The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are currently a member of the NFC South of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons joined the NFL as a 1966 expansion team.

The Atlanta Falcons franchise began on June 30, 1965 when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership to Rankin M. Smith Sr. The Atlanta Falcons would draft LB Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the 1966 NFL Draft, making him the first ever Falcon.

The Falcons had its first season in 1966, and had its first game (preseason) on August 1, 1966 where it was handed a defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. Losing its first nine games that season, its first victory was on the road against the New York Giants. It would finish the 1960s with only 12 wins. The Falcons would have its first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season, and although it had a losing record in 1970, the 1971 season was its first winning record.

In the 1978 season, the Falcons entered its first playoff series, and won the Wild Card Playoffs against the Eagles only to lose to the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs. In 1980, it finished 12-4 only to lose again to the Cowboys in the Divisional Playoffs. After the 1981 season, the Atlanta Falcons would not see another playoff series until 1991, when it lost to the Washington Redskins in the Divisional Playoffs.

Led by QB Chris Chandler and RB Jamal Anderson, the "Dirty Bird" Falcons had their greatest season to date in 1998. On November 8, they won 41-10 over the Patriots at New England, snapping a streak of 22 consecutive losses at cold-weather sites in November and December that had dated back to 1982. The team finished with a 14-2 regular season record and the NFC West division championship. On January 18, 1999, the Falcons upset the top-seeded 15-1 Vikings at Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game, 30-27 in overtime. They would lose, 34-19, to the DenverBroncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.

In the 2001 NFL Draft, the Falcons orchestrated a trade with the San Diego Chargers, acquiring the first overall pick (which would be used on quarterback Michael Vick) in exchange for wide receiver Tim Dwight and the fifth overall pick (used on running back LaDainian Tomlinson). Michael Vick would be backup to starting QB Chris Chandler, and would be the full-time starting quarterback by 2002. He would lead them to the playoffs in 2002 only to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles once again in the Divisional Playoffs. During the 2003 preseason, Michael Vick broke his leg and missed the first twelve games of the season, bringing their record to a dismal 5-11 record.

Vick would return for the full season in 2004, when the Falcons went 11-5. They made it to the Conference Championship, once again losing to the Eagles. The Falcons failed yet again to maintain back to back winning seasons in 2005, going 8-8. The 2006 Falcons had a chance to make the playoffs until the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins, helping to seal their record at a losing 7-9.

Logo and uniforms
When the team debuted in 1966, the Falcons wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo. They wore white pants and either black or white jerseys. At first, the falcon crest logo was also put on the jersey sleeves, but it was replaced by a red and white stripe pattern four year later. They switched from black to red jerseys in 1971, and the club began to wear silver pants in 1978.

In 1990, the uniform design changed to black helmets, silver pants, and either black or white jerseys. The numbers on the white jerseys were black, but were changed to red in 1997.

Both the logo and uniforms radically changed in 2003. The logo was redesigned with red and silver accents to depict a more powerful, aggressive falcon, which now more closely resembles the capital letter F. Although the Falcons still wore black helmets, the new uniforms featured jerseys and pants with red trim down the sides. The uniform design consisted of either black or white jerseys, and either black or white pants. During that same year, a red alternate jersey with black trim was also introduced. The Falcons also started wearing black cleats with these uniforms.

In 2004, the red jerseys became the primary jerseys, and the black ones became the alternate, primarily wearing white pants with the white jerseys and white pants with the red jerseys. The Falcons also in select road games wear black pants with white jerseys. In the past three seasons, the Falcons wore an all-black combination for home games against their archrivals, the New Orleans Saints. They wore the combination again in 2006, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.

In the 1980s the Falcons primarily wore their white uniforms at home mainly to gain an advantage due to the heat and humidity of Atlanta's climate. When the team moved indoors, the Falcons switched to wearing their dark uniforms at home. The Falcons have worn white at home a few times since moving indoors.

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