Atlanta, Georgia: The Southern City that Could
Many of us might view Atlanta, Georgia from the various well known movies. Home of the southern devotion in the civil war, with a history of slavery, towering mansions and Spanish moss covered trees blowing in the wind. But Atlanta is so much more than that and, in the last fifty years, has grown to be a major business and sports focus in the country. Atlanta proudly claims some of the best teams in the country and this is reflected in the highest quality stadiums and fields. They are especially proud of their basketball team and this is reflected in the excellence of game attendance and their basketball scoreboards.
Atlanta started out as a growing town around a railroad line. The port offered an ease of distribution of products and manufacturing quickly followed. Major industries were built almost over night and Atlanta began to grow faster than the population could keep up. The people of Atlanta were indeed members of the growing Southern gentile. Known for their hospitality, but, early on, also known for the slaves and inequality of the times. During the Civil War, the people of the city supported the Confederates, as they did not want to change their way of life. Almost all of Atlanta was burned to the ground during the invasion of the Union forces. This not only devastated the city of Atlanta, but forever changed those that resided there.
A large percentage of the residents are Black Americans and in the mid to late 1800’s the first black colleges were built. While this was a draw for the elite of the Black community, the old southern attitudes from Civil War times remained. Atlanta had a rough time trying to distinguish itself as a progressive city, with such a high level of prejudices. Industries viewed Atlanta as a place to build and many of the nation’s largest corporations began to relocate their corporate offices.
In the 1960’s, Atlanta was the center hub for the Civil Rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Atlanta home and the message of freedom and his dream of equality for all spanned out from the roots of Atlanta. The construction of the convention center brought a new light to the city, adding sports teams of the best caliber to not only call Atlanta their home base, but attracting play off games from all over the country. In the 1970’s Atlanta began to see the addition of a budding news focused channel of Turner Broadcasting. As the popularity increased, the face of Atlanta began to change to a multi-cultural metropolis. Entertainment and the arts bloomed as the population grew. Atlanta began drawing in the world of television and movie productions. In 1996, Atlanta was host to The Summer Olympics and this elevated the city to a top location in the country.
Through all of the growth, Atlanta has retained some of its original southern charm. The people are some of the friendliest in the country, freely sharing their locale and area beauty with those that visit. The quiet attitude however, changes completely when it comes to the topic of their sports teams. Fans in Atlanta can claim some of the best teams in the country in Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. Anyone that attends a game in Atlanta is in for a rare treat. The multitude of stadiums and fields, combined with the fact that Atlanta is a media hot spot, is the springboard for their renowned fans. Whether baseball, football or basketball scoreboards are being viewed everyone is loyal to their particular team.
The Atlanta of today is now a wonderful blend of the best that the south brings, along with the ability to be a multi-faceted thriving metropolis.
Sources:
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta
