NFL Opening Day

No, that thing that happened Thursday night doesn't count. Early openers are are a communist plot.

The real season opened up a few minutes ago. The Falcons and Dolphins have kicked it off. Both teams were a surprise last year and made it to the playoffs after a dismal season in '07. Now I am watching - praying - that the falcons go to the next level this year.

I'm not talking about going to the Superbowl.

I'm not talking about winning the division.

Hell, I don't even care if they make the playoffs.

JUST WIN 9 GAMES

You see, the Falcons have never had back to back winning seasons. EVER. They've been around since 1966. How is that even possible? Every time the Falcons have a great year something horrible happens next season to screw it all up. Jamal Anderson blows a knee. Michael Vick rapes a poodle. The Falcons hire Jerry Glanville. Horrible, horrible stuff. To help me feel better while waiting for the next shoe bomb to drop I'm going to keep a countdown on the blog to remind me how many games they need to avoid futility for another two years. I'll probably delete it after Matt Ryan gets abducted by aliens and they are 1-7. In the meantime, here's Bill Fralic, whose uniform provided the number 9.

That's all ya need Falcons, just get nine. My heart can't take doing this again in 2011.