Every step I took would not have been little if I had been in the concession line at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and heard Bobby Brown blasting through the speakers. That $2 hot dog would have to wait until the third quarter of Washington Commanders vs Atlanta Falcons.
There would be 30 minutes of football game action remaining. Non-Super Bowl halftimes are short in the NFL. Only a handful of minutes were available to see the King of R&B get busy on stage. Week 6 was the 80s game for the Falcons. The players wore throwback uniforms and one of the decade’s biggest stars hit the stage.
His quick halftime energy injection did not linger long enough for the Falcons to use it and knock off the Commanders, 24-16. That was the score for nearly the entire fourth quarter as the Falcons were not able to put more points on the board after the 12-minute mark, and the Commanders failed to salt the game away.
All of the explosive talent on both of these offenses and still that final quarter was painful to watch at times. Brown, however, was a refreshing sight. The Gumby cut and baggy pants have long been gone, but the legend is still a showman. He is also evidence that great music is timeless, even if he cannot attack the stage with the same intensity as he did at 20 years old.
Let that 80’s baseline of “My Prerogative” blare over a speaker, and whether a person was introduced to Brown when he was with New Edition, or by that meme of him bursting out of a helicopter in that 2002 Ja Rule music video, that song will get heads of all ages nodding.
For Falcons fans, a brief treat like that is much deserved. For all of their good skill-position players, Desmond Ridder’s erratic quarterback play is preventing the team from having one of the top offensive units in the NFL. Watching him spend whole games not paying much attention to Kyle Pitts has to be hard on fans, along with the two fourth-quarter interceptions. That is on top of all of the other eyesores and heartache that the fanbase has been forced to deal with since Brown was at the top of the charts, and the Falcons regularly donned the red helmets that they wore in Week 6.
A loss after coming up empty on three of four possessions in the fourth quarter is fun for no one. But as cruel as that loss was, Bobby B had the crowd on their feet, and in a better mood than could be reached simply with $2 dogs and $5 beer.