Second Thoughts

Super Bowl not a peach with Atlanta

Atlanta fans are not known as being the most enthusiastic in professional sports, but someone forgot to tell that to actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Atlanta fans are not known as being the most enthusiastic in professional sports, but someone forgot to tell that to actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Atlanta does not get any love when it comes to professional sports, and Barry Chin of the Boston Globe says the Georgia city does not deserve any.

"A Super Bowl vs. the Dallas Cowboys or New York Football Giants or Green Bay Packers would have had so many more layers of story lines and history," Chin wrote. "Even a rematch with Pete the Poodle Carroll and the Seahawks would have drummed up some extra interest.

"The Atlanta Falcons?

"Meh.

"This is nobody's fault. There is no need to insult the nice folks of Atlanta, where you can drive on Peachtree Street, go to Peachtree Plaza, and order yourself a Peachtree Margarita. Atlanta is a diverse and hospitable city with friendly folks and warm temperatures. You can always get a Coke and a smile.

"But it is also a town with absolutely zero enthusiasm for professional sports. And the non-fans know it. They've been hearing it for a long time. The Falcons, Braves, and Hawks don't win championships so they don't get much love. Atlanta is a place where people play sports rather than watch them.

"The only two spectator sports that matter in Atlanta are college football ... and spring college football.

"Given the dearth of professional sports championships the city has produced, it's hard to blame Atlanta fans for their abject apathy.

"Atlanta has the Braves, the Hawks, and the Falcons. The Braves (born in Boston) came from Milwaukee, while the Hawks migrated from St. Louis. The Falcons were an NFL expansion team, born in 1966. Atlanta has had two NHL teams (Flames and Thrashers) and lost them both to cities in Canada -- because of lack of support.

"Meanwhile, two perfectly suitable 'new' stadiums (Turner Field and the Georgia Dome, both built in the 1990s) have already come and gone as Atlanta teams search for support that never arrives."

First pitch?

From Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com:

"Considering everything that is going on in USA right now can we declare a state of emergency requiring baseball to start spring training earlier?"

Advice from Manziel

Johnny Manziel sent several Twitter messages telling President Donald Trump to ignore comments about him on the social media site.

The former Cleveland quarterback whose career is in jeopardy after two tumultuous seasons with the Browns tweeted at Trump on Monday that "even I know to stay away from the notifications section on twitter."

Manziel followed by questioning why Trump responds to criticism on Twitter when there are more important things "going on in the world."

Before tweeting at Trump, the 24-year-old player said he's trying to be "a good person" and suggested he's stopped partying. He has indicated he wants to resume his NFL career.

Sports quiz

The Patriots have defeated the Falcons in their past four meetings. When was the last time Atlanta defeated New England?

Sports answer

Nov. 8, 1998: Atlanta 30, New England 10.

TIM COOPER

Sports on 01/25/2017

Upcoming Events