It’s hard to believe that Super Bowl 51 is this Sunday. To me, each NFL season seems to feel shorter and shorter as the years go on. As a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, my team didn’t even come close to making the playoffs this year, but I’m still always into the playoffs and the Super Bowl no matter who is playing. Sometimes I get behind a team and support them, and sometimes I just watch and enjoy the game. This year, it was the latter. My original prediction of a Seahawks versus Chiefs Super Bowl went out the window during the divisional games. Since then, I said I’d be happy just as long as the Patriots didn’t win it all. Sure enough, the New England Patriots will be representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, and will play the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Obviously, I’ll be rooting for the Falcons, but you definitely should too.

When the Falcons first hired head coach Dan Quinn in early 2015, I didn’t think it was a good move on their part. It was nothing against Quinn, but I felt he simply still needed a little more coordinating experience. He had spent his previous two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Seahawks, winning the Super Bowl in the 2013 season with a defense that is widely considered among the best ever. Those were obviously stellar achievements, but Quinn had inherited an already elite defense that previous defensive coordinator Gus Bradley left in order to take a head coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I wanted Quinn to stay in Seattle for at least one more year.

Needless to say, I was wrong. In Quinn’s first game as head coach, the Falcons beat my Eagles on Monday Night Football. Over the course of the season, Quinn oversaw the development of young players on offense and defense. Most notably, running back Devonta Freeman. They started the season hot, but eventually fizzled out to a disappointing but respectable final record of 8-8. Going into this season, there were questions. Will offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan fix the issues in the passing game? Can the defense improve? Is quarterback Matt Ryan passed his prime? Will receiver Julio Jones stay healthy? All of those questions would have to be answered in time.

In the first half of the season, the Falcons as a team struggled to close out games. Kyle Shanahan lead an incredible offense with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones putting up career numbers, but the team’s record was only 4-3. In the second half of the season, however, the defense saw massive improvement while the offense continued to dominate. The Falcons won seven of their final nine games for a season record of 11-5, enough for a bye week in the Wildcard game.

Throughout his career, Matt Ryan has a history of “choking” when the playoffs come around. This year, however, was different. Ryan looked like a truly elite quarterback as he led the Falcons past the Seahawks and Packers to advance to Super Bowl 51. Their offense will be quite a challenge for the Patriots to stop on Sunday. This is a phenomenal team that everyone should be rooting for to win it all. Does anyone actually want to see the Patriots, with their cheating allegations and Tom Brady yelling at refs, win a FIFTH Super Bowl? I really don’t, and the Falcons have way more to play for. The fan base is great, coach Dan Quinn is likeable, and the whole team is made up of selfless and hardworking players who are fun to watch. So this Sunday, I’m a Falcons fan, and you should be too.