When it comes to Atlanta and its sports fans, we feel nothing. Maybe a little pity. …

I was in Atlanta to watch the Celtics play the Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last April. There was zero local buzz about the Hawks or the playoffs. While the Celtics and Hawks warmed up for their postseason clash, all the televisions at Philips Arena were tuned into Georgia’s intramural spring football game, for which 93,000 fans were gathered in Athens. In the next day’s local paper, coverage of Georgia’s spring practice dwarfed that of the NBA playoff game.

Given the dearth of professional sports championships the city has produced, it’s hard to blame Atlanta fans for their abject apathy.