Game #105- Atlanta United FC

Atlanta United FC vs DC United

July 21, 2019

Mercedes Benz Stadium

This weekend I flew out early to Atlanta to hit up two games before heading to Raleigh for work.  Last night I rolled in during a big thunderstorm, but luckily the clouds parted before the Atlanta Braves game started vs the Washington Nationals.  This morning I had a busy day ahead of me.  I started with a quick workout, at same breakfast, then headed to Six Flags Over Georgia for a few hours before going back to the hotel for a quick shower.  Once I was cleaned up, I packed my stuff and headed over to the stadium (after the game I had a few hours to kill before going to the airport so I got in a second workout and dip in the pool, yes it was a really long day).  On the way over to the Mercedes Benz stadium I stopped off at Centennial Park to check out the 1996 Olympic Rings and the stage for the medal ceremonies.  It’s a cool park where they have concerts, and a big fountain for days like today when it is 90 degrees with 90% humidity.  The kids were frolicking in the water with their parents while others were simply laying on the grass.  

I got to the stadium about an hour before kick off which gave me time to time some pics outside of the arena.  This place is huge, I would guess the Falcons pack about 80k fans in there and the soccer team gets about 50k.  Before heading in I took a picture with the huge Falcon statue which was draped with the AUFC scarf as well as the big metal soccer ball, but all I could think about was the AC pumping in the stadium.  The whoosh of air was so nice I was actually chilly at one point.  Inside of the stadium there weren’t any good fan features, but the design was really cool.  Very big, open walkways.  Plenty of food, bars, beer stations, and some areas for the kids including a zip line, run for time area, and a virtual driving experience.  The huge Budweiser statue made out of hundreds of kegs was entertaining and the wall of high school football helmets is a nice touch.  I ventured around the stadium for about 30 minutes taking pictures of all the angles.  Like I said the place is huge, but there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. The coolest part of the place is the jumbo tron.  It’s not like the normal ones at the ends of the field, or even the huge ones that are hanging from the ceiling.  The Atlanta screen is a huge circular (essentially never ending) loop above everyone’s heads.  So everyone has a good view of replays, stats, pictures, but the problem is that you often find yourself looking at that vs the field because of the size and clarity.  As I was walking around I found one other cool thing, a designated driver sign up where if you pledge not to drink you get a cup for all the soda/water/juice you can drink.  There are fountains everywhere and you just fill up as you go.  In fact if you get any drink in the stadium it works that way…except mine was free.

As for the game, it was fairly unexciting the first 85 minutes.  There weren’t a lot of shots on goal, and the ones that were on net were pedestrian.  I will say that Brad Guzan from Atlanta United made one really good save in the first have with a diving save in a break away attempt by Paul Arriola in the 32^nd minute.  But the fire works started in the second half when AU get a penalty kick and star Pity Martinez stepped up for the sure goal at the 80^th minute.  But he tried to get way too cute and in the run up to the ball did this weird hop to try to pull the goalie offline but in fact messed up his rhythm and kicking it way over the crossbar. The fans in the stadium were ready to go nuts but everyone just let out an audible sigh followed by a ton of “What the F!”.  Luckily for the home team they had the momentum and in the 88^th minute Gonzalo Martinez took a great pass and forcefully headed in the ball for a 1-0 lead.  In the 92^nd minute Pity made up for his horrible PK and got the second and final goal in a breakaway to put them ahead 2-0 and sealed the win with that same final score.

Overall it was a great experience.  I sat next to two guys who were really cool, one is a big Manchester United fan so we chatted a bit about the Arsenal and EPL.  One of the main reasons he came to the game was to see his idol Wayne Rooney play for DC United but he was scratched for the game because of an injury.  I think that would have drastically changed the game since he is one of the leading scorers in the league with 11 goals, but we didn’t even see him in the warm ups.  Oh well.  Still a great time.

