The Atlanta Falcons Get a Second Home in Germany
By Lisa Shepard
With our announcement to market in Germany, we had to give @ATLFalconsGER a pleasant surprise from @C_Lindstrom63! pic.twitter.com/IfeMZz5xln
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 23, 2023
In 2019/2020, Swoch created the website (https://www.atlantafalconsgermany.com) as a way to connect with other German-speaking Falcons fans. He created a Falcons logo for the group, set up accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Discord. To encourage engagement with other fans, Swoch used Facebook Watch before and after Falcons games to chat with other fans.
On YouTube, Alesantoz hosts a weekly show on Tuesday evenings. There are 120 episodes so far. These shows are also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, as well as other places where podcasts are available.
In the four years since he's been doing this, there are now 1,500 Instagram followers, 1,300 on Twitter, and 970 German Falcons fans in the Facebook group.
The fandom rivals any stateside born Atlanta Falcons fan. We had to know how he got into American football, and specifically the Falcons. Swoch states, "We in Germany, and especially in
Berlin, had to deal with American football quite soon after World War II, due to the stationing of
the Allies. I myself got into football through my best buddy (Washington fan) in the early mid-90s and played safety myself in the early 2000s and even coached a flag football team as head coach for 8 years, with which I even won the national German championship in the second year after its foundation. 1996 was the year when I actively became a Falcons fan. The main reason, besides the colors and the great logo, was Jamal Anderson. He enchanted me with his powerful runs, and especially with his Dirty Bird dance. No other team was as cool as the Falcons at the Touchdown
Celebration."
Swoch's first Falcons game was in London in 2014 versus the Lions. That was a big dream come true for him. Then in 2019, he fulfilled his next big dream and came to Atlanta to watch the games against the Bucs and the Saints. Then 2021, he got to see the Falcons in London again versus the Jets.
He was back in Atlanta in 2022 to watch the Falcons play the Chargers at the Benz and the Panthers on the road. Swoch is already booked for London 2023 when the Falcons play the Jaguars.
