ATLANTA – There’s a buzz around the city of Atlanta . . . the buzz? 
The Atlanta Falcons have been put back on the NFL map.
The unexpected early success of the Falcons, (6-4 overall and 4-1 at the Georgia Dome) is lifting the fortitude of the city. Many predicted this young team with a rookie head coach to be a cellar-dweller.
That is certainly not the case and sports chatter is picking up steam at the local coffee houses and on the streets. The sports aura that hovered over the city had been depressing lately with the Falcons imploding.
Michael Vick was in shackles, the Falcon’s head coach Bobby Petrino like the ‘Cowardly Lion’ snuck out of town with his tail between his legs and many of the Falcons’ star players abandoned ship or were traded away for pennies on the dollar.
So much has changed in such a short time. The Falcons, under the leadership of rookie head coach Mike Smith and rookie-of-the-year candidate QB Matt Ryan continue to find ways to overcome the underdog role and win. In fact they have become favorites in some of their recent games.
The NFL has taken notice of the Falcons. The league pushed the November 23 Falcons/Panthers kickoff to 4:15 and upgraded the matchup to a national game.
Coach Smith commented on that compliment from the league, “It’s an honor for our football team for that to take place.”