'Tighten up!': Falcons fan gives voice to every frustrated NFL fan's rage
There comes a time in the life of every fan when the frustration with his or her beloved team just boils over, when you lose all control of your emotional faculties and just want to scream. Most times, fans are stuck just screaming at TV screens, or maybe far-distant players while in the bleachers of some mega-stadium.
Let’s take a moment to praise one @tonyhuntzinger, then. Tony’s a Falcons fan, but he could be any fan of any team this side of the Patriots. Tony’s seen his team flail — the Falcons, as you know, are 1-3 on the year and don’t even look that good — and at halftime of Sunday’s game against the Titans, he’d had enough. He’d watched his team get smacked off the field for 30 minutes — down 24-7, it was the third time in four games the Falcons had trailed by double digits going into halftime — and he found himself with a rare opportunity: the chance to let the team know up close what he thought. Hilarity ensued:
Falcons’ fans have had enough.. this was going into halftime. 😤😂 pic.twitter.com/CZMsdl2A7q
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) September 29, 2019
I’m not sure what’s the best part of this video:
The constant refrain of “Tighten up!”, which ought to be on a T-shirt, pronto. (Spoiler: the Falcons did not in fact tighten up, and lost 24-10.)
Our guy spotlighting various Falcons as they went by. “Schaub! We need you, ’cause Matt [Ryan] playing like some doo-doo!” he shouted at backup QB Matt Schaub.
To Julio Jones, with admiration: “You a dog, Julio!” Aside: “I ain’t got nothing to say about Julio.” (Jones finished with four catches for 52 yards, though he did cross the 11,000-yard career mark.)
Most of the Falcons walk straight into the locker room, but a few look over, prompting this: “Get your ass in the game! Don’t be looking back at me! I’ll tackle you! I’ll show you how to tackle!”
The love for the cheerleaders: “Y’all doing a good job though. Cheer on. Straight up. I appreciate what y’all are doing. Y’all be shaking the hell out of them pom-poms.”
At still-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, like most other post-2010 stadiums, the players come right past fans to enter and leave the field. The designers’ presumption, of course, is that the players will take the field amid cheering throngs, reveling in the acclaim of the crowd like they’re Roman conquerors. But this illustrates the flaw in that thinking: when the team doesn’t play up to the standards of the building, they’re easy marks for some well-aimed barbs.
This rant’s targeted at the Falcons, yes, but our guy @tonyhuntzinger could be speaking for any fanbase that’s had enough of losing, that sees its players flailing and struggling like they’ve forgotten how to hold a football. Sometimes, you’ve just had enough and you’ve got to let it loose.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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