadians have proven they are very much "like us" in Atlanta when it comes to repping the Falcons. No matter what led these Canadian Falcons fans to the team, their love and support for the Atlanta Falcons is remarkable and undeniable.