ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons got ready to rise up on Sunday with a takedown from a sports entertainment legend.
11Alive's Maria Martin captured the moment Sunday as WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg put a charge into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd before the game by spearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan decked in a Tom Brady jersey.
"Rise up! Who's next?" Goldberg shouted with Freddy Falcon by his side, calling back to his signature catchphrase when he was one of the biggest superstars in the WWE.
Before he found stardom in the WWE, Goldberg was a two-year starter at the University of Georgia in the late 80s before the Rams took him in the 1990 NFL Draft. A couple years later the Oklahoma native caught on with the Falcons, appearing in 14 games across three seasons between 1992-94.
He wound up leaving the Falcons via the 1995 expansion draft to the Carolina Panthers, with an injury ultimately ending his football career and paving the way for him to find his calling with the WCW and, later, the WWE. He was inducted into the WWE's Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Falcons and Buccaneers are in action Sunday at the Benz in a crucial NFC South contest - Atlanta came into the game in first place in the division at 6-6, the Buccaneers just a game behind them at 5-7.
The New Orleans Saints are also just a game behind in the tightly-bunched division.
The Associated Press also caught a nice photo of the moment:
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