In the past few years since, the team has continued to develop a reputation for choking. We have lost a number of high-profile games, where the predictive models suggested a 99% probability of winning near the end. Yet we still found a way to lose at the last second.
During this time, I have observed that fanbase has become absolutely toxic. To the point where I don't even enjoy talking with other Falcons fans anymore, and find that many Falcons fans tend to feel the same way. Our fandom is an isolating, silent shame wrapped in a blanket of bitter denial and deflection.
The fanbases of other NFL teams, such as the Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills, are known for being charming and loveable for their loyalty in the face of decades of futility. But this has not been the outcome for our fanbase, in the face of sudden and abrupt disaster.
This is just one counter-anecdote. But I wonder if there are "kinds" or "degrees" of losing, whose nuance matters? Or kinds and degrees of fan culture, prior to the bonding loss?
Or maybe the whole thing is just nonsense. I know there are studies linked here, but cultural anthropology is borderline-pseudoscience.