Deflated

Once again the New England Patriots are champions of the NFL. Not only did they win their fifth Super Bowl in the Brady/Belichick era but they did so in dramatic fashion. Coming back from a 28-3 deficit, scoring 31 unanswered points to outlast the Atlanta Falcons. It was an monumental collapse to say the least but one must give credit where credit is due an applaud the valiant effort and never say die attitude displayed by the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The win places yet another feather in the cap of Tom Brady's making the claim for him as the greatest of all time hard to argue against. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH... Honestly, I’m looking at this from a totally different perspective. An observation that has little to nothing to do with the NFL. If you had a wager on the game that's cool too but that's not what we here for either. See I’m not scared to admit it, and if you’re "comin from where I’m from" then you'll allow yourself to see the bigger picture. Now I know the lost stings for all those life-long Falcon fans certainly don’t want to downplay that, but that only caters to a selective few. It would be extremely selfish of me or anybody else to not acknowledge that what we lost collectively was indeed priceless. To suggest otherwise would put you in complete contradiction of your very essence.  So although admitting this heaps even more praise upon the head of ole' Tom Terrific... it is what it is. With that overtime win, Tom Brady seeped a little a bit of air out of the culture. On Super Bowl night Feb. 5, 2017, if just for that night, TOM BRADY DEFLATED HIP-HOP.   

Hold up now, before anybody declares me legally insane or borderline corny, hear me out first. The power and or platform of Hip-Hop is not in question here.  It would be ridiculous of me to imply that a lost by the Falcons could somehow derail Hip-Hop.  I’m focusing specifically on a moment in time, and I’m speaking about Hip-Hop from a cultural perspective. Not just the music, the fashion statements, and the slang but all of that plus the people, places and lives affected and associated with it. Simply put- OUR way of life. So keeping this solely in the box of social and cultural significance, and in that moment in time, I think you can start to understand where I’m going with this. Now I want to be extra careful not to make the mistake of comparing this to any actual tragic events in our history. At the same time I have no problem labeling this a tragedy in its own right. Taking it too far, you say? Maybe you're from the "its just a game" crowd. Well it was just a game... until midway through the third quarter.   

For me, this is when everything changes. This is when the game takes on a life of its own. I say this because I felt like up until that point in the game really only the respective fans and haters of both teams actually had anything invested into it. Everybody else mostly watched just because. Yeah, they may have been cheering for a certain team but it didn’t matter to the less-invested who won or lost. If you were paying attention, in the days leading up to game, the mood was already festive and "REPRESENTING" was an added requirement.  

The who's who of the ATL along with the overly excited natives proudly expressing their allegiance to the Falcons with the battle cry of "RISE UP." Seems to me that they had decided early on that they were going to rejoice regardless. Win, lose, or draw. Yeap, right up until that point when Matt Ryan led a eight play touchdown drive to go up 28-3 with about eight minutes left to play in the third quarter. Now I’m sure they wont confess to this but up until then, the majority of their supporters were just happy to be there.  That's no disrespect to the fan base but the fact they had made it this far was a hell of an accomplishment. In places like Atlanta where there's always a reason to celebrate, the Falcons just playing in the Super Bowl was more than enough reason to turn up. Not to mention they were matched up against the New England Patriots, a very formable opponent. So bottle popping in the name of victory was not a for gone conclusion in the minds of the Falcon faithful. In fact I don’t even think I would even be writing this article if they would have just simply... lost.  

As they game progressed and the possibility of them actually winning the game began to rise, I think it hit us all around the same time. I remember posting "Why yall playing, I wish I was in the Atl tonight. its finna go down till the daylight." Even one of my favorite ESPN personalities Bomani Jones tweeted out his signature #BEATEMDOWN catch phrase. The Falcons had this one in the bag. Twitter,Instagram and Facebook erupted with celebratory memes all the while relishing in the demise of the Patriots. Things went from "there might be a bit of a celebration" to"this celebration finna be off the chain" real quick. For a moment we could almost visualize it. That shot of Michael Vick crying uncontrollably shocked that they would let him hoist the trophy. Usher at midfield making an angel in the confetti. A Falcons locker room with just as many stars as their were players showering in an limitless flow of champagne. Meanwhile back at the ranch.........    

