Y’all already know by now that my bread and butter is college football. I don’t follow the NFL as closely, other than keeping up with former Bulldogs who are playing pro football, but my home team is the Atlanta Falcons.
I’ve long had a love-exasperation relationship with the Falcons. When I was 8 years old, I sang at a men’s banquet at church where Steve Bartkowski was the speaker, and I have a Polaroid of the two of us somewhere. So I guess I would call myself a fan, mainly because they’re my local team.
This weekend, the Falcons are playing the San Francisco 49ers, and since it’s the team’s 60th anniversary, they’re playing in throwback 1966 uniforms. As part of the throwback theme, the Falcons posted a throwback profile pic on X:
New PFP 👀 https://t.co/gBXWISJav4
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 21, 2026
Are you catching on to what a lot of people are noticing? Does it resemble Nazi imagery to you?
That’s what a lot of people are saying, although it definitely wasn’t the Falcons’ intent. This throws back to the team’s original 1966 logo and color scheme. The familiar red, black, and white colorway has always been there, but the original logo also included gold so that Georgia Tech fans wouldn’t feel like the Falcons were mimicking the Georgia Bulldogs’ colors exclusively. Though the team abandoned the gold in the ’70s, the Falcons brought it back for this throwback weekend.
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The vertical striping and color order, combined with the severe angularity of the original bird logo, which was the creation of designer Wayland Moore, give it some serious Third-Reich connotations. And people are noticing — especially against the backdrop of the NFL’s wokeness.
@AtlantaFalcons "End Racism," "Choose Love," "Stop Hate," and "Inspire Change" Atlanta says Nein. https://t.co/zXDknJb2Y6
— TBone Nation (@USFBullsTboned) October 22, 2026
@AtlantaFalcons We accept your apology https://t.co/RKGv3Ula23
— I do not consent (@Idonotconsent6) October 23, 2026
@AtlantaFalcons Fixed it for you 😁 https://t.co/wbtaCzybxB
— Richard Roughton (@richmooreiv) October 22, 2026
@AtlantaFalcons Even the logo can’t believe it. https://t.co/TLnqyVeQTf
— Tee Fields (@EDCburner) October 22, 2026
@AtlantaFalcons Gonna be a huge game for number Nein. https://t.co/SrKyCqUtbF
— CantaLoupe (@CantALoupe_FF) October 22, 2026
@AtlantaFalcons Where have I seen this before?? https://t.co/9HDyDUXrkJ
— JohnJoseph🇺🇸🇨🇴🐊 (@Lucariad1214) October 22, 2026
Even the Babylon Bee got in on the action.
Oh No: Atlanta Falcons Announce Surprise Game In Paris https://t.co/eE7nGgcQMK
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 23, 2026
NBC News cited one expert who gave the Falcons the benefit of the doubt:
“Absolutely there was no ill intent, and I can’t imagine in a million years the Atlanta Falcons would do something like” seeking Nazi alignment, sports logo historian Chris Creamer told NBC News on Thursday.
“It’s throwback weekend for the team, and the social media team just wanted to dress up like the players were going to, and it’s a very common thing that social media accounts do across all sports,” he said. “If a team’s wearing a throwback uniform, usually their profile photo will be updated to match that.”
You know what I think it is? I think it’s the gold stripes. (See? Tech fans ruin everything! I kid. I kid.) In all seriousness, I don’t think the Falcons meant anything negative at all. It’s just unfortunate that the combination of several factors made things really weird for the Dirty Birds.
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