On 3-28 Day, be sure to hug your Falcons fan friends

March 28 is a day Atlanta Falcons fans reflect on rampant Super Bowl failure.

To be an Atlanta Falcons fan is to live a tortured existence.

While the NFC South franchise has had plenty of great moments since Arthur Blank bought the team nearly two decades ago, being a Falcons fan is synonymous with heartbreak and soul-crushing pain. This is best illustrated by the worst collapse in Super Bowl history: 28-3.

It was worse than trading away Brett Favre, Eugene Robinson getting arrested in Miami, Michael Vick breaking his leg in the preseason, Vick going to federal prison for dogfighting or Bobby Petrino leaving in the middle of the night to go coach the Arkansas Razorbacks. Atlanta thought it won Super Bowl 51, but Dan Quinn, Kyle Shanahan and Tom Brady had other more sinister ideas…

So while Who Dat Nation throws another parade of extreme pettiness in New Orleans to overcompensate for the fact they wasted the twilight of Drew Brees’ illustrious career, Falcons fans are reminded of the worst day of their life every March 28. As New England Patriots fans crack open another Samuel Adams to celebrate, go hug the tortured Falcons fans in your life.

The Atlanta Falcons did it to themselves over four years ago down in Houston.

I remember it like it was yesterday. When Robert Alford pick-sixed Brady, it felt like all of Buckhead was going to be in rare form in a few hours’ time. It was about to be the greatest celebration in Atlanta sports history since 1995. A generation’s worth of perpetual postseason failure was about to come to an end. Then, Lady Gaga performed and the meds wore off on Alex Mack’s broken leg…

I don’t think I will ever feel as helpless as I did in the second half. It felt like being slowly crushed to death, except it was my soul. Shanahan had already checked out mentally, as he was about to become the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Quinn revealed his true colors for the first time as a head coach, and it was awful. Julio Jones and Matt Ryan earned so much better than this.

It may have been the latest example of Atlanta/Georgia sports failure. Sadly, there was way more to come in the years to follow. Whether it was Sark and Goal, Second-and-26, Worst Inning Ever or blowing a 3-1 NLCS lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta/Georgia sports continued to do their thing. You can only smile and laugh through the tears before everyone sees you are broken.

Feb. 26 was only a month ago, but March 28 is here now and Falcons fans have to do with that.