The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are currently a member of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons joined the NFL as a 1966 expansion team. A fan contest was held in August 1965 and the team received more than 1,300 entries suggesting 558 different names. Although several entries in a fan contest suggested Falcons, a schoolteacher, Miss Julia Elliott, was declared the winner because of her reasoning for the new name: "The falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition."

City: Atlanta, Georgia  Home Field: Georgia Dome, capacity: 71,228 for football (1992-present) Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, capacity: 60700 for football (1966-1991)		Address: 4400 Falcon Parkway Flowery Branch, GA 30542 Phone: (770) 965-3115 http://www.atlantafalcons.com
Falcons logo (1966-1989) Falcons logo (1990-2002) Falcons logo (2003-present) A black Falcon, with red streaks and a silver outline swooping down with its claws out stretched to form the letter F.
Owner: Arthur Blank	Head Coach: Mike Smith	General Manager: Thomas Dimitroff	President: Rich McKay

League/Conference affiliations

National Football League (1966–present)

• Eastern Conference (1966)
• Western Conference (1967-69)
  • Coastal Division (1967-1969)
• National Football Conference (1970-present)
  • NFC West (1970-2001)
  • NFC South (2002-present)

Championships

NFC Conference Champions 1998

Division Champions: 

NFC West: 1980, 1998 NFC South: 2004

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