History UsefulNotes / Atlanta

* ''Film/TheGeneral'', is based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Locomotive_Chase the Great Locomotive Chase]] of 1862 that started in what is now Kennesaw, just north of Atlanta.

Atlanta is both the largest-populated city and the state capital of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia|USA}}, and the largest metropolitan area in the DeepSouth[[note]]If you don't consider UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Southern that is. If you do, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} is the largest Southern city, and [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas–Fort Worth]] is its largest metropolitan area. [[/note]], best known for being the current center of the HipHop world. The Coca-Cola Company (Pepsi is North Carolina blasphemy)[[note]]Coca-Cola's influence is in fact so large that "Coke" has become the [[BrandNameTakeover generic term]] for soft drinks in much of the South; ironically, however, Pepsi actually ''outsold'' Coca-Cola during the 1996 Olympics mentioned in the page quote. Bear in mind this is not something to bring up to an Atlanta local in polite company.[[/note]], Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have headquarters here. [[UsefulNotes/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] (which owns CNN, Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/{{TBS}} and Creator/{{TNT}}) is also based there (having grown out of an independent TV station on channel 17). Atlanta can roughly be divided to areas within and outside Interstate 285, a beltway highway that is known for insane traffic and referred to by locals as "The Perimeter". Atlanta also has the busiest airport in the world and if you have flown in or through the US more than a couple of times, you ''will'' have had a layover there at least once.

Atlanta is both the largest-populated city and the state capital of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia|USA}}, and the largest metropolitan area in the DeepSouth[[note]]If you don't consider UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Southern that is. If you do, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} is the largest Southern city, and [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas–Fort Worth]] is its largest metropolitan area.[[/note]], best known for being the current center of the HipHop world. The Coca-Cola Company (Pepsi is North Carolina blasphemy)[[note]]Coca-Cola's influence is in fact so large that "Coke" has become the [[BrandNameTakeover generic term]] for soft drinks in much of the South; ironically, however, Pepsi actually ''outsold'' Coca-Cola during the 1996 Olympics mentioned in the page quote. Bear in mind this is not something to bring up to an Atlanta local in polite company.[[/note]], Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have headquarters here. [[UsefulNotes/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] (which owns CNN, Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/{{TBS}} and Creator/{{TNT}}) is also based there (having grown out of an independent TV station on channel 17). Atlanta can roughly be divided to areas within and outside Interstate 285, a beltway highway that is known for insane traffic and referred to by locals as "The Perimeter". Atlanta also has the busiest airport in the world and if you have flown in or through the US more than a couple of times, you ''will'' have had a layover there at least once.

Atlanta is both the largest-populated city and the state capital of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia|USA}}, and the largest metropolitan area in the DeepSouth[[note]]If you don't consider UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Southern that is. If you do, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} is the largest Southern city, and [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas–Fort Worth]] is its largest metropolitan area. In the eyes of Uncle Sam, both Texas and Georgia are in the Southeast, so Houston is the largest "Southern" city and DFW its largest metro. In the eyes of everyone else--including Northerners who know the first thing about cultural geography--Uncle Sam knows where to stuff it. For this reason, you will often hear the phrase "east of the Mississippi River" when describing Georgia's comparisons to other states.[[/note]], best known for being the current center of the HipHop world. The Coca-Cola Company (Pepsi is North Carolina blasphemy)[[note]]Coca-Cola's influence is in fact so large that "Coke" has become the [[BrandNameTakeover generic term]] for soft drinks in much of the South; ironically, however, Pepsi actually ''outsold'' Coca-Cola during the 1996 Olympics mentioned in the page quote. Bear in mind this is not something to bring up to an Atlanta local in polite company.[[/note]], Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have headquarters here. [[UsefulNotes/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] (which owns CNN, Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/{{TBS}} and Creator/{{TNT}}) is also based there (having grown out of an independent TV station on channel 17). Atlanta can roughly be divided to areas within and outside Interstate 285, a beltway highway that is known for insane traffic and referred to by locals as "The Perimeter". Atlanta also has the busiest airport in the world and if you have flown in or through the US more than a couple of times, you ''will'' have had a layover there at least once.

