Ben’s Sports Take: Welcome to Atlanta where the players play fans show up

As I sat inside the Georgia Dome press box before kickoff of the Falcons first preseason game of the 2010 season, there was an undeniable sense of energy and excitement stemming from the 65,726 fans in attendance—and this was just a preseason game.

Less than two miles away, 38,602 baseball fans filed into Turner Field to watch the first-place Braves take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

(Don’t forget about the 6,025 fans who partially filled Philips Arena to watch the Atlanta Dream)

For those of you who aren’t mathematically-inclined—or are just too lazy to add—that’s more than 110,000 sports fans occupying the venues of downtown Atlanta at one time.

Needless to say, Atlanta sports fans are back.

I’m not really sure where they went or why they left, but they’re back and that’s all that matters.

Gone are the days of mediocre teams and half-filled stadiums. No longer can you simply walk up to the ticket booth at Turner Field one hour before first pitch and purchase an upper pavilion ticket.

Those hideous teal seats that used to go unfilled inside the Georgia Dome have been replaced by red and black seats that can hardly be seen thanks to near-sellouts of every Falcons home game.

Heck, even Philips Arena was packed during the Hawks’ recent playoff appearance.

After nearly a half-decade of tedious teams and dispassionate fan bases, the Atlanta sports scene is relevant again and it’s only going to get better.