SteveMandich.com Blog: Mostly Clear Night in Georgia

Ah, that's more like it.

Still way down south in Dixie, in the land of cotton, Richard Jewell, Steve Bartkowski, Whatizit and the Bronner Bros. International Hair Show. After tonight's ballgame, Turner Field is now the 25th current stadium I’ve been to a game at, and 31st overall, leaving only Toronto, Minnesota, Chicago (Cubs), Florida (Marlins), and Tampa Bay (Rays). I had a Georgia Dog and Tomahawk Amber Ale.

My history with the Braves started as a teenager in the '80s, watching "America’s Team" on SuperStation WTBS, if only to catch opposing NL stars like Dwight Gooden, Tony Gwynn and Dave Parker. In the early '90s, seeing Ted Turner and Jane Fonda doing the Tomahawk Chop on TV was fairly annoying, but after observing it in person tonight, I've decided it's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever seen in all the live sports events I've ever attended. (Except for Turner Field's illiterate, 40-foot Chik-fil-A cow statue, which also does the Chop.) The stupidest rainout thing I've ever seen was last night, when the stadium video screen showed a lengthly Chipper Jones bow hunting video.

Anyway, I'm still glad I went. For the record, the Bravos beat the Ny Mets squadron, 4-2. Due to last night's rainout, it rescheduled as the second game of tonight's doubleheader. However, I missed the first game due to sightseeing, much of it spent on rotating platforms. First I spun around on the Cyclorama, viewing a four-story, 360-degree Civil War oil painting. Then I spun around atop the Peachtree Plaza Hotel, 73 floors up (I'm a total sucker for observation decks).

Elsewhere, I strolled around Phillips Arena (home of the Thrashers and Hawks) and the Georgia Dome (home of the Falcons) and took the CNN tour, which was fairly cool. However, being a Saturday, there wasn't any live broadcasting to be seen. (In the CNN gift shop, you can buy a CNN snuggie and/or a Dale Gribble "Guns Don't Kill People, The Government Does" T-shirt.) At the Varsity, I had a chili dog, a chili burger and a Coke (had to have at least one here).