MORE PHOTOS Credit: Tom Lynn Geary Beyler of Madison cheers as Green Bay Packers fans fill the Hudson Grille in Atlanta for a pep rally.

By of the

Atlanta — Green and gold jerseys? Check.

Beer? Absolutely.

Cheeseheads on Atlanta's main drag, Peachtree St.? Yep, right over there.

Welcome to Packer Nation, the Southern tour.

Green Bay Packers fans are massing for Saturday night's NFC playoff game between the No. 6 seed Packers and No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.

By jet and by car, hundreds of Packers fans began to arrive Friday in a city that was stopped in its tracks for most of the week by a Big Chill - a snowstorm that turned highways into ice rinks and forced the closure of offices, schools and even grocery stores.

But with warmer temperatures and sunny skies melting away much of the icy mess, Atlanta is now ready for the Big Game.

"You've got us hands down when it comes to how to deal with the snow," said Ivory Lee Young Jr., a member of Atlanta's city council. "I think we'll have you hands down in the Georgia Dome when it comes to a great day of football."

The playoff game matches two men who may be the sport's next great quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and Matt Ryan of the Falcons.

It also brings together two powerful, ball-hawking defenses

And, ultimately, it puts on display two franchises - the Packers trying to return to glory and the Falcons enjoying one of their best runs ever.

The winner moves one step closer to the Super Bowl, meeting either Seattle or Chicago in the NFC title game.

Packers fans are confident their team will advance.

Friday night, they gathered at the Hudson Grille, a swanky sports bar in the Midtown neighborhood, near the campus of Georgia Tech.

The bar shipped in 300 pounds of Johnsonville Brats and a few cases of cheese to make the fans feel right at home.

Fans make trek

Scott Kennedy, a construction worker from Brown Deer, drove down here with six of his friends, including one who decided at the last minute to make the trip, and hopped in the minivan at the Ryan Road park-and-ride lot south of Milwaukee.

It was a 12-hour overnight trip, door to door.

"They got the magic going," a bleary-eyed Kennedy said of the Packers.

He and his friends planned on staying in Atlanta to watch Sunday's Seattle-Chicago game, before heading home.

"Then we'll book our flights to Seattle," Kennedy said, calling for a Seahawk upset over the Bears.

Fans accustomed to sitting in the cold at Lambeau Field are poised to deal with the climate-controlled conditions and raucous atmosphere inside the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons are imploring their followers to turn up the volume whenever the Packers have the ball. They want the crowd noise to top 115 decibels - around the threshold of pain.

"They can make all the noise they want, we're going to make the points," said Diane Viner, who drove in from La Crosse with her husband, Carl, a construction worker and snowplow operator.

Larry Thompson, an Eau Claire native who lives in nearby Loganville, brought his wife, Diane, and daughter, Maria, to the party to soak up the Wisconsin atmosphere.

They don't have tickets to the game, but they made sure to dress in their best green and gold shirts.

"It's a lot different down here," Thompson said. "There are (transplanted) fans from everywhere, New England, Green Bay, New York. People only support the Falcons when they win."

Former Packers' wide receiver Antonio Freeman said the Falcons made a mistake "by opening the door" to Packers fans to buy tickets.

"Our fans are louder, and we'll win," Freeman said.

"We're going to win, man," added former Packers running back Dorsey Levens.

Mark Murphy, president and CEO of the Packers, said the said two keys for the Packers against Atlanta are shutting down the Falcons' running game and making the key offensive plays in short-yardage situations near the goal line.

"We're very confident if we play well, play our game, we'll come away with a victory," Murphy said.

Not everyone was happy about the thought of Packers fans enjoying themselves in Atlanta, though.

"I've received some death threats (via e-mail) about hosting this event. They think it's wrong," said Russ Adams, the bar manager.

But Adams wasn't worried - he was just trying to do his part to stir up some business in a city suffering from a massive dose of cabin fever after the snowstorm.

"We hope people enjoy themselves and that they'll come back and visit Atlanta," he said.

Adams said on Saturday night the bar would be full again, this time with Falcons fans.

"People are more into the team this year," Adams said. "We're doing a lot better."

But Packers fans say Saturday night will mark the end of the season . . . for Atlanta.

See video, photos at JSOnline.com Go to JSOnline.com for photos and video of the Packers pep rally and check JSOnline during and after tonight's game for a live blog, more photos and updates.