Game #104- Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals

SunTrust Stadium

July 20^th, 2019

While heading to the east coast to see our new Research Triangle Park (RTP) office in Raleigh, NC I decided to make a quick trip to Atlanta first to see a few games.  It is planned to be a whirlwind weekend that includes getting into Atlanta around 5pm on Saturday, quick stop at the hotel around 6pm, Braves game at 7:20pm, back to the hotel to sleep and get up around 7:30 for breakfast, bike 45 minutes at the gym, Six flags over Georgia at 10:30am, back to the hotel by 2pm for late check out, walk over to the Mercedes Benz Stadium for the Atlanta United game at 3pm, back to the hotel at 6:30pm to go to the gym and run, then off to the airport by 8pm for a 9:55pm flight to RDU touching down at 11:30pm so I can hopefully get some sleep before work on Monday. I know, not exhausting at all.

The positive is that all of that happened, almost to the T.  Luckily the bad weather the Midwest was seeing all week didn’t impact my flights and I got to Atlanta on time.  I took the MARTA train to the hotel and quickly showered/changed for the game.  The new stadium is about 15-20 minutes outside of downtown which is less convenient than the old ball park which is in walking distance from my hotel.  But that’s fine because by the time I left the hotel is was pouring.  This isn’t normal rain out here, it was a torrential downpour where we couldn’t see outside of the front car window.  If I was walking in this mess I would have been drenched.  But luckily as I got to the park the skies started to clear and the game wasn’t delayed so I’ll that that as a win.  The Braves stadium is awesome.  There isn’t a bad view from any level, plenty of food and drinks, lots of bathrooms, and for me the important part is paying homage to the teams past.  The Braves have been around since 1876 when they started in Boston, moved to Milwaukee in 1953 then Atlanta in 1966.  In the new stadium they have lots of great items to look at in Monument Garden showcasing that history. From old jerseys, to gold glove winners, hall of fame inductees, championship rings and trophies, and the centerpiece is a statue of Hank Aaron and his record for homeruns of 755 which is made out of bats, very impressive.

I ventured around the inside of the stadium for a bit before heading to my seat down the first base line.  I got a good seat, right in the center of the row (which I hate), and sat down in the swealtering heat and humidity for the first 6 innings.  I spoke to some people around me who traveled 2.5 hours from North Carolina to see the Braves (I said wow that’s a long way to go for a game…the lady next to me said, you’re one to talk.  Ha!).  The disappointing piece of the night was the fact that I couldn’t get game ticket stub.  Everyone around me had the phone app and the only tix I did see walking in were the crappy ticket masters ones with no pictures on them.  I know it saves the teams money but stubs are so cool to have as keepsakes, it makes it just that much more special, but I guess I am thinking as an old man.  After the 6^th I decided to get some pics from up high and then leave a bit early knowing there was a good chance the skies would start pouring again and I was exhausted.  But quickly, the game was pretty good.  The Braves took an early lead in the first with Acuna getting a single (his 26 game in a row reaching safely) and then eventually scoring on a Freddie Freeman single.  But after that it was a Nats show.  Washington tied it in the 4^th and then added 3 more in the fifth including a Matt Adams homerun that just barely got out of the park hitting the top of the wall and bouncing out (which was eventually thrown back on the field by a fan with raucous applause).  The Braves had a chance in the 5^th to really make a big comeback loading the bases, but Atlanta hit a screaming rope to the Nats shortstop Trea Turner who made a leaping grab for the out, then threw to first for the force play to end the inning. After that the air kind of went out of the stadium.  The only time the fans really got back into it was in the 7^th when the stadium turned off a bunch of the electronic advertising signs making the field that much darker and then they played the Braves chop song “oh oh oooooooh, oh oh ooooohoooohhhh”.  I know this is racially insensitive but 50k people singing, chopping, and now turning on the lights on their phones looked really cool.  Doolittle closed out for the Nats who preserved the away win with a 5-3 score.  I knocked off game 104 on my list and was stoked to be going back to the hotel for some food and more importantly sleep.

