Hot-lanta and the SEC title game

Ok, more like cold-lanta during my final few days there, but "Hot-lanta" takes on many meanings in reference to the city of Atlanta. This city really made quite an impression on me. First, it's HUGE. The downtown area has really grown. The last time I was here was in 1996 for the summer Olympics. I remember it being a big city then, but it just really feels like it has grown so much more.

What has really grown is the ever-expanding suburban sprawl. It goes almost a mile out in each direction - and Atlanta expands in a circle. The traffic is a mess too. Thankfully, my hotel was situated near downtown and I didn't have to do too much driving in and out of there, but I get a good view of the mess on I-75 from my hotel window. They said Atlanta has the longest average commute time in the country. I believe it (although L.A. always just seems worse).

My brother Tony and his girlfriend Jen came into Atlanta for the weekend for their own reasons: their Gators were in the SEC Championship game. My brother covers the Gator football games for the school paper and for other papers, such as the Orlando Sentinel. Great gig. So, he gets to sit in the press box and then interview the team on the field and in the locker rooms after the game. Jen, on the other hand, needed someone to go to the game with, and since I was already going to be in Atlanta, I bought myself a ticket so we could watch together.

But, first came Friday night - where I met up with two old friends from high school - Fergus and Catie (Marrero) Thomas. It was great catching up with them. Fergus is working for Coca-Cola, where Tony, Jen, and I visited their "World of Coca-Cola" museum on Saturday before the game. Fergus and Catie were headed down to Macon that night, but they recommended some Atlanta bars for us to hit up on Friday night. Fergus pointed out a cool one, "The Spotted Dog", which is in an old firehouse in downtown Atlanta. It was a very cool place. It was quite quiet for a Friday night, but that gave us a chance to talk. The place is really cool - the bar stools, for example, are the actual old fire poles. The lamp shades are made out of fire extinguishers. And, the place just had a great feel to it. The firehouse had been there since 1907 - before the days of fire engines.

On Saturday, after visiting the "World of Coca-Cola" and "Underground Atlanta", we got ready for the big game. As we made our way to the Georgia Dome, Tony departed us for his press box and Jen and I went across the way to check out "The SEC Experience," which was like a mini indoor carnival. Then, we headed to the Georgia Dome and sat in the upper deck, only 10 rows from the very top. 70% of the people in our area were Arkansas fans, but we were cheering for the Gators. Ironically, our entire row was full of Gator fans, so we had our own little cheering section.

And what a game! I only cheered for the Gators because my brother goes to school there, but it was thrilling! I've never seen such a crazy game. I've been at some great Miami-FSU games (Wide Right 2 and 3 and Wide Left 1) but this was right up there. Florida eventually came away with the win, with an SEC title, and with a berth into the BCS Title Game. By the end of the game, my brother was on the field, only feet away from the SEC trophy as it was presented to the Gators. Jen and I were about 100 feet away, as we made our way down to the first rows near the 50-yard line (most of the stadium had cleared by this time). It was a fun night and fun times in Hot-lanta.