After attending an Atlanta Braves game this past month, I finally felt as though I understood why so many students at Georgia love the team. Not due to the traditions – the Tomahawk Chop and the big drum to name a few – but instead because of the logo. Logos have a multitude of meanings and athletic logos are especially interesting. Instead of being a capital-B for Braves or a tomahawk, the logo is a scripted "A" to denote Atlanta – the city which has been the team's home since 1966. Upon realizing this, I thought of other teams, the New York Yankees, Mets and Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers are just a few examples of logos representing the city opposed to the team itself. These logos show a lot for their teams, yet reveal more insight in regards to sports in general – they have the power to define cities.

Sports have been a means of assessing cities for years. You can mention a city to a person and the first thing they talk about is the successes, failures, and rivalries of the cities' professional teams. A person may have never stepped foot inside the Boston city limits but will have perceptions about the city-based solely on sports. These perceptions range from the city to the people, with the only evidence lying within a sports team. This spans wider than professional sports. The first thing a Georgia student remarks when they hear somebody mention Florida is how horrible not only the football team is but also the campus and university as a whole. While some people may have a legitimate reason to express this opinion, the majority of students only presume this to be true because that is what the sports rivalry contends.

Sports have the power to create alliances between fans both good and bad, but the problem arises when a professional team leaves the city where it lives. While college teams are different because they are fixed in their location, professional athletic teams differ. One day the Atlanta Braves may have to move further than SunTrust Park, and then what will happen to Atlanta? It is safe to say that the city of Atlanta will continue to prosper economically; however, a loss would occur that would be difficult for many Braves fans to face. But with such a large fan-base, it seems as though Atlanta will remain the home of the Braves for years to come.

An interchangeable relationship exists between sports teams and the cities where they reside. Atlanta would be a different city without the Braves; even so, the Braves would be a different team without Atlanta. Professional teams have found their cities where the community provides unwavering support. Cities have adopted professional teams whose games have come to be much more than another sporting event. Every game, parents bring their children to watch their local team and – win or lose – the time spent in the stands will bring people together. Sports have the power to connect individuals on the most basic of levels. From across the globe, people will see their favorite team's logo and instantly connect. The most intense or indifferent of fans know that their presence contributes to something more than a score. For people, a winning team proves a cities' worth, and a losing team attests to a cities' determination.

Sports define cities because of the people. The people who continue to root for a team despite their performance on the field or court. The people who recollect the time when they went to their first game. The people who follow every turn of the season – always remaining hopeful. The people like you and me who wear that "A" logo proudly because you are not only representing your home team but also the city that has come to define how you look at sports teams.