Side thought, if you are going to the Braves game make sure to come early to enjoy the food and festivities.  The stadium was built to be surrounded by tons of bars and restaurants which were all bumping before and after the game.  There is a big sitting area on grass just outside the field with a big screen showing the game, things for the kids to do (a 3 story long slide to name one), and after the game it looked like a place to party.  The bad thing, just like a lot of stadiums now, the uber/lyft areas are impossible to find. I had to walk about a quarter to half mile to find it, and that doesn’t include the time and energy I took going the wrong direction. 

Game #103- Sporting KC

Sporting KC vs Atlanta United FC

Children's Mercy Park

May 5, 2019

I headed out to Nashville celebrate a bachelor party with Brad DeVore, a good friend from my college and fraternity days at UCSB.  After two long days in the party town I planned a quick trip to Kansas City to knock out another game from my list.  Lining up the trip a few months ahead of time I was able to connect with one of my oldest friends from age group swimming days (back at Glendale YMCA) and convinced Rebecca Robinson (I nicknamed her Becky Lou for some reason when I was 10)  to go with me to the Sporting KC soccer game vs. Atlanta United FC.  

I landed in KC around 10 in the morning and considering I got about 5 total hours of sleep in the past two days (a combo of partying too late and getting no rest on a crappy, loud air mattress), I was hoping and praying I could get an early check in at the downtown Marriott.  Luckily I was able to squeeze myself into the room where I took a well needed and deserved 4 hour “nap”.  I don’t know if I would have been able to keep my eyes open at the game if I didn’t get some sleep.  So around 6pm Becky picked me up with her two boys and we headed to the Yardhouse for some food and a drink before walking over to the stadium.  I don’t know if we necessarily were allowed to park in the lot for the game but we did and it was free…not something you can do at most games.  

Sporting KC has an awesome new stadium kind of in the middle of nowhere.  It’s located approximately 30 minutes from downtown, the Kansas Speedway is out there, and it is surrounded by a big mall…but other than that I don’t recall there being any real communities.  I think the thought was, if you build it they will come.  And they certainly do come in KC.  The stadium seats just under 19,000 but they regularly have over 20k fans with the standing room only tickets.  Also with it being a soccer specific arena the building really accentuates the crowd cheers and chants.  I personally liked how every seat in the stadium was close to the action.  The majority of the arena was all lower bowl except for the suites so each fan feels close to the action. 

Although the stadium was great, our seats were fantastic (only about 10 rows from the field), the home team was stifled by the current MLS champions.  The majority of the play was in the SKC zone where AFCU outshot the home team 19 to 10, but the real telltale sign of the game was shots on target which favored Atlanta 8 to 3.   Atlanta’s Ezequiel Barco was a tiny dynamo out there where his speed and accurate passing was completely unmatched.  The guy stands at around 5’5” but in this sport that only matters in the air.  When the ball was on the ground no one could match his speed.  Not only did he get a goal at the 47^th minute but add in two by Josef Martinez at the 39th and 76^th minutes, the game wasn’t even close.  A 0-3 loss was tough on the home team who fell to the second worst in the western conference.  I guess my highlight of the game was being able to see three national team members on the field at the same time.  Graham Zusi of KC, and Atlanta’s Brad Guzan in goal with Brek Shea coming in late as a sub.  I just hope the mens team kicks it up a notch soon because their play has been almost

as bad as KC’s loss today.

The disappointing part of the brand new stadium experience is the ticket situation.  There were absolutely no hard ticket stubs.  I asked all around, even talked to the ticket attendant in our area, and she stated they don’t print them anymore.  I guess it’s the wave of the future but that sucks for fans.  I know I am not the only one who likes to collect these things for memories sake.  I can’t imagine not having some of my stubs from Kings games as a kid.  Oh well…