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Arrived at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead yesterday and had incredible ramen. One thing I miss about living in larger cities (I moved back to South Dakota) is the great asian cusiine. The ramen was incredible.
The bigger thing however was our waiting staff for breakfast. We noticed how insanely hospitable Atlanta was and that didn't stop at the hotel.
Pre Game
We hit up the aquarium. I thought it was a great way to spend pregame and also ensure a parking spot. The Georgia Aquarium is gorgeous and the walk through Olympic Park is a super fun way to get jazzed for game day.
On the walk I was telling myself "man how cool would it be if i ran into someone like Aaron Nagler"...about 5 minutes later I am walking and I see Tom Silverstein walkin right next to me. He was talking on his phone but I quick gave him a fist bump and told him how much I appreciate his work. I do wonder how often a guy like him gets recognized. Especially on road games.
Getting into the stadium, the ratio was easily 70/30 Packers fans but keep in mind the visiting fans almost always arrive first as it is often "first time at the stadium". The one thing I kept noticing was the significant lack of #12 jerseys. I swear I saw just as much, if not more, Favre and Reggie White jerseys as I did Rodgers jerseys. The most common had to be Jones, Watson, Jaw, Love in that order. But also a lot of old timers like Matthews, Nelson, Driver, Jennings, et.
Inside the stadium was absolutely unreal. Definitely gave me Ford Field vibes but with more natural lighting. It is so big and airy. Just an absolute jaw dropping place. Absolutely incredible. The screen around the field is amazing too. By this point I am noticing again how hospitable everyone is. All the stadium workers were amazing and fun to poke fun with. Also the fans themselves were super fun and just honestly friendly. I usually get a lot of flack at visiting stadiums but experienced none of it here.
The food at this stadium is ridiculous. 2 hot dogs. 1 Miller Lite. 1 Lemonade. $15 total. We had that...got pictures and then walked around the stadium. The drum line was going and that was super fun. My pregnant wife wanted more food so we got in line for a cheesesteak. While waiting in line, I bring up some small talk with a group and come to find out they are super close to a Packers player. So when I ask who that is they say, "the long snapper" and of course I immediately say MATT ORZICH!!! So that struck up a lot of conversation. This guy is a restaurant owner in Nashville and starts showing me pictures with he and Matt. He said Matt is 6 foot 2 and 260 pounds of pure muscle. He and 4 of his Packers buddies came to his house earlier this year and ate 11 pounds of brisket. I told them good luck to Matt today and said, "he had a couple shaky snaps last week"...they were like "you noticed that too?!"
I love, love, love when I meet families of players. I hung out with the cornerback of the Lions in 2007's Thanksgiving game (Greg Jennings smoked that guy that day), Daryn Colledge's mom pregame before the NFC Championship in Chicago, and Al Harris's family before the 2014 Falcons game (Al didn't play anymore but the Harris family just LOVES Green Bay). So today was super cool I got to spend about 20 minutes with Matt Orzich's adopted parents. I don't know if they actually adopted Matt or if they just meant "we are super close and basically raised him"
The Game
My section was a good blend of Packers fans and Falcons fans.
I am white guys. Meaning I am a farmer from South Dakota. Culturally, I can't imagine being more different than inner-city hip-hop loving black folk from Atlanta. I literally can't understand what they are saying. We both speak English but I can't understand a word.
I gotta say. Everyone around me was so nice and so much fun. I had an absolute blast with my Packers and Falcons brethren alike. All the Falcons fans were season ticket holders and super good to us. I like it when home fans let me cheer and be myself. I thought Atlanta did a great job of in game entertainment and the crowd overall is just so much fun. A fantastic vibe. Super cute city.
As for the game, I saw 2 TDs right in my face as I was in the 11th row at around the 10 yardline or so. I saw the Wicks and Reed TD and those were just magical.
The stadium itself was probably 80% - 85% full. The upper section had some empties. I think it was probably 70% ATL and 30% Packers. The stadium got really loud in the 4th quarter and I kind of knew a that point our offense wasn't going to do anything. It was just too loud. The defense needed to win the day and just couldn't. The absolute heart breaker was Jordan Love missing Doubs on that final drive. GUYS. HE HAD DOUBS. He had him and just missed the throw, but it was totally there.
Absolutely have my heart gutted. We were the better team but just got outcoached. The defense was absolutely pathetic. Our edge boys got destroyed by their tackles and Savage gave me 2020 NFC Championship nightmares with that pathetic attempt at trying to knock the ball down.
And DAMNIT JAIRE AND QUAY!!! CATCH THE DAMN BALL!!!!
My voice is gone. My heart hurts. But I loved my experience in the ATL. Absolutely did not expect such a wonderful host.
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