* The Hawks are an [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] team that have a logo that looks suspiciously like VideoGame/PacMan. Another middle-of-the-pack team, also owned by Ted Turner for a few years. Their most notable player in recent history was Dominique Wilkins, nine-time All-Star, two-time Slam Dunk champion, and often cast as one of UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan's [[WorthyOpponent Worthy Opponents]].

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. Most hockey fans outside of Atlanta, especially traditionalists, generally accept the narrative that both the Flames and Thrashers failed due to a lack of fan support; however, many Atlanta hockey fans argue it was other factors, namely economic issues in the case of the Flames and the abysmal ownership of the Thrashers, that caused them to lose their teams. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the collapse of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling lockout of 2004-05. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for its internal discord, with its partners suing one another. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws, making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes had remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation, coming to a head in 2022, after the team was evicted from their arena in Glendale, and was subsequently sold and moved to Utah in 2024.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Despite this, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the NHL will eventually give the Peach State a third try, should the right opportunity arise, and deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly has remarked that the league is open to returning to Atlanta, believing that the challenges of the area's two prior teams could now be overcome. As of March 2024, there are ''two'' competing proposals to bring an NHL franchise back to the Atlanta metro area, both of which are planned to be based near Alpharetta, 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. One proposal is the Gathering at South Forysth, led by businessman Vernon Krause, and the other proposal is a redevelopment of the North Point Mall site, led by former NHL player Anson Carter, who moved to the Atlanta metro area after retiring. The Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators of the minor league ECHL has been based in Duluth since 2003, making them the longest continuously operating pro hockey team in not only metro Atlanta, but the entire state; Carter also has owned a minority stake in the Gladiators since 2022.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. Most hockey fans outside of Atlanta, especially traditionalists, generally accept the narrative that both the Flames and Thrashers failed due to a lack of fan support; however, many Atlanta hockey fans argue it was other factors, namely economic issues in the case of the Flames and the abysmal ownership of the Thrashers, that caused them to lose their teams. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the collapse of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling lockout of 2004-05. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for its internal discord, with its partners suing one another. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws, making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes had remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation, coming to a head in 2022, after the team was evicted from their arena in Glendale, and the Coyotes are all but confirmed to move to Salt Lake City once the 2023--24 season ends, pending owners' approval.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Despite this, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the NHL will eventually give the Peach State a third try, should the right opportunity arise, and deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly has remarked that the league is open to returning to Atlanta, believing that the challenges of the area's two prior teams could now be overcome. As of March 2024, there are ''two'' competing proposals to bring an NHL franchise back to the Atlanta metro area, both of which are planned to be based near Alpharetta, 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. One proposal is the Gathering at South Forysth, led by businessman Vernon Krause, and the other proposal is a redevelopment of the North Point Mall site, led by former NHL player Anson Carter, who moved to the Atlanta metro area after retiring. The Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators of the minor league ECHL has been based in Duluth since 2003, making them the longest continuously operating pro hockey team in not only metro Atlanta, but the entire state; Carter also has owned a minority stake in the Gladiators since 2022.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. Most hockey fans outside of Atlanta, especially traditionalists, generally accept the narrative that both the Flames and Thrashers failed due to a lack of fan support; however, many Atlanta hockey fans argue it was other factors, namely economic issues in the case of the Flames and the abysmal ownership of the Thrashers, that caused them to lose their teams. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the collapse of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling lockout of 2004-05. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for its internal discord, with its partners suing one another. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws, making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation, especially since 2022, after the Coyotes were evicted from Gila River Arena in Glendale and moved into a sub-5,000 seat college arena on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Despite this, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the NHL will eventually give the Peach State a third try, should the right opportunity arise, and deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly has remarked that the league is open to returning to Atlanta, believing that the challenges of the area's two prior teams could now be overcome. As of March 2024, there are ''two'' competing proposals to bring an NHL franchise back to the Atlanta metro area, both of which are planned to be based near Alpharetta, 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. One proposal is the Gathering at South Forysth, led by businessman Vernon Krause, and the other proposal is a redevelopment of the North Point Mall site, led by former NHL player Anson Carter, who moved to the Atlanta metro area after retiring. The Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators of the minor league ECHL has been based in Duluth since 2003, making them the longest continuously operating pro hockey team in not only metro Atlanta, but the entire state; Carter also has owned a minority stake in the Gladiators since 2022.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. Most hockey fans outside of Atlanta, especially traditionalists, generally accept the narrative that both the Flames and Thrashers failed due to a lack of fan support; however, many Atlanta hockey fans argue it was other factors, namely poor ownership, that caused them to lose their teams. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the collapse of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling lockout of 2004-05. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for its internal discord, with its partners suing one another. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws, making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation, especially since 2022, when the Coyotes moved into a sub-5,000 seat college arena.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Despite this, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the NHL will eventually give the Peach State a third try, should the right opportunity arise, and deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly has remarked that the league is open to returning to Atlanta, believing that the challenges of the area's two prior teams could now be overcome. As of March 2024, there are ''two'' competing proposals to bring an NHL franchise back to the Atlanta metro area, both of which are planned to be based near Alpharetta, 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. One proposal is the Gathering at South Forysth, led by businessman Vernon Krause, and the other proposal is a redevelopment of the North Point Mall site, led by former NHL player Anson Carter, who moved to the Atlanta metro area after retiring. The Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators of the minor league ECHL has been based in Duluth since 2003, making them the longest continuously operating pro hockey team in not only metro Atlanta, but the entire state.

