On a gloomy day in Atlanta, on the last day of September, my wife and I were headed to watch our beloved Bengals take on the Falcons. At first glance walking to the game, it looked like there wasn't much of a turn out for Bengals fans. Any parking lot with tailgaters was full of Falcon fans, all playing their loud ATL rap music and talking a lot of smack to us. There was even a time where two different cops told us we were wasting our time and we should just head home.
However, once the Mercedes Dome was in sight we also heard the presence of Who Dey Nation! This was first time going to away game where the security staff of the game was talking smack and telling us we wasted our money. Once inside the dome, I realized it was a very unique Stadium because most of it looked didn’t look like a typical concourse you would see at any other stadium. Beers and food were cheaper than any other game I'd been to, so of course we took advantage of that right away, grabbing $5 draft beers and some cheap food.
Getting into the stadium over an hour before the game, we walked around the concourse, just taking it all in. We arrived to our level and you would think you just walked into a museum; there was memorabilia and other items about the team everywhere, and at some points you would think you were at their hall of fame. We got to our seats, and I took a quick glance to see where my fellow Bengals fan were seated. There were only about seven others in a sea of about thirty Falcons fans. Clearly we were out numbered.
For the announcement of the teams, the Falcons probably have the best production on video board I've ever seen. Add in the fact that that city is all about their music, and it was very exciting to see, along what they can actually do in a dome. There was one thing I never understood. The whole game they played a train sound every score, aside from playing it during the announcement of the team. Also, in one of the endzones, they had a DJ booth that dominated any kind of announcers by volume, even overpowering the refs.
As for the game, during the first half both defenses didn’t do too much to stop the offenses, as you all know. Neither team could run the ball super effectively, and both defenses were giving up pass plays they shouldn’t have. We gave up a bunch of short passes and screen passes, while the Falcons were giving up some deeper passes. With the back and forth scoring, it was nice that we actually went into halftime with the lead.
The start of second half, we got off to a bit of a rough start, and the Falcons definitely took advantage of that. Unfortunately, during our comeback Eifert got hurt, and he won’t be back for the rest of the season. During the end of the second half, every time the Falcons made some good plays the crowd grew louder and louder. I did, however, actually overhear some fans in front of me saying, “Watch. We are going to kick this field goal, and the Bengals are just going to march down the field and win this.” Once I heard this, all I could think was, "We have a ton of time to get this done."
During the last drive, with every play, every third or fourth down converted, the crowd kept getting quieter and quieter. When Andy Dalton, in the final drive, threw the game winning touchdown to AJ Green, every little bit of Who Dey Nation was cheering extra loud, louder than any other score from this game. It almost felt like it was a home game. It also seemed like when they scored the touchdown, when I looked outside, it was less gloomy, more sunny.
Post game, our Who Dey Nation traveled in a pack. As we made our way down the stairs, we were yelling “Who Dey!” and things like, “No one rose up today!” ("Rise up!" is the Falcons fans' tag line.) Even getting out of the dome, it was great seeing the look on the Falcons fans' faces, especially those people who gave us crap before to the game. All though the streets walking back to the car, we could hear Bengals fans' yelling "Who Dey!"
All in all, this was a great game to be at, a great experience. To watch our Bengals pull one out on the road just proves that this team can compete with the best this year.
Who Dey!
Joe Segbers
