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A Historical Nod That Backfires
The Atlanta Falcons simply wanted to pay homage to their roots. On Wednesday, the NFL team changed its profile picture on social media, posting a stylized image accompanied by a short caption announcing its new profile picture, followed by an eye emoji.
The image features the angular black falcon that served as the team's logo in its early days, set against vertical red, white, black, and gold stripes. The goal was to highlight the franchise's inaugural season in 1966.
The timing was no coincidence: On Sunday, against the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons will wear uniforms inspired by their very first season in the NFL.
However, as Le Sac de Chips points out, there's a slight problem. For many internet users, the combination of the black falcon and these colors is far too reminiscent of Nazi Germany imagery.
An avalanche of jokes on social media
The reaction was immediate. In less than 24 hours, the post had received more than 4,000 responses on X, a good portion of which were memes and jokes about World War II.
One user wrote that he didn't expect to wake up to see the Falcons preparing to invade Poland. Others gave the team a nickname inspired by the Third Reich, while some came up with a new offensive strategy dubbed “Blitzkrieg.”
Fans even dug up the famous failed comeback from Super Bowl LI—when the Falcons blew a 28–3 lead against the New England Patriots—and turned it into a classic joke.
However, the image is neither new nor malicious. The falcon is, in fact, the franchise's original logo, introduced when it joined the NFL in 1966. As for the stripes, they replicate those that adorned the red helmets of the team's first uniforms.
Several fans have come to the team's defense, pointing out that this logo has been around for over 60 years and is in no way provocative.
So far, neither the Falcons nor the NFL have commented on the controversy. The new profile picture was still online on Thursday, and there's no indication that the team plans to remove it.
One thing is certain: the Falcons wanted to attract attention with this return to their roots, and they've succeeded… even if it's probably not in the way they had imagined.
Sources:
- Le Sac de Chips – This NFL team unveiled a new logo, but there's a small problem
- The Washington Post – An NFL team touted its throwback logo. Social media melted down.
- The Forward – New Atlanta Falcons logo sparks Nazi comparisons
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