ATLANTA - It seems like all of Atlanta has Falcons Fever after Sunday’s NFC championship win. Even the Skyview Ferris Wheel was showing support for the Falcons and telling the city to “Rise Up.”
The city of Atlanta has two weeks to celebrate the win and look forward to the Super Bowl. While the big game will be played in Houston, our city has plenty of preparations to make.
Less than 24 hours after Sunday's game, FOX 5 crews ran into a fan who drove to Atlanta to snap up souvenirs.
"I just drove down all the way from Loganville, Georgia just to pay my respects to the Georgia Dome and everything that the Falcons did for us last night," said Falcons fan Adonis Davis.
"Last night in the Georgia Dome was magical," said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
PHOTOS: Falcons Fever reaches epedimic
Mayor Reed reveled in the spirit and shared what he’s planning before the Super Bowl.
“Definitely going to be a rally in the city of Atlanta and so there’s definitely going to be a rally. We’re working on the logistics. We want to make sure that we don’t get in the way of any of the Falcons’ plans,” said Mayor Reed.
Falcons fans said they are ready, just name the place and time.
“That sounds so beautiful. If that does happen, I will get a bus load of people from Loganville that we will come down here and represent,” said Davis.
For a big city mayor, a winning marquee team pays multiple dividends including a gigantic Super Bowl audience.
“And during that Super Bowl, probably a billion people will hear the city of Atlanta and Atlanta multiple times,” said Mayor Reed.
More important is city unity.
“Sports has a unifying effect on cities in a way few things do. We’re special in Atlanta though. The city of Atlanta is a football attendance at Falcons’ games is either the first or second most diverse audience in the country.”
And if the Falcons claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy?
"We're going to shut the city down. Somebody sent out a tweet today and said 'what's the parade route going to be?' I said it's going to be all of Peachtree," said the mayor.
One can only imagine how many tens of thousands of fans would attend a Super Bowl victory party in the heart of the city. And it is possible the Georgia Dome would be reopened once again to Falcons fans, possibly even for a watch party on the big night.
As soon as the logistics are set for the big sendoff, FOX 5 News will report those on FOX5Atlanta.com. The team is scheduled to leave Sunday for a week in Houston.
And of course Super Bowl LI can only be seen on FOX. Expect all-day coverage with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
NEXT ARTICLE: NFC Championship gear hits stores for Falcons fans
Share your Falcons Fever with us on social media using hashtag #FalconsOnFOX5.