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Farewell To The
Georgia Dome (Almost)
(live blog from the Georgia Dome)
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from FootballAtlanta.com
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By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
It really hasn’t been that long ago that I brought my family
down to the grand opening of the Georgia Dome in 1992. And, for the Falcons,
it was quite an upgrade from Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
I began covering the team when Football Atlanta was created in 1996. Over
those 21 years, as best as I can count, I have been to 192 events at the
Dome.
That includes every Falcons game except for one preseason game in 2010
when I had an appendectomy. And, only five playoff games have been played
here during that time. Another one on the way.
You can also toss in a Super Bowl, six SEC Championship games, a Sugar
Bowl and two Chick-fil-A Kickoff games. The last college game was played at
the Dome Saturday with Alabama and Washington in the college playoff
semifinal. I covered an Olympic event here in 1996 when Kerry Strug
won her gymnastics gold medal with a sprained ankle.
And, last but not least, my daughter and I had an annual tradition of
coming to the Georgia Dome for seven straight Fox97 Ultimate Oldies concerts
during the 90s. We saw everyone from The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons
and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits to The Rascals, Johnny Rivers
and Little Richard. It was always a great time with as any as 41,000
showing up one year.
Now, we are down to the final regular season NFL game at the Dome
appropriately between Atlanta and their biggest rival, the New Orleans
Saints. It will be the 25th time the two have met here.
The Saints’ season is over. But, they would love nothing more than to
keep the Falcons from getting their Week One bye, which a loss could do.
The Falcons and Saint’s combined to give Atlanta fans an early Christmas
gift last weekend when the Falcons beat Carolina and watched as the
Buccaneers lost right afterwards at New Orleans to give Atlanta its first
NFC South Championship since 2012. And that was just the beginning. That
night, Arizona pulled off an improbable win at Seattle to put the Falcons in
the driver’s seat for the #2 seed and a first round bye. A win against the
Saints would assure that.
So, still a few more memories to make. Then, we say goodbye and begin a
new relationship with the new kid on the block rising up in the Dome’s
southern shadows, The Mercedes Benz Stadium.
