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.