Why Atlanta cannot help but be jealous of Music City and the Nashville Predators
One southeastern sports team has widely caught the nation's attention this summer, and they do not reside in Atlanta. The city of Nashville, along with its hockey team and wild fans, are the center of attention with good reason. The Nashville Predators evened up their series 2-2 with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday Night in game four of this year's Stanley Cup Finals.
The Predators were the last of 16 teams to make the NHL playoffs this season, but they have found their way to the Stanley Cup Finals while going 9-1 in home games thus far in the postseason. After attending Saturday's electric scene during game 3 at Bridgestone Arena, I have one simple question as Atlanta fan. Why can we not have this?
Atlanta's most recent NHL team, the Thrashers, were sold and moved across the northern border to Winnipeg in 2011. It seems for years since the team left it has not been too difficult to say 'hockey just wasn't meant to work in Atlanta' or 'we're not missing much anyway.' The sudden playoff run by the Preds has made me feel something as an Atlanta fan I thought I never would. I want hockey back.
Bridgestone Arena this past Saturday was truly one of the most energetic and loudest crowds I have have ever witnessed at a sporting event. From the catfish being thrown on to the ice to the 'YOU SUCK' chants being yelled by almost every fan, I had no idea the magnitude of what Nashville had going with its hockey craze.
So, why couldn't Atlanta - which has a population of roughly four million more people than Nashville - sustain a successful hockey culture similar to what we are seeing in Tennessee? If a team is not winning, people are not going to go watch them. In any city, it always comes down to that.
Atlanta fans for years have been knocked by national media for not being as loyal as other towns. People can make their own conclusions about this subject, but you are not going to find people lining up night after night to see a team that is not any good. Boston is known as one of the best sports towns in America, but no one wants to remember that the now five-time world champion Patriots had the worst attendance in the NFL 25 years ago.
It would have been nice to see the Thrashers stick around but the truth is, it did not seem like anyone really cared much when they left Atlanta. I know I did not. If you tuned in to a local sports station the day it was announced they were out, it was a side note to college football news surrounding the Jim Tressel scandal at Ohio State. This was noted by an ESPN story done the following day.
Atlanta's fans have every right to say they did not want to go see the miserable Thrasher teams, but they did not ever give them much of a chance. The Thrashers spent 12 seasons in Atlanta, making the playoffs just once. The Predators came to Nashville in 1998, and interestingly, did not win their first playoff series until the same season the Thrashers moved out of Atlanta (2010-11). Nashville stuck by its team just long enough, and it has payed off more than their fans could have ever imagined.
It also must be noted Atlanta has a MLB and NBA franchise, which can not be found in Nashville. In the end, Atlanta might just be a bit more impatient city. After all, it is the same city that decided to move out of two stadiums that were roughly 20 years old this past year, Turner Field and The Georgia Dome.
Many theories can be brought up to why Atlanta is now watching Nashville catch the sports world's attention. A city just a four-hour drive is having a blast with their NHL franchise, while Atlanta knows it will likely never get to experience the same. After having just watched the Falcons Super Bowl collapse in February, this is just something adding fuel to the fire of an Atlanta's ongoing misery.
