ESPN's Mina Kimes Calls Atlanta Falcons Fans Best in NFL

"The Atlanta Falcons are the best fan base in the entire NFL," said Kimes on her podcast. "They've been through the most. Nobody has been through 28-3, sorry. They by far have the weirdest team. They endure all of this constant, ongoing humiliation with equanimity, poise, resilience.

"They also have the perfect blend of nihilism with a tiny bit of hope that I find unbelievably charming."

Falcons' fans are self-aware when it comes to the shortcomings of their team through the years. They've turned their mascot into a verb. It's not uncommon when things inevitably go wrong for the team to hear a fan refer to it as "falconing."

"They act as if, when we walked into their apartment when it's very messy, and they're kind of like 'yeah, we know,'" said Kimes's co-host Kevin Clark. "They're not defiant and be like 'this is a clean room,' they're like 'we're sorry, this is kind of embarrassing.'

"Like they get it."

The Falcons have made some unprecedented moves in recent times that have come under scrutiny from the national media. There's Kirk Cousins, but then there's the more recent move of trading back into the first round to get edge rusher James Pearce Jr.

"Most of them understand that the James Pearce trade in the draft, the criticism is warranted, but they are also allowing themselves to get excited and hopeful that one of these pass rushers that they've drafted will work out,: said Kimes.

"They're rooting for the pilot," Clark said. "They're on the plane, and they don't know what's going on, but they are rooting for the pilot to stay in the air."

Swapping first-round picks and exchanging a second for a third to address a perennial weakness makes perfect sense to Falcons fans.

However, Kimes and Clark are right.

Atlanta is a transient city that is dominated by northern transplants with loyalty to far more established franchises. Outside of the city limits, the landscape is dominated by SEC Football.

The Falcons haven't done their part through the last-six decades of fielding a consistently competitive squad, and once again find themselves mired in seven-straight losing seasons.

Part of Kimes and Clark's discussion was tongue-in-cheek, like the Chicago Cubs' lovable losers. However, there's truth in what they say. A golden retriever might not be as loyal as a Falcons fan.

And that's to be commended.