It was originally founded in 1837 as the end-point of a railroad line to [[UsefulNotes/{{Tennessee}} Chattanooga]], for passengers and freight to be transferred from that rail line to a train to Savannah. This intended function was reflected in the city's original name: Terminus, a name with which an early-to-mid 1990s street-traffic-control software system (home-grown by Georgia Tech's computer-science department) was christened as an [[FunWithAcronyms abbeviation]] for '''T'''raffic '''E'''vent '''R'''esponse & '''M'''anagement for '''I'''ntelligent '''N'''avigation '''U'''sing '''S'''ignals, which at the time was considered state-of-the-art, that adjusted traffic-light timing on-the-fly to adapt to fluctuations in traffic congestion on Atlanta's streets, developed explicitly as part of preparations for hosting the 1994 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl and the 1996 Summer UsefulNotes/OlympicGames. It worked better than expected.[[note]]Transportation department officials could feed in a tentative pre-scheduled set of signal-timings based on events that would probably cause congestion such as a sports-game predicted to have high attendance. If that game got cancelled, the Terminus software system would detect the lack of congestion, and correct the traffic-light timings to what they would have been set to in the absence of the predicted traffic-jam.[[/note]]

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the bottoming out of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for both external and internal serial litigation. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some fans also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Despite this, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating by NHL insiders that the league is looking to expand to Atlanta and Houston, and there is a proposal by Metro Atlanta businessman Vernon Krause to build a mixed-use development, the Gathering at South Forsyth, anchored by an NHL-sized arena in Forsyth County near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the bottoming out of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout. The Thrashers were grossly neglected in favor of the Hawks by their ownership, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, a group notorious for both external and internal serial litigation. With no suitors willing to deal with Atlanta Spirit, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some fans also criticize the NHL front office of seemingly violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating by NHL insiders that the league is looking to expand to Atlanta and Houston, and there is a proposal by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development, the Gathering at South Forsyth, anchored by an NHL-sized arena in Forsyth County near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the war between the NHL and the World Hockey Association as well as the bottoming out of Atlanta's real estate market in the 1970s caused then-owner Tom Cousins to bleed money on the Flames, selling the team to Nelson Skalbania, who moved them to Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout; they were not helped by their apathetic owners, ironically named Atlanta Spirit, who cared more about the Hawks than they did the Thrashers. With no suitors willing to deal with the Hawks' ownership group, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit, who acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, had been in protracted external and internal legal disputes for practically their entire existence, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. While many Atlanta hockey fans blame Atlanta Spirit for the Thrashers' demise, some fans also accuse the NHL front office of violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), many Atlanta hockey fans argue that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. Some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating by NHL insiders that the league is looking to expand to Atlanta and Houston, and there is a proposal by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development, the Gathering at South Forsyth, anchored by an NHL-sized arena in Forsyth County near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. After the novelty of ice hockey in the Deep South wore off, the Flames couldn't consistently fill the Omni, nor could they find stable ownership in town, so the team was sold to Nelson Skalbania and moved to Calgary in 1980, keeping the Flames name. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout; they were not helped by apathetic owners who cared more about the Hawks than they did the Thrashers. Again with no willing suitors to keep the team in town, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit, who acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, had been in protracted external and internal legal disputes for practically their entire existence, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. Some Thrashers fans also accuse the NHL front office of violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), many Atlanta hockey fans argue that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada; Atlanta is often seen as the butt of jokes by traditionalists about how any Canadian expansion team has to start off in Atlanta. Some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating by NHL insiders that the league is looking to expand (or relocate) to Atlanta and Houston, and there is a proposal by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development anchored by an NHL-sized arena in Forsyth County. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

