SCREW BOSTON! Talking Smack About Our Great City... (Atlanta: city hall, camp)

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by back2atl

No dome to keep out the elements like the delicate Falcons fans need.

Or maybe we've sense enough to get out of the rain.

[back2atl]

Where's the dome in Athens? Guess I missed it.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by back2atl

Where's the dome in Athens? Guess I missed it.

Haven't you heard? It never rains on our beloved Bulldogs.

[oldschoolChevy]

Originally Posted by back2atl

Yep, you made my point. Atlanta isn't much of a pro sports town. That was the whole idea behind the article!

College football in the south is awesome. Awesome. But you can't have it both ways and try to pretend you suddenly have a deeply ingrained pro sports culture when your team does well.

I think it's cool that different parts of the US have different cultures around fandom. Although some folks think the obsession with college kids playing for free is more than a little creepy, I can't help it, I love college basketball and kind of love college football.

College Football is a draw everywhere. Stop minimizing it to make your argument look better. NCAA football pulls in more money than NHL and it also makes about what the NBA makes. It's the fastest growing league money wise behind only the NFL and it has doubled its revenue from the early 2000s. In 10 years NCAA could easily be in the same ballpark as the NFL. These are just facts bro, I'm not even a college fan like that. I've always rooted for the local pro teams and actually find the obsession with fall saturdays kind of funny, but I totally get it though, it's just not my thing personally. And you can call it creepy, I call it exploitation in regards to them playing for free, but that's an argument for a totally different thread. I'm pretty sure that they will have to at least give D1 players of all sports a stipend in the near future, but that will be a a drop in the bucket compared to what the schools are making. But then again I knew some cats who ended up going D1 and they wasn't exactly hurting. Most of the bigger schools find "creative" ways to get money to the players. Ive seen the parking lot of the practice field over in Tuscaloosa and it was full of Camaros and Chargers. Not exactly luxury cars but aint enough time in the day for a full time student/athlete to hold down a job that pays enough for that. You already know what's going on.

[back2atl]

I'm not minimizing college sports, it's just the point of the article / thread is that Atlanta isn't big on pro sports.

Anyway, this is fun but I admit silly, who cares that much about overall fanhood? If you love the Falcons, you love the Falcons, and you'll get just as much joy from a victory as anyone else.

Much respect for the Dirty Birds, talented, classy team and organization. Led by some ex Patriots execs too! I've spent many great Sundays in the Gulch and the Dome, and if the Pats were to have to lose a super bowl there's no team I'd rather lose to. All that being said, Go Pats!

[chiatldal]

Originally Posted by back2atl

It's unoriginal because it's obvious. And yes, I do remember how passionate Pats fans were before they started winning. Grew up in CT and suffered through some seriously bad teams. How about the Red Sox? Did their fans stay home when they were bad? (ok maybe during the 60s or so I'm told) But compared to Atlanta when the Braves slump? Ha! How about the Hawks and the Thrashers - embarrassing! You could hear the coaches!

Nice attendance stats for Falcons this year but passion is a lot more than the folks in the stadium. Maybe Atlanta just has a lot more going on, but man it's night and day how focused people are on pro sports there vs here. I did love seeing Tom Brady in his first season up close for cheap with the GA Dome 40k-ish strong back in 2001 though! That was awesome.

Wining team fans are devoted as winning team fans, losing to bad teams fans are devoted as losing to bad teams fans

No body said Red sox or Pats fans didn't exist before they became good just like the Braves and Falcons, the home towns and etc are always rooting for them. The point is they became way more popular when the team start wining.

There is no such thing as non pro sports town, all cities with teams has as a base with fans rooting for them win or lose, but when the team wins that team will get more local and national attention.



Anyways for what ever reason the Boston globe shades Atlanta a lot. Not just sports but in general. I don't even think it's Boston just the globe having issue with Atlanta and the south.

To would-be Olympian in Boston, Atlanta is a

“If Atlanta can do it, Boston can do it, please. Atlanta is a second-rate city city at best.

[back2atl]

Red Sox can be in last place (as they have been a couple times recently and plenty of times back in the day) and they dominate local media and conversations around New England. Including off-season trade rumors, spring training, etc. I'm talking more attention than the Falcons got this year before the playoffs started.

Yeah that quote is nasty and unwarranted re: second rate. As a New Englander who left in the 90s, I've got no issue saying my people are often nasty and complain too much. Love the South!

[JMatl]

I love Boston, and will be there for vacation later this Spring.

That being said, it is probably the most provincial and insular major metro/region in the country. Many of them are not very well traveled at all, and many have never been outside of New England in their entire lives - with no desire to do so. But they honestly believe they are the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.

They don't call it 'The Hub' for nothing.

[vtecluder617]

Although I like Matty Ice (BC grad), still rooting for my Pats. And to the people saying that we're just bandwagon fans since we started winning superbowls, the old Bledsoe jersey in my closet says otherwise, and I am definitely not the only one.

One of my neighbors admittedly told me that they usually don't watch the Falcons play (this was in August when I was getting excited for the start of the football season), and that their passion is UGA football. Tell me why this dude (just recently) put one of those mini Falcons window flags on his car

[Go Blue 99]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

hese kids run circles around the kids up there in football and basketball. So basically they can't produce talent but they can root for it? I've always found that hilarious, those folks up north in those big time sports towns basically root for a bunch of guys from GA, FL, Texas and Cali. Basically all areas that are known for having bad fans, but yet it's our talent that allows you to root for them

That is a pretty ludicrous comment. Are you seriously arguing that pro team fans should only be rooting for players from that area? And you are talking about northern teams using “our talent”? Obviously this is all about a North vs South battle to you.