How do you like them apples?

All day yesterday on the radio sports talk hosts were criticizing Atlanta fans for their lackluster support of the Falcons against the Saints on Sunday. Despite selling the game out, the crowd didn't seem that into the action and many of the seats were empty. They argued that this team has earned support and I can agree with that. But you can hardly blame Falcons fans. We're Will Hunting.

What does that mean? Well, in the classic 1997 film, Matt Damon plays the enigmatic boy genius. A brilliant prodigy with a troubled past and troubled present he has trouble letting anyone new into his life because he was abused by people who were supposed to take care of him during childhood. It leads to a classic exchange between Will and his therapist Sean (Robin Williams) about the physical abuse he used to suffer at the hands of his foster dad:

Will: He used to just put a belt, a stick, and a wrench on the kitchen table and say, "Choose."
Sean: Well, I gotta go with the belt there.
Will: I used to go with the wrench.
Sean: Why?
Will: Cause fuck him, that' why.

I can't help but equate the Falcons past with Will's. My first indoctrination into Falcon fandom was in 1991. That year the Falcons got the 6th seed in the NFC playoffs and upset division rival New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. The Falcons were overmatched in the second round by Washington, but it was still exciting to be a Falcons fan. How did they follow it up? Back-to-back 6-10 seasons that got Jerry Glanville fired.

My grandparents were season ticket holders for 30 years. When the Georgia Dome opened they had the best seats in the entire place in the first row of the club level on the 50 yard line. I used to beg my dad to take me and he pretty much always obliged. We went to every home game but one during the 1995 season and the last game, Christmas eve, the Falcons needed to beat the defending Super Bowl champ 49ers to make the playoffs. They did so in improbable fashion. Again the Falcons were outclassed by a playoff opponent, this time the Packers, but good times were coming for the Falcons...Or not. The Falcons finished a dreadful 3-13 in 1996 and June Jones got the ax as a result. That ushered in the Dan Reeves era and the team finished strong in '97 winning five of their last six games setting them up for one of the most improbable runs in league history.

1998 was a year that will never be forgotten in Falcon lore. They started with two wins before losing to long time nemesis San Francisco. A few more wins got them to 5-1, but people were still a tad skeptical after getting waxed by the Jets 28-3 to move to 5-2. A couple of weeks later Atlanta traveled to New England and put a whooping on the Pats. People were starting to believe. They followed it up by beating the 49ers at home and the bandwagon was at full speed. You know the rest. Miracle in Minnesota. Eugene Robinson tries to pay for nookie. Falcons blown out by the Broncos in the big game.

Despite the aging of key players, there was still plenty of optimism in 1999. The team returned a lot of players and had just inked star running back Jamal Anderson to a big contract. Anderson destroyed his knee in game one of the 99 season. The Falcons season was destroyed with him. The Falcons finished 5-11 and went 4-12 the following season, but help was set to arrive in 2001.

I'll never forget where I was the day the before the 2001 NFL draft. I came home from school and logged on to espn.com to find out the Falcons had traded for the number one pick and the right to draft Michael Vick. People were ecstatic. He sat most of 2001, but we got some rare glimpses into his brilliance. He was handed the keys to the franchise in 2002 and led the team to a 9-6-1 record and a playoff birth. His legend grew when he led the Falcons to a playoff win at historic Lambeau Field. A few days later the jumbotron at the Hawks game spotted him sitting courtside and the fans gave him a standing ovation. Our future was bright.

Our future was bright until Adalius Thomas broke Vick's leg and our hopes and dreams in a preseason game and sent the 2003 down the drain. Still, Vick came back and played well at the end of the season and that translated into an NFC title game appearance in 2004. The Falcons lost, but we were still optimistic. We'd never seen anything close to this kind of stability. 2005 and 2006 played out in the same fashion, and neither were good. Both years the Falcons started hot and finished poorly missing the playoffs and leaving many to question the mettle of this team and the ability of its Franchise quarterback. The lackluster finishes cost Jim Mora his job and we were cautiously optimistic that new coach Bobby Petrino could mold Vick into the quarterback the franchise needed him to be. Petrino never got that chance.

Again, you know what happened. Drug bust on a Vick owned property. Dogfighting equipment found. Vick denies allegations. Federal charges come down. Former friend flips. Vick admits guilt. Falcons organization crushed. Rock Bottom came for the Falcons on December 12, 2007 when Bobby Petrino tucked his tail between his leg, left his players dear john letters and hightailed it for Arkansas like the coward and scumbucket he is. We'd seen our darkest day.

Mind you, that's only 17 years of Falcons history. Folks who have been around longer have suffered through more (Don't even get my old man started on the 1980 playoff game against Dallas). So why should we believe it's any different now? I would say without any doubt in my mind everything this franchise has done personnel wise has been a home run since Petrino quit. Thomas Dimitroff has brought in good players and Mike Smith and his staff have prepared them to play well every week. Still, in the mind of Falcons fans every where we're about 50 percent sure Matt Ryan will become a pro bowl quarterback and 50 percent sure he'll be caught galavanting with underage transexual prostitutes, because honestly at this point what could shock people more than federal dog fighting charges.

Sure, we're a slow fan base to energize, but you can't blame Atlanta fans for being hesitant to get on board. We don't jump into our professional sports pool with both feet, we have to dip our toe first, then a leg then both legs and then the whole body. We've been burned too badly in the past to jump in feet first. Like Will Hunting, the Atlanta fans have a ton of potential, but it's going to take more convincing before we let ourselves go and open up.