While Atlanta may have bad luck with its professional sports teams, the city is often considered the de facto capital of UsefulNotes/CollegeFootball. The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta is home to the SEC Championship Game, having been played there since 1994[[note]]the first two editions were played in Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field[[/note]], and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the member bowls of the "New Years Six" and every three years, host to one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games; during the Bowl Championship Series era, the Peach Bowl was one of the highest attended and highest paying non-BCS bowl games. Atlanta also hosts the annual Celebration Bowl, the de facto national championship among historically black colleges and universities in Division I football. The Metro Atlanta area is home to two FBS schools; the highly prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech) in midtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Atlantic Coast Conference]], while Georgia State University in downtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Sun Belt]]. Additionally, there is Kennesaw State University in nearby Marietta, who will make the FCS-FBS transition in 2024 when they join [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Conference USA]]. However, the most popular college football program among Atlantans doesn't call the city home--that honor goes to the University of Georgia, located 70 miles northeast in Athens and play in the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Southeastern Conference]].

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. After the novelty of ice hockey in the Deep South wore off, the Flames couldn't consistently fill the Omni, nor could they find stable ownership in town, so the team was sold to Nelson Skalbania and moved to Calgary in 1980, keeping the Flames name. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout; they were not helped by apathetic owners who cared more about the Hawks than they did the Thrashers. Again with no willing suitors to keep the team in town, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit, who acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, had been in protracted external and internal legal disputes for practically their entire existence, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. Some Thrashers fans also accuse the NHL front office of violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), many Atlanta hockey fans argue that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists, fueled in part by their general animosity towards NHL teams in the Sun Belt, want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada. However, some Atlanta hockey fans remain optimistic that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating that the NHL is looking to either expand or relocate to both Atlanta and Houston (with the latter being a likely landing spot for the Coyotes if their attempts to stay in Arizona ultimately fail), and there was a proposal in April 2023 by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development anchored by an NHL-sized arena near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

Those with more geeky inclinations can easily find a place in Atlanta. Downtown is overtaken every Labor Day weekend by the massive celebration of all things geek known as Dragon Con. [=MomoCon=][[note]]With "momo" being the Japanese word for peach, and Georgia is known as the Peach State[[/note]] is a newer and smaller but fast-growing multi-genre con which takes place around the Memorial Day weekend. [=MomoCon=] was originally held at Georgia Tech's Student Center, hosted by the Institute's anime club and offered free attendance, with merchandise sales raising funds for future events; however, increasing attendance as well as rising costs forced the con to start charging a membership fee and move to larger spaces, eventually moving to the Georgia World Congress Center in 2015. While both Dragon Con and [=MomoCon=] are similar in terms of featured guests and events, the former skews older and focuses more on sci-fi and fantasy while the latter is more anime-focused and skews towards a younger audience.[[note]]There are several other annual cons held in the Atlanta Metro area, including [[FilkSong GAFilk]] in January, and [=FrolicCon=] on Easter weekend, which is, somewhat bizarrely, a combination SF&F/[[UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} BDSM]] convention[[/note]]. And the weirdness central that is Creator/AdultSwim (and the anime/action animation central that is Creator/{{Toonami}}) originates from an old Turner Broadcasting facility on Williams Street [[note]]this is why Adult Swim programming is produced by Williams Street Studios; the Interstate divides it from the Techwood campus that most of the other Turner nets are based at; the "Turner mansion" (as seen in the 1990s on Turner-released home videos and movies) is the central part of that complex[[/note]].

