Do the Bird

NFL football kicked off this weekend when the Philadelphia Eagles played the Oakland Raiders at the Hall of Fame game on Sunday. For this Atlanta Falcons fan, NFL football kicked off on Saturday when the Dirty Birds hosted a free fan festival at Piedmont Park. All the players and coaches were at the park, along with the local radio and TV affiliates and everyone was assessable. I dapped up Pro Bowl running back Warrick Dunn, spoke to third string (former UGA standout) quarterback D.J. Shockley and Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler took my picture with his cell phone (what can I say, he’s a fan of my legal exploits – just joking, although he did take my picture). I also was within touching distance of wide receivers Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, backup running back T.J. Duckett, who’s huge, return specialist Allan Rossum, and Pro Bowl cornerback D’Angelo Hall.

I probably had the best spot in the park because I was standing by stage entrance so when the parade of players went on stage, they all had to pass me and give me a high five. Two players really impressed me – Alge Crumpler and D’Angelo Hall. They really seemed to enjoy the crowd, playing to the crowd’s chant. Hall did a little dance when people called out his name, as I stated above, Crumpler took a picture of me and others with his cell phone and really seemed to appreciate the fans. Unfortunately, I didn’t get within arms length of Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick because he had a security entourage, which he definitely needed. Atlanta loves Vick, but looking at his body language I’m not sure if Vick loves the abundance of attention. Unlike Hall and Crumpler, Vick never really played (at least I never saw him) to the crowd and seemed to be reserve.

In addition to the players, Morris Day and the Time performed. They did all their hit songs, “Jungle Love”, “The Bird”, “Gigolos Get Lonely To”, “What’s Your Phone Number”, “Fishnet Pantyhose”, and several other popular songs.