Dragons, Ducks and Dawgs. They’re clashing in downtown Atlanta this weekend.
On Friday afternoon, at least, the Dragons were winning. Costumed attendees of the annual Dragon Con Festival out-numbered fans of the Georgia Bulldogs and Oregon Ducks. But the football crowd is expected to take over on Saturday as 73,000 souls make their way inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game (3:30 p.m., ABC) to watch those two highly-ranked teams play. Georgia is ranked No. 3, while the Ducks are 11th.
This annual Labor Day event signifies the start of the college football season. Atlanta is at the center of it all with two big games this weekend. Dignitaries from the respective universities and Peach Bowl, Inc., which organizes the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, were invited to New York City Thursday to ring the closing bell at the Stock Exchange.
The action is in Atlanta this weekend is centered around Centennial Olympic Park. The footprint that encompasses that landmark, as well as State Farm Arena, the World Congress Center and the College Football Hall of Fame and The Benz, was teeming with Ducks and Dragons on Friday. For the time being, at least, they outnumbered even the Bulldog faithful.
The impressive green-and-yellow-clad Oregon contingent came as no surprise to alum David Melear. He and his wife Amy drove down from their home in Bowling Green, Ky., to meet their Duck buddies, Laurie and Sean Highland of Eugene, Ore.
“I think this is just a great benefit of going back to normalcy,” said Melear, standing in line to enter the College Football Hall of Fame on Marietta Street. “I think that’s feeding into travel. And the Oregon Ducks travel very well, especially for a team in the size of town we’re from. We’re a national brand these days.”
The Duck dominance is expected to end Saturday. That’s when the more regionalized following of UGA -- college football’s defending national champions -- descends on the city. Georgia fans are expected to occupy at least 75 percent of the seats for Saturday’s game, according to ticket distribution reports.
The festivities won’t end with Georgia-Oregon on Saturday, though. Dragon Con, the annual multi-media and pop culture event, is a week-long event that is being staged through the weekend at various locations all over downtown and midtown. Friday, attendees dressed up as their favorite science fiction and comic book characters, clogged John Portman Boulevard, forcing traffic blockages and detours.
On Monday, Part II of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff will take over the area. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets meet ACC rival Clemson Tigers, also at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (8 p.m., ESPN).
On Friday, stages, floats and interactive games were being erected on International Plaza between the World Congress Center, State Farm Arena and the Benz. That area has been renamed “Tailgate Town” for this weekend.
Meanwhile, turnstiles were whirring at the College Football Hall of Fame. A tailgate area was being retrofitted into a small space beside The Tabernacle. Chick-fil-A Kickoff flags and school banners in red and black, green and yellow, old gold and navy and orange and white were flapping in the wind on nearly every utility pole and fence post in a four-block circumference surrounding the Atlanta Falcons’ home stadium.
“I’ve been here before, but it’s been 24 years,” said Laurie Highland of Eugene, Ore. “It’s changed a lot. It’s really quite impressive.”
Also taking in the sights were Teresa and Allen Carr of Gresham, Ore. They weren’t hard to spot crossing Marietta Street from Centennial Olympic Park. Teresa was fully-clad in UGA regalia, while her husband was rocking the Ducks’ green and yellow.
Nobody has been looking forward to this game more than this couple. Teresa is UGA graduate from Waycross. She met her Oregonian husband while he was serving in the U.S. Army in Hinesville. They have been living in Oregon since they were married.
The years and miles have done nothing to curb Teresa’s enthusiasm for her Bulldogs. She was in Atlanta just last December when she watched Georgia lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. She also made it up to Indianapolis for the Bulldogs’ next game against Alabama. This one went much better as they beat the Crimson Tide 33-18 for the national championship on Jan. 10
It was literally only a few days later that the Carrs bought their Chick-fil-A Kickoff tickets. They have been anticipating their teams playing each other since an original home-and-home series that was supposed to be played in 2015-16 was canceled in 2010.
“We were looking forward to going to both of those games. Then we were really upset when Georgia canceled it,” Teresa Carr said. “Now we can’t wait to see them finally play.”
Teresa Carr works at the Port of Portland Authority. She is scheduled to meet up with three co-workers before Saturday’s game. Like her husband, they’re all Ducks.
“We’ve got a wager,” she admitted. “It’s just drinks, but when they lose, all three of them will owe me drinks. So I can’t wait!”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
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