* ''ATL''

While Atlanta may have bad luck with its professional sports teams, the city is often considered the de facto capital of UsefulNotes/CollegeFootball. The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta is home to the SEC Championship Game, having been played there since 1994[[note]]the first two editions were played in Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field[[/note]], and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the member bowls of the "New Years Six" and every three years, host to one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games; during the Bowl Championship Series era, the Peach Bowl was one of the highest attended and highest paying non-BCS bowl games. Atlanta also hosts the annual Celebration Bowl, the de facto national championship among historically black colleges and universities in Division I football. The Metro Atlanta area is home to two FBS schools; the highly prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech) in midtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Atlantic Coast Conference]], while Georgia State University in downtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Sun Belt]]. Additionally, there is Kennesaw State University in nearby Marietta, who will make the FCS-FBS transition in 2024 with they join [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Conference USA]]. However, the most popular college football program among Atlantans doesn't call the city home--that honor goes to the University of Georgia, located 70 miles northeast in Athens and play in the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Southeastern Conference]].

While Atlanta may have bad luck with its professional sports teams, the city is often considered the de facto capital of UsefulNotes/CollegeFootball. The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta is home to the SEC Championship Game, having been played there since 1994[[note]]the first two editions were played in Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field[[/note]], and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the member bowls of the "New Years Six" and every three years, host to one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games; during the Bowl Championship Series era, the Peach Bowl was one of the highest attended and highest paying non-BCS bowl games. Atlanta also hosts the annual Celebration Bowl, the de facto national championship among historically black colleges and universities in Division I football. The Metro Atlanta area is home to two FBS schools; the highly prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech) in midtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/Atlantic Coast Conference]], while Georgia State University in downtown play in the [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Sun Belt]]. Additionally, there is Kennesaw State University in nearby Marietta, who will make the FCS-FBS transition in 2024 with they join [[UsefulNotes/GroupOfFiveConferences Conference USA]]. However, the most popular college football program among Atlantans doesn't call the city home--that honor goes to the University of Georgia, located 70 miles northeast in Athens and play in the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferneces Southeastern Conference]].

While Atlanta may have bad luck with its professional sports teams, the city is often considered the de facto capital of UsefulNotes/CollegeFootball. The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta is home to the SEC Championship Game, having been played there since 1994[[note]]the first two editions were played in Birmingham, Alabama's Legion Field[[/note]], and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the member bowls of the "New Years Six" and every three years, host to one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games; during the Bowl Championship Series era, the Peach Bowl was one of the highest attended and highest paying non-BCS bowl games. Atlanta also hosts the annual Celebration Bowl, the de facto national championship among historically black colleges and universities in Division I football.

