That energy has carried over to gamedays.
The Falcons are 15-3 since reintroducing the red helmets in 2009. This past season, the Falcons wore the throwback looks on football’s biggest stage multiple times: Twice on Monday Night Football to defeat the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, and once on Thursday Night Football to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their own throwback uniforms, the creamsicles.
From a business viewpoint, the decision to move forward with new primary uniforms that didn’t involve the throwback logo landed in logistics.
Straight up, a full-time switch to the throwback look would have required more than just changing the uniforms. It would have meant reshaping the franchise’s broader brand identity.
“While the uniforms are the most visible elements of our brand, it’s just one piece of where our brand shows up,” Joyner explained. “Our brand shows up in a variety of spaces from uniforms, to what you see in terms of buildings and the stadium, all the different fan gear, all the different places where our brand shows up — through that lens, and through thoughtful research, analysis and consideration, our brand is in a really strong spot and we have had a lot of positive growth of our brand since we switched to our current design set with the bird logo in the early 2000s, so we wanted to continue to invest in that.”
The past matters, but so does the present. And players agree.
“I think it is good to have both because we are trying to go back in time and have that grit about the team, but also, it’s a new step forward. I think it is creating a mashup between the two,” Drake London said about the new uniforms and throwback uniforms in one closet moving forward.
It’s this balance — one found somewhere between tradition and innovation — that’s at the core of the Falcons decision.
“It certainly brings a different atmosphere in the building,” Josh Blank said, “but I think only being able to wear it three times a year, picking out those pivotal moments, those pivotal games, really allows us an even bigger opportunity to spotlight it and take it to another level.”
