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Talking the talk Falcons take underdog role, but talk like they're the best
Posted: Friday January 29, 1999 11:25 PM
MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- They've taken their assigned role as underdog in this football show of shows and made a mockery of it. They've joked all week long, trash-talked with the defending champions, guaranteed a win in Sunday's Super Bowl ... in short, these Atlanta Falcons have dished it out easily as well as they've taken it. Whether that proves to have been the smartest way to handle the hype of Super Bowl week won't be proven until kickoff comes Sunday. "I think when you are an underdog and going into a [game against a] team that is defending world champion, the theory is the less you say, the less you have to take back," Dan Reeves said Friday, the last day the Atlanta head coach has to appear before the massive media throng here before Sunday's game. "I am never going to tell them what they can and can't say." Not that they'd listen anyway. All week long, the Falcons have treated this Super Bowl, the first one in the franchise's 33-year history, like it was their last. Mostly, the talk has come from swaggering, quick-lipped cornerback Ray Buchanan, who wore a dog collar on his first full day in front of the media (get it? Underdogs?) and later lightheartedly guaranteed a win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. He's also traded not-so-barbed barbs with Denver loudmouth Shannon Sharpe and generally acted as if the Falcons are playing the Philadelphia Eagles, not the Broncos, this weekend. "We all do a little trash talking out there because we're trying to have fun," Buchanan said. "But once you start playing, everything else is irrelevant." Still, under Buchanan's lead, the Falcons have refused to step into the role as Super Bowl fodder for the mighty Broncos' repeat. Their rallying cry this week has been a simple one: We Won 14 Games, Beat the Minnesota Vikings and We're 7-point Underdogs. We Get No Respect. "We're not here just to be a part of the Denver Broncos' show," said linebacker Jessie Tuggle. "We're here to rain on their parade." Most of the talking is done for now. Not only is Reeves unavailable to most of the media for the rest of week, so are the players. The next time to do any real talking comes Sunday evening. "I think our football team ... has a tremendous amount of respect for the Denver Broncos. You have got to have respect for them," Reeves said, summing up the thoughts of his under-appreciated, overzealous squad. "But we don't fear the Denver Broncos." Maybe they should. But, then again, maybe they shouldn't. Today's Obscure Statistic : Tackle Ephraim Salaam is only the second rookie in Falcons history to start every game of his rookie season. The first was offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy in 1993. A Sign the Super Bowl is Getting Out of Hand : At the NFL Super Bowl of Golf Showcase on Saturday, your foursome can tee it up with a former NFL player for 18 holes, enjoy cocktails afterward and hang around for a short program. And all for just $10,000 for the group. Of course, the player plays free. Quote of the Day : "We're a team that has been starving for 30 years. If that ain't motivation enough ..." -- defensive end Chuck Smith on getting up for Sunday's game.
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