Those with more geeky inclinations can easily find a place in Atlanta. The Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech), one of the largest and most prestigious polytechnic universities in the country, is located right in Midtown. Downtown is overtaken every Labor Day weekend by the massive celebration of all things geek known as Dragon Con. [=MomoCon=][[note]]With "momo" being the Japanese word for peach, and Georgia is known as the Peach State[[/note]] is a newer and smaller but fast-growing multi-genre con which takes place around the Memorial Day weekend. [=MomoCon=] was originally held at Georgia Tech's Student Center, hosted by the Institute's anime club and offered free attendance, with merchandise sales raising funds for future events; however, increasing attendance as well as rising costs forced the con to start charging a membership fee and move to larger spaces, eventually moving to the Georgia World Congress Center in 2015. While both Dragon Con and [=MomoCon=] are similar in terms of featured guests and events, the former skews older and focuses more on sci-fi and fantasy while the latter is more anime-focused and skews towards a younger audience.[[note]]There are several other annual cons held in the Atlanta Metro area, including [[FilkSong GAFilk]] in January, and [=FrolicCon=] on Easter weekend, which is, somewhat bizarrely, a combination SF&F/[[UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} BDSM]] convention[[/note]]. And the weirdness central that is Creator/AdultSwim (and the anime/action animation central that is Creator/{{Toonami}}) originates from an old Turner Broadcasting facility on Williams Street [[note]]this is why Adult Swim programming is produced by Williams Street Studios; the Interstate divides it from the Techwood campus that most of the other Turner nets are based at; the "Turner mansion" (as seen in the 1990s on Turner-released home videos and movies) is the central part of that complex[[/note]].

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. After the novelty of ice hockey in the Deep South wore off, the Flames couldn't consistently fill the Omni, nor could they find stable ownership in town, so the team was sold to Nelson Skalbania and moved to Calgary in 1980, keeping the Flames name. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout; they were not helped by apathetic owners who cared more about the Hawks than they did the Thrashers. Again with no willing suitors to keep the team in town, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit, who acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, had been in protracted external and internal legal disputes for practically their entire existence, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. Some Thrashers fans also accuse the NHL front office of violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), many Atlanta hockey fans argue that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its NHL teams to Canada as well as traditionalists' general animosity towards NHL teams based in the Sun Belt region. However, some Atlanta hockey fans believe that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating that the NHL is looking to either expand or relocate to both Atlanta and Houston (with the latter being a likely landing spot for the Coyotes if their attempts to stay in Arizona ultimately fail), and there was a proposal in April 2023 by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development anchored by an NHL-sized arena near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.

* Atlanta has a huge rap and hip-hop scene, perhaps best known for spearheading the "Dirty South" movement, one of rap's most popular. A vast amount, possibly a majority nowadays, of rappers come from Atlanta, which produces a wide variety of acts such as Music/{{Outkast}} (composed of Big Boi and Andre 3000), Music/SouljaBoy, Music/LilJon, Music/{{Ludacris}}, [=D4L=], Gucci Mane, Music/TwoChainz, Music/{{TI}}, Music/{{Future}}, Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy, before he got old and the stage name stopped being accurate), Music/WakaFlockaFlame, Rasheeda, [[Music/RunTheJewels Killer Mike]], Crime Mob, Ying Yang Twins, Jazze Pha, Music/ChildishGambino (Donald Glover's hip hop moniker), Dem Franchize Boys, Young Dro, Rich Homie Quan, Lil' Scrappy, Gorilla Zoe, Youngbloodz, Travis Porter, Music/{{Migos}}, Field Mob, Music/BoB, Drumma Boy, Roscoe Dash, Yung Wun, I-20, Cyhi The Prynce, OJ Da Juiceman, Slick Pulla, Boyz n da Hood, Silentó, Pastor Troy, Music/PlayboiCarti, Yung Wun, Young Thug, Gunna, Unk, Trinidad James, Bone Crusher, Polow da Don, Yung Joc and J.I.D.

* The Braves are a [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Major League Baseball]] team that started in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, moved to UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, and finally ended up in Atlanta in 1966. They've won four World Series, two in their former home cities (1914 and 1957 in Boston and Milwaukee respectively) and two in Atlanta (1995 and 2021). Its players have included Hank Aaron who was the Home Run Champion to top Babe Ruth, and it was formerly owned by UsefulNotes/TedTurner, and as such had most of their games broadcast on cable station Creator/{{TBS}} from 1973 to 2007. They did very well and were popular enough in the 1990s to be nicknamed "America's Team"[[note]]pushed heavily by TBS, but anyone outside the Metro Atlanta area who called them that was doing so ironically[[/note]], but entered a slump in the 2000s. Even during their long streak of Division pennants, they were the poster-child for EveryYearTheyFizzleOut, netting one World Series win in 14 playoff appearances. In 2010, longtime manager[[labelnote:*]](for those of you not familiar with baseball terminology, a professional team's head coach is titled "manager")[[/labelnote]] Bobby Cox, known for being AFatherToHisMen (and being one of the most ejected managers in MLB) retired. In 2017, the Braves opened a new ballpark in suburban Cobb County, Truist Park.

