Atlanta Falcons Fans,
Super Bowl LI is upon us, and the Falcons are playing in it for the first time in Atlanta’s history! Atlanta sport fans are not known for being the very supportive of their teams. There are plenty of people that are all in for the Falcons, Hawks, Braves, etc., but the majority of people in Atlanta and the state of Georgia as a whole are not very supportive of our sport teams. This is a cry for passion for our teams.
In May of 2011, the Thrashers (Atlanta’s previously known hockey team) were sold to a Canadian-based ownership group: True North Sports and Entertainment, and were moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to become the Winnipeg Jets. I believe that the Thrashers were bought out because of a lack of enthusiasm for the team while they were in Atlanta. I went to many of the Thrashers games, and there was never a big turnout of the Atlanta fanbase. It was not financially viable to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta if no one was coming to watch them play; hence, they were bought out. My family are huge hockey fans, in fact, my brother plays hockey in Atlanta. So the Thrashers moving was depressing news to us in 2011. Perhaps if the Thrashers had had more passionate, dedicated fans they would still be here.
The Braves have a brand new stadium located in Cobb County (SunTrust Park) that will be used for the first time ever Monday April 3, 2017. While Turner Field will be missed, the new stadium is supposed to be absolutely spectacular. Hopefully, the new stadium will encourage more people to go watch the games and support their Atlanta Braves team. Granted, baseball is much more popular in the South than hockey is, it would be a shame to see the Braves sold off because of a lack of fanbase like the Thrashers were. I, for one, am extremely excited to be going out to the new SunTrust Park to watch the Atlanta Braves play in the upcoming years.
In May of 2017, Atlanta will be getting a national soccer team, the Atlanta United FC. This is huge news! Our first state soccer team! Hopefully they will be welcomed with open arms and shown tons of support. The soccer fans are thrilled and will hopefully show the new Atlanta team the passion they have for soccer.
My point is, hopefully with the Atlanta Falcons making it to the Super Bowl LI, the people of Atlanta will be able to unite over their love for the team. This opportunity for Atlanta will be a great way for the people to come together with support and passion, not to mention love, for their team. I hope that this will spark a sense of unity in our other teams as well. Maybe Atlanta will gain another hockey team sometime in the near future (I desperately hope so). The people of Atlanta need to be out there supporting their sport teams! Hopefully, Atlanta fans will make a huge turnout.
