Freaknik revisited
Maybe it's been a good thing I've either been out of town or out of sorts the past couple of days. The crowds hanging around for the NBA All-Star Game and related activities created tons of traffic problems near my office and near my apartment, although thankfully I avoided all of those problems (at least up to now).

It's intriguing to see that Atlanta apparently wasn't prepared for this late-night traffic crush. City officials believed that after hosting a whole bunch of major sporting events like the Final Four, the Super Bowl, the Baseball All-Star Game, and a bunch of SEC/ACC tournament games, Peach Bowl, etc. they would be well-equipped to host this game. In fact, given the smaller capacity of Philips Arena, it might not have been as big a problem since there would be fewer people actually attending the game.

I suppose everyone should've seen this coming. Just judging from all the stories in the AJC leading up to the game, this weekend is less about the game/dunk contest/3-point shootout and more about partying and having a good time. Lots of "seen to be seen" and plenty of bling-bling. There seemed to be more stories about which celebrities were showing up at which parties and where those shindigs were as opposed to actual basketball stories (Michael Jordan's last game, the international flavor, even how weird it would be to see Philips Arena filled to capacity for a basketball game).

It's really interesting to see how different the crowds for this weekend has been compared to crowds for most of the other big sporting events that come into town. One thing that's striking is these fans have spread themselves around the city. They know about Lenox Mall, they know about Greenbriar Mall, they know about all the Buckhead clubs, Club 112, etc., etc. They know how to have a good time in this city, or at least follow all the celebrities who do know.

On the other hand, many of the fans coming for the big college events are content to stay downtown and stay within MARTA range. (Something that killed the Buckhead bars during the '96 Olympics.) They'll do the partying at the games and at the sports bars. They're here for the games. It's a completely different animal.