* Atlanta had two different [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] teams, both of which ultimately left for Canada. The Flames[[note]]an allusion to Sherman's burning of Atlanta[[/note]], founded in 1972, enjoyed modest success on the ice but had a bad reputation of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut come the Stanley Cup playoffs. After the novelty of ice hockey in the Deep South wore off, the Flames couldn't consistently fill the Omni, nor could they find stable ownership in town, so the team was sold to Nelson Skalbania and moved to Calgary in 1980, keeping the Flames name. The Thrashers[[note]]named after the state bird; the nickname had also been considered for both the Flames and the NFL's Falcons[[/note]], a 1999 expansion team, struggled both on and off the ice, ''especially'' after the infamous season-cancelling 2004-05 lockout; they were not helped by apathetic owners who cared more about the Hawks than they did the Thrashers. Again with no willing suitors to keep the team in town, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment in 2011, relocated to Winnipeg and [[ReplacementGoldfish renamed]] the [[InNameOnly Jets]]. While there are still (mostly older) fans of the Flames in Atlanta despite their move to Alberta over four decades ago, the Jets receive ''[[https://apnews.com/279a76ae61534533b0d135c9123de184/Column:-Atlanta-hockey-fans-cheering-Anybody-But-The-Jets absolutely no love]]'' from many Atlanta hockey fans.[[note]]True North initially planned to acquire the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, who went bankrupt in 2009 and at the time, was under league control, to bring the ''original'' Jets franchise back to Winnipeg; however, the NHL was adamant that the Coyotes remain in Arizona. Atlanta Spirit, who acquired the Hawks, Thrashers, and the operating rights to Philips (now State Farm) Arena from Time Warner in 2004, had been in protracted external and internal legal disputes for practically their entire existence, and wanted to sell off the Thrashers as soon as legally possible, only obtaining the uncontested legal ownership of the Thrashers in late 2010/early 2011 after settling a lawsuit with an ex-partner. Atlanta Spirit allegedly refused any offers from outside parties to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta, since they, at the time, wanted to maintain control of the arena's operations and the Hawks, although Atlanta Spirit would start trying to find new suitors for the Hawks not long after offloading the Thrashers to True North, eventually selling the Hawks and arena operations to a group led by Tony Ressler in 2015. Some Thrashers fans also accuse the NHL front office of violating the league's by-laws by making no good faith efforts to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta as they have done for practically every other struggling franchise threatening to relocate. While not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), many Atlanta hockey fans argue that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the Coyotes have since remained under the perennial threat of relocation.[[/note]] Most hockey traditionalists want to permanently write off Atlanta as a lost cause, since the city lost both of its teams to Canada. However, some Atlanta hockey fans believe that the league will eventually give the Peach State a third shot, should the right opportunity arise. Since March 2023, rumors have been circulating that the NHL is looking to either expand or relocate to both Atlanta and Houston (with the latter being a likely landing spot for the Coyotes should their attempts to build an arena in Tempe fail), and there was a proposal in April 2023 by a large metro area car dealer to build a mixed-use development anchored by an NHL-sized arena near Alpharetta. The Atlanta metro area still has a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, the Atlanta (nee Gwinnett) Gladiators, based in Duluth since 2003, having outlived both the Flames and Thrashers ''combined''.
* Atlanta United FC is probably the exception to the rule. They began play in UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer in 2017. The team is owned by Falcons owner Arthur Blank and shares the new Falcons' stadium. They won the MLS Cup playoffs in their sophomore season, broke attendance records several times over, and are now the most valuable soccer team in the United States.