Adamson: Atlanta hardly worst U.S. sports town

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The Atlanta Braves' 5-1 loss to Colorado on Monday was, by and large, unremarkable. The 2009 season is still in its infancy, with another couple of months to be played before pennant races really begin to take shape.
Still, the game made history of sorts. Paid attendance was 15,364, marking the smallest crowd to watch the Braves since Turner Field opened back in 1997. It didn't get much better Tuesday night when 16.749 witnessed the Braves' 8-1 win over the Rockies.
Atlanta has been saddled with a reputation as having passive sports fans, and the sparse crowds provide more ammo for those who believe that.
Currently the Braves are 20th in Major League Baseball attendance, with 24,518 folks showing up on average at the Ted. Last season the team drew 31, 269 fans per night, no better than 14th overall.
Even during the Braves' incredible run of division titles, a streak that lasted from 1991-2005, getting tickets wasn't all that difficult. Actually it was pretty easy to get playoff tickets at face value, and there were almost always plenty of seats available.
It's as though people make a point to watch them on TV, but don't really have the desire to take in a game at the stadium.
Atlanta's other major league sports have similar stories.
Although the Falcons were woeful for much of their existence, they still have a Super Bowl appearance on their resume. Last season the team rebounded under new coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan, and still ranked 23rd among the league's 32 teams in attendance.
The Thrashers? They're near the bottom of the NHL attendance barrel in the 30th spot.
And the Hawks, who have been relatively successful the last couple of seasons, still struggle at the gate. This year they ranked 20th in the NBA in attendance.
Certainly there was a culture of losing for many, many years. I still chuckle at the infamous bumper sticker that read, "Go Braves -- and take the Falcons with you."
I think it all comes down to two things.
First, Atlanta has become an international city. You can spend an entire day there and never hear a Southern accent. While there are still plenty of homegrown Atlantans, there are thousands more from somewhere else.
Even though they live in the ATL, their sports loyalties lie somewhere else.
That might explain all the New York Rangers fans I saw at Philips Arena during the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs.
And perhaps the biggest reason is expense.
Unless you have lots of disposable income -- and most of us don't -- it's a major financial undertaking to attend a pro sporting event.
At any rate Atlanta isn't as bad a sports town as some might suggest. It's not as good as some but it's much better than others.
And not a lot should be made of May weeknight attendance at Turner Field.
Fans will have a whole lot more chances to do better.

(Contact Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C., at adamsons(at)independentmail.com.)
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