The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division.
Like many teams, when the Falcons were founded in 1966 they held a naming contest. The name Falcons was entered by several people, but the winning entry was awarded to Julia Elliot for describing the Falcon as “proud, dignified and it never drops its prey. It is deadly and has great sporting tradition.”
In 1998, the Falcons recorded their most successful season in franchise history. The team won the NFC West with a 14-2 record and marched through the playoffs to claim the NFC championship and earned a trip to Super Bowl XXXIII. Unfortunately, they lost to the Denver Broncos 34–19
Their second trip to the Super Bowl came 18 years later where they lost in overtime to the New England Patriots.
The Falcons' current home field is Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened for the 2017 season at cost close to $1.5 billion.
