(Atlanta) Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a bit like the Rolls-Royce of football stadiums.
Strangely, the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC and our Olympic Stadium have several things in common: they have an unorthodox shape, people gather on a plaza overlooking a large grassy area, and it is designed to host different types of events.
The only two differences: a retractable roof and the teams that use it.
Saturday morning, downtown Atlanta was mostly peaceful. After three days of rain, the streets were damp and the weather was gloomy.
Atlanta is a city with little personality. Although several companies have established their headquarters in Georgia’s best-known city, poverty is striking. The number of homeless people and the sound of police sirens dominate the landscape.
But on the eve of the match, going to visit one of the biggest stadiums in North America was a necessity. Simply to avoid the disruption of a football Sunday and thus be able to admire this stadium in all its splendor, as close as possible.
The stadium is invisible from the city, smothered by the height of the buildings. But as you go up Martin-Luther-King Road, the characteristic points of the dome emerge. However, the landscape was polluted by road construction. We felt like home.
And the higher you go, the more visible the Mercedes-Benz stadium is. Completely gray, the stadium clearly displays its sponsor. You can barely see the angelic faces of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on the roof.
The stadium is new, sparkling, imposing and flamboyant.
Moreover, this is what is most striking at first glance. The height of the building. With its pointed architecture, a bit like a stainless steel vegetable daisy, the effect is astonishing.
This height had also marked Matthew Bergeron on his first visit to the stadium. “It’s weird, but it seems that since it’s high, it seems even bigger than it really is,” the Quebecer said a few days ago.
The stadium has been in use since 2017 and took three years and US$1.6 billion to build. It is the third newest in the NFL and 10th in capacity with 71,000 seats. It has already hosted a Super Bowl and college football finals.
The amphitheater remains the sporting emblem of the city. A pride, even, some passers-by will say. As a sports stadium in the middle of a metropolis should be.
* * *
” Sir ! Everything is fine ? “, a security guard shouts to me near the stadium, while I take a 42nd photo of the dome. Photo that will undoubtedly end up in the trash once back in Montreal, like 40 of his peers.
My appearance as a tourist in Mont-Tremblant undoubtedly aroused his suspicions. She knew I wasn’t from around here. It was that, or my University of Montreal jacket. Who knows.
” What are you doing here ? », says the woman. Donna, her first name.
“I’m here to cover Matthew Bergeron, a guy from Quebec who plays on your offensive line. »
Rarely have I seen so much doubt in the face of a lady.
Perhaps Bergeron was still unknown to him. Or it was the Saint-Jérôme accent. Who knows.
“You cover football? American Football ? We throw the ball, we don’t kick it, you know? »
Don’t count on Donna, therefore, to attend the Eastern Division semi-final between the Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. She was amazed to know that Canadians also played “real” football.
* * *
And as they went around the stadium, people dressed in pink were walking in the opposite direction. At first, they could be counted on the fingers of both hands, but they ended up being very numerous. In the distance, Crank That echoed. As in 2007, kids who perhaps did not understand the message of the song danced while swaying their hips. You know something’s up when Soulja Boy is there.
Coming down the escalators to finally reach said esplanade, a sea of people dressed in pink was there, on a gigantic grassy area.
The reason: a 3-mile walk to raise money for breast cancer research and honor survivors organized by the American Cancer Society.
People from all walks of life having in common the desire to fight this damn disease.
Women like men. After all, 2,800 men will get breast cancer in the United States in 2023 and 530 will die from it, according to the Society’s data.
Fortunately, 4 million breast cancer survivors get to see the sun rise every morning in the United States. Between 1989 and 2020, the number of survivors increased by 43%.
This is the case of Doris, who was there with her young daughter, pink wig on her head to hide her scalp damaged by treatments. His offspring danced to the sound of Baby, by Justin Bieber.
But there are also those who did not survive and who were honored. Like Edna, whose sister Maria held a sign in her honor on which appeared the face of the one who became an angel, not so long ago.
And there were dozens of signs like that. Like sweaters with thematic slogans.
At that point, football had become very secondary. Because you don’t die from sport. Breast cancer, yes. But in both cases, it is possible to find beauty. On Saturday, all these families had every intention of making something beautiful out of something ugly.
* * *
When One Direction’s You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful started playing, Malcolm quietly began to leave the scene. A random ? We’ll never know.
He wore a pink sweater that read “Your fight is our fight.”
It’s hard to guess Malcolm’s age, but he certainly knew Ray Charles in his glory years.
“I’ve lived here forever. In this neighbourhood. This street is my street,” he said as he walked along State Farm Road.
And we arrived in front of State Farm Arena, the former all-glass arena of the Atlanta Thrashers, located a five-minute walk from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Remember the Thrashers?
– Who ? he replies.
— The Thrashers, a National Hockey League club that played here with Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa…
– I do not know what you’re talking about. Here, we don’t play hockey, we play basketball. »
Malcolm therefore must not have been aware of the three-way battle in front of the Canadian’s net.
He walked into the CNN Tower saying, with his back to him and his hand in the air, “If you have any more questions, I’m your guy. »
* * *
This walk through Atlanta ended in sweat in front of the Olympic rings of the 1996 Games. When the sun sets in, it remains like a bad visit on a summer evening. The kind of visit that you walk down the aisle, but stay to chat even after the fourth “well, see you next time! »
Atlanta, city of Braves and city of braves.
City of hawks and eagles.
But a little less Thrashers.
As in Montreal and Quebec, they also lost a franchise (twice rather than once). The difference is that at home, we remember it and we still hope for it. In Atlanta, they forgot her and maybe they will find her again before long.