The streets of Atlanta are instantly flooded with too many people to count. A cosmic sized eclipse of excitement void of anything that would restrict its course. A rambunctious crowd with a wide range of emotions.  For some just a feeling of jubilation, for others pure euphoria. Lots of laughter and some tears as well.  But the kind of tears that flow when shock meets triumph. When a slim chance far exceeds expectations.  A perfect example of when a victory means more to a city than it does the franchise.  Atlanta's night life probably would have turned into a city-wide V.I.P section. Impromptu performancesbeing booked at various venues across The A. (Cant you just see all the janky promoters scrambling trying to find a C list rapper to throw on one of the many stages that would be available that night) Somewhere in Bankhead a single mom is suddenly faced with the daunting task of trying to find a babysitter and pick out an outfit at the same damn time. Then's there Magic City. Yeah, Magic City. Lets just say if there's ever a night to be there, that night would of been it. That night most certainly would have turned into day before the last 2Chainz song was played and UBER picked up the last of the bad decision makers. If you're blessed enough to be present, you got time for scattered and smothered, and a shower then its time for the parade.  

    Of course the festivities would've kicked off with a live performance by the Migos. Can you imagine over a million people reciting Bad and Boujee word for word to the top of their lungs. "RAIN DROP, DROP TOP!!!" Louder than Times Square when the ball drop. (See what I did there) Ok, that was a little corny but you getthe picture. By means of floats, buses and exotic whips, the Falcon players make their way down whatever available concrete is left due to the amount of spectators. Low key questioning their own safety seeing that the crowd is for the most part unmanageable. And In the midst of the makeshift mosh pit, the distinct smell of LOUD and a assorted collection of #7Michael Vick jerseys.  

  Simply because we want to make it perfectly clear that for as long as the sky is blue, that's OUR quarterback. As the parade proceeds down Peachtree somewhere along the line they stop. Someone hands T.I. the mic to address the crowd. He casually congratulates the players and thanks them for the sense of pride and enthusiasm that has engulfed the entire city. He gets off a few "about last night" jokes before he focuses his attention on the turn out and the unity being displayed. Its obvious he's emotional so there's no way he's giving up that mic without unleashing a thesaurus laced tirade. ::AND THE CROWD GOES WILD:: Its not important what he said just know you probably would have had to Google most of it.

All that and so much more just vanished from the vaults of "I remember when." A permanent stain in our notifications, labeled as an unsuccessful download. Robbed of the ratchetness that only "its ya girl going live" could provide. SMH. You see all those smiling faces, daps and hugs being shared between both strangers and friends. Most of them would of looked like us. The people overcome with joy as they dance atop of park cars not giving a damn about clocking in tomorrow because tonight they were champions. Yeah, pretty sure they look like me. When the lights were shining the brightest and speeches were being made, performances being broadcasted for the world to see. There's no doubt in my mind that those faces in the spotlight would have been the faces of our culture. The faces of Hip-Hop. I know Atlanta hasbeen a hotbed for talent for quite sometime so the world definitely knows of her but there's no stage bigger than the Super Bowl stage. This would have beentotally different from any other celebration. Usually we're watching from the sidelines as others walk up to the podium and thank GOD for allowing them and theirs to be victorious. You know the ones for which we often rattle our brains until we can find enough excuses to include ourselves in. Nope, not this one. This one would've been all OURS. There wouldn't have been no one whispering in your ear, "alright act like you been there before" right before they announce you as the first African American to (insert whatever we haven't done already.) Nah, we finna go H.A.M this go around. Completely uncensored and unapologetic. Hate it or Love it the underdogs on top!!! You, me and anybody else not fortunate enough to actually be there would have front row seats via social media. A birds eye view of all the shade, shout outs, and shenanigans. 

Maybe I failed in my attempt to get you all warm and fuzzy inside about what could've been but don’t be so quick to brush this off as an insignificant happening. Yeah, your world kept spinning and "it aint put no money in my pocket" as we like to say when we're a tad bit salty. But you cant tell me seeing your people do it big wouldn’t have brought a smile to your face and joy to your heart? Would this not have lifted your spirits? At a time like this, when the culture has been chalking up L's at an alarming rate. We needed a reason to smile. BAD!!! We in a position, where we as a people, have to milk every victory we get no matter how small because judging by the way2017 has started they might just be few and far between. There's no right or wrong way to mourn a lost like this so I guess we'll just do what we always do after a crushing defeat. Keep it moving. 

No results of a football game could ever change whose in the White House or the inhumane laws being passed by those who occupy it. Neither will a week long celebration erase the scars that racism has left across our backs. But if the Falcons would have won though.............. YEAH THAT WAY

P/S The Dirty Dirty visits the White House would have been epic. Welp.