Editor’s Note: In the fine tradition of sports championship trash-talking of opponents, Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy ignited a local conflagration Jan. 23 with his snarky commentary on The Atlanta Falcons, and this metro area they call home. In advance of the big event in Houston Feb. 5 that we fully expect will adjust both the attitudes and the rear ends of the Pats and their defenders, we present today an Atlantan’s retort to New England snideness.
Excerpts from bostonglobe.com:
When it comes to Atlanta and its sports fans, we feel nothing. Maybe a little pity.
The Patriots are going to the Super Bowl in Houston Feb. 5, and they are going to play the Atlanta Falcons, and that takes a little fun out of the experience.
The Atlanta Falcons?
Meh.
This is nobody’s fault. There is no need to insult the nice folks of Atlanta, where you can drive on Peachtree Street, go to Peachtree Plaza, and order yourself a Peachtree Margarita. Atlanta is a diverse and hospitable city with friendly folks and warm temperatures. You can always get a Coke and a smile.
But it is also a town with absolutely zero enthusiasm for professional sports. And the non-fans know it. They’ve been hearing it for a long time. The Falcons, Braves, and Hawks don’t win championships so they don’t get much love. Atlanta is a place where people play sports rather than watch them. Atlanta grows professional athletes. We produce Ordways and Massarottis.
The only two spectator sports that matter in Atlanta are college football … and spring college football.
I was in Atlanta to watch the Celtics play the Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last April. There was zero local buzz about the Hawks or the playoffs. While the Celtics and Hawks warmed up for their postseason clash, all the televisions at Philips Arena were tuned into Georgia’s intramural spring football game, for which 93,000 fans were gathered in Athens.
Given the dearth of professional sports championships the city has produced, it’s hard to blame Atlanta fans for their abject apathy.
Atlanta’s five professional sports teams have combined to win ONE championship in 168 seasons of competition. One.
Here in Boston, we’ve had an embarrassment of riches, witnessing nine championships since the turn of the century.
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