The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • A1

Filename: A1-MAIN-AJCD0121-AJCD Magenta DateTime created: Jan 21 2013 12 Black ia AJCD I Username: SPEEDDRIVER05 Monday, Jan 21, 2013 MAIN 1A The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunny, windy High: 58, Low: 40 0 chance of rain Tuesday: Sunny, 4428 Wednesday: Sunny, 5326 Thursday: Sunny, 6038 Details on the back of Metro Credible. Compelling. Complete. SAD END, SUPER SEASON Frustration reaches a level fans haven't seen. More coverage, including a Tony Gonzalez poster The Falcons aren't able to overcome challenges this time, CI Game breakdown, photo pages and analysis, C2-11 Gonzalez poster, CIO By Steve Hummer shummerajc.com In a business where disappointment is to scale the bigger the game, the more you expose your heart the Falcons discovered a new level of torment Sunday.

After 46 years of practice, followers of this franchise have learned to swallow the rout and digest the common defeat. This 28-24 loss to San Francisco in the first-ever NFC Championship game in Atlanta was a whole other species of loss. This one took a fan base on a careening ride to the very lip of the greatest Falcons home victory and then off the edge, down a steep, dark bank. They should be hitting bottom right about now. And come two weeks it will be somebody else's Super Bowl.

Yet again. The fall was felt by all, from the owner's box to the Georgia Dome's upper deck to the countless homes where the drama played out in crystalline high-defTV. Loss continued on A8 Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson pauses after the team's loss to the 49ers on Sunday. BRANT SANDERLIN BSANDERLINAJC.COM Fans' journey ends with loss and disappointment. By Mark Davis mdavisajc.com and Daarel Burnette II dburnetteajc.com We cheered, groaned, cheered some more, howled in frustration, cheered yet again and, finally, said things that cannot be printed here.

For us, it was a hard and heartbreaking game, one marred by a fight among fans resulting in a person's being stabbed in the neck. The extent of the injuries weren't known Sunday evening. It's only football, sure. But those were our guys on the field. We yelled when our Falcons scored and studied our beers when they did not.

We pumped fists, high-fived and believed until the end. How could we not? They had taken us this far. At game's end, we were Vince Williams. All of us. Reaction continued on A8 AT AJC.COM SPORTS Our bloggersand columnists provide the latest news.

Photo galleries and recaps from the season. This Falcons fan on Sunday shows the pain of another year of his team falling short of an NFL title, johnny Crawford jcrawfordajc.com NEW DETAILS FULTON ELECTIONS Elections report: High turnover but little training from learning the lessons passed on by their predecessors, leading to last year's election troubles, a scathing report says. Consultant Gary Smith, in a report that the elections board tried to withhold from the public, said the office suffered an "institutional loss of knowledge" that resulted in errors that contributed to more than changes in leadership. The last chief, Sam Westmoreland, did major damage, according to the document, undoing progress made by his predecessor and summarily eliminating two key administrative positions, which hampered the office's ability to run smooth elections. Elections continued on A12 Fulton office hindered by poor leadership.

By Johnny Edwards jredwardsajc.com and David Wickert dwickertajc.com An inept director prevented Fulton County elections staffers 100 complaints to the Secretary of State's Office about the November election. A deeper analysis of the report, which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained exclusively last week, shows the problem vexed Fulton last year, doing much to explain systemic problems that have frustrated voters for years. This despite a 2006 audit warning that, with pending retirements, the county would be "at risk for major missteps" unless it did better at documenting procedures. But with directors and key staffers coming and going rapidly, Smith found, the county had no sound method of passing good practices following INAUGURATION 2013 Obama takes official oath in private ceremony METRO Charter backers had more funding Backers of an amendment supporting charter schools outspent opponents more than 10-to-l last fall. Supporters of the amendment argue that it would have passed with or without the big money.

Bl iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Complete coverage Public events set today in D.C. as president begins second term. Obituaries B6 Puzzles D3 Television D3 The Vent B2 DearAbbyD2 Classifieds D5 Comics D4 Gridlock Guy B4 actment outside the Capitol of Obama's swearing-in, are expected to be less spectacular than four years ago, when the new president embodied hope and change for most Americans at a time of global economic crisis and two wars. This year fewer parties are planned, and fewer people are expected to swarm the National Mall. The private but official swearing-in of the 44th president at 11:55 a.m.

was just the seventh such event in history to be held before the public ceremony, and the first since Ronald Reagan's second inaugural, each one occurring Inauguration continued on A5 Your guide to the inauguration, including today's schedule, A4 Georgians take part in the national celebrations, A5 Georgia State University's band will be part of today's events, Bl Learn about the connection between Obama and the Rev. Martin Luther King Dl ONAJC.COM Watch the swearing-in ceremony live and get the latest news at www.ajc.comgo inaug2013 and follow along with our live bloggingand tweeting. Our coverage includes the parade, local festivities and reaction. By Brian Knowlton and Jackie Calmes NewYorkTimes WASHINGTON With only his family nearby, President Barack Obama was sworn into his second term in office before noon Sunday at the White House, a private moment forced by a rare quirk of the constitutional calendar. Today's festivities, with the traditional inaugural parade, balls and not least the re-en PRINTED WITH SOY INK ON RECYCLED PAPER President Barack Obama is sworn in at the White House on Sunday, as first lady Michelle Obama holds her family Bible, ap 2201100002 TJ DliEAiVj J.J Magenta Black IA AJCD hKZilled File name: A1-MAIN-AJCD0121-AJCD DateTime created: Jan 21 2013 Username: SPEEDDRIVER05.