Thomas Dimitroff's knack for scouting and securing talent apparently does not end with football players.
It sounds as if the Falcons' general manager and music enthusiast had a hand in landing the Atlanta-based Zac Brown Band to perform the national anthem for Saturday's divisional playoff game against Green Bay.
The country group, which won a Grammy in 2010 for best new artist and was nominated last month for four more, got to know Dimitroff through a business contact. Band members sat in Dimitroff's box for the Falcons' victories over Baltimore and New Orleans.
"He was basically buttering us up the entire time to sing the national anthem," band member Clay Cook said. "He was just taking really, really good care of us. Maybe that's the way he is."
The band was glad to oblige. Band members' Falcons roots go back to the 1980s. Though they've been on tour, they've managed to watch almost all of their games this season. They plan on singing in their Falcons gear.
Said Cook, "We'll wear whatever they want us to wear, as long as it's not a Green Bay jersey."
Get there early
Falcons fans attending Saturday's game are encouraged to arrive early, and will have an incentive -- beyond, you know, making it on time -- to do so. The first 60,000 fans in the Georgia Dome will receive a Falcons Rise Up flag specially designed for the game.
Besides icy road conditions potentially causing delays, the Atlanta Boat Show is at the Georgia World Congress Center, and the Hawks have a 7 p.m. game at Philips Arena. Team and dome officials are suggesting that fans without prepaid parking passes take MARTA to the game. MARTA recommends buying a round-trip ticket before the game to avoid lines on the way home.
The team also is moving its Falcons Landing from International Plaza to the orange lot because of the weather. The orange lot is on Georgia Dome Drive.
Going with the Falcons
The Falcons' bandwagon picked up a notable endorsement this week -- former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In an interview with CNN, Rice -- a diehard football fan who once said her dream job was to be NFL commissioner -- was asked for her Super Bowl prediction.
"The good money at this point would have to say the New England Patriots, because they are so dominant, but I'm going to say Atlanta Falcons," Rice told CNN.
Other football experts are less confident. The Falcons' website has tracked writers' and commentators' weekly picks. Two of them -- ESPN's Mark Schlereth and Gregg Rosenthal of profootballtalk.com -- predicted 14 of the Falcons' 16 regular-season games accurately. They both take … the Packers.
Market watch
The average ticket price fell to $195 on Friday on the ticket re-sale website stubhub.com. It was $203 on Monday. The least expensive ticket on the site early Friday evening was $97. The cheapest tickets in the four sections closest to the 50-yard line in the lower bowl had a $345 price.
The team has warned fans buying tickets near the dome to be wary of counterfeit tickets.
In the stands
Packers fans figure to be plentiful in the stands. The team's national fan base is considerable, and tickets have been available on secondary markets.
"Most of the Packers fans I know are going," said Miles Cliatt, a Decatur resident who has a Facebook page for Green Bay fans in Atlanta.
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