Coast to Coast: A Dirty Birds Story

Ch. 2: A Madhouse in Atlanta

Daniel Matias Elizondo

The Roadrunner

The wild card QB from the University of Miami

The One Man Mötley Crüe

Ever since he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, Danny had some high expectations to meet, given the fact that as talented as he was in the gridiron, his off-field antics left much to be desired.

A notorious party animal in Miami, Danny had a few habits that he carried over from The U, such as showing up to practice looking like he got in one too many bar fights, which he usually did, given that he was also infamous for having a very short fuse.

But once he cleaned up in the locker room and put on his pads, Danny becomes a different person, putting up Madden-like numbers in games where Atlanta was usually expected to lose.

He was hailed as the second coming of Michael Vick on the field, and the Mexican Todd Marinovich off it.

Due to his mobility and speed when the pocket collapses, Danny also earned the nickname "Roadrunner" which he also cites as his favorite cartoon as a kid, more so that the Falcons were nicknamed "The ACME offense" during losses due to "Everything backfiring horrendously in Elizondo's face", with opposing fans calling him "The Wile E. Coyote of the NFL".

Pat McAfee once quoted another one of Danny's favorite cartoons when describing his rival, New Orleans QB Jaimes Winston ahead of a game against Atlanta: "He's colossal, stupendous, one might even go so far as to say, He's mediocre"

After handily whooping Jaimes' ass all over the Superdome in the Big Easy in a flashback to their college days, Roadrunner heads west towards Los Angeles to face the then-defending undisputed Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams at SoFi, beating them in an overtime thriller in which Danny connected with Kyle Pitts for a 2 point conversion winning 34-28

And as the saying goes, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", and Danny did not hesitate, partying and brawling not unlike his days in The U.

Two days later, Danny limps his way to his car, the aptly named 1971 Plymouth Road Runner and drives around until parking at a Denny's and sitting in a corner booth so he wouldn't be recognized by any rival fans looking to insult him.

But instead he found something, better yet someone, who would drastically change his life forever...