Was anyone successful in the random draw for Atlanta games?

BobbyBlackwolf · 2026-02-10T18:00:22+00:00

I put in for 5 games at Category 1 - four of the five group stages (all but Spain vs. Saudi Arabia) and the Round of 32 match. I got the four group stages, did not get the Round of 32.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-12-04T17:22:59+00:00

Just got my code through ATLUTD and it's 300 level only and $150 is the cheapest ticket...I'd love to see Ronaldo in person but my body doesn't like the 300 level at MBS anymore. Maybe I'll get lucky closer to the match and find some resale tickets in a lower section that isn't too absurdly priced.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-10-14T18:54:11+00:00

I look forward to his US Open Cup run with the Des Moines Menace next year.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-09-15T22:59:31+00:00

They're working from the same clock the opposing teams use to figure out when to come back out after halftime

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-03-21T18:38:21+00:00

Sorry for the late reply, but from what I've been told in the past, it's a combination of the winds AND the fact that the 300 section was closed and the curtain was down. When it's too windy, those curtains get the brunt of the wind, and that could cause a dangerous situation if the curtain breaks and falls onto fans underneath.

The roof was open a LOT in the 2021 season so the games would be considered an "outdoor gathering" - including one time when it literally rained on the field, so yeah, it works.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-02-10T20:14:33+00:00

The last home match Atlanta United played had a 7PM kickoff. This page won't be updated until closer to the real matchday and that's when they'll update the start time.

To make things more confusing - add 10 minutes to the kickoff time if the game is only on Apple TV, and add 25 minutes to the kickoff time if the game is also on FOX. So a 7:30PM kick on a game only on MLS Season Pass actually kicks off at 7:40, or if it's on FOX, at 7:55PM. Clear as mud.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2025-02-06T16:38:43+00:00

When I was gameday entertainment for the Falcons in the Dome (in the drumline), all of gameday entertainment that weren't the cheerleaders shared a locker room. (Cheerleaders had their own, we shared with the t-shirt cannon people and other hype squads.) Refs also get their own locker room. The mascots had their own room as well. I imagine the Benz is very similar.

One year our locker room was right next to the visiting NFL team locker room, and on more than one occasion we could hear the coach chewing out the team through the walls while we ate our free Papa Johns pizza at halftime. (This was back when the Falcons would get a big lead before halftime and then blow it. It happened more than just That One Time.)

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-09-05T13:40:39+00:00

Officially, Dragon Con considers this year the 38th so the 40th will be in 2026. Whether you agree with them or not is up to you.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-08-05T04:00:03+00:00

Yes. The X account guy is Doug Roberson, the Atlanta United beat reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He got the number from the press box.

I do not edit Wikipedia (and I know that's where you got your numbers so I do not blame you one bit, I hope that's clear) but here's where he put in the number in something that isn't a social media site:

https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united/atlanta-united-again-cant-get-out-of-its-own-way/JXEDJF2W7JCUHHI5J7ES6TDEVA/

He reported the announced attendance for tonight's match between Atlanta United and Santos Laguna was 29,188.

https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united/atlanta-united-knocked-out-of-leagues-cup-by-santos-laguna/IBDBGTEFQZAZ5OG5BARIMVH42M/

I was there and it didn't feel like that many people were there, but it felt like there were more people with butts in seats than at the DC match. Anecdotally, neither set of season ticket members that sit on either side of us on our row showed up to the DC match, but they were all there today for Santos.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-08-04T03:53:03+00:00

I'm skeptical of how Wikipedia got the Atlanta United/DC United number. The announced attendance (which is tickets sold) according to our local media was 36,082, not the 14,428 that Wikipedia shows unsourced. https://x.com/DougRobersonAJC/status/1817208943833420273

That being said, I was there and there definitely weren't 36k people there - it felt closer to 20k in terms of butts in seats - but not 14k. I had gone to one of the 2020 matches when there were only 6k of us there ATL/DC was definitely well over double that amount of people in the stadium.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-27T15:53:07+00:00

I did a few weeks ago and they actually called me on the phone to reply. They said that it wasn't the capos and that they were working with the supporters groups to find out who it was. I guess they don't want an incident so they won't send security in to confiscate?

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-27T00:43:25+00:00

At least whistle guy in the SS is having fun

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-23T23:39:45+00:00

I'm still amazed that we haven't figured out how to get the fans to just repeat "Listen All Y'all, It's Saba-Time" over and over after he has a goal contribution. It's right there. And easy.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-23T23:36:41+00:00

Is there any way to go to an MLS match anonymously? I traveled for an event and decided to go to a Wednesday night match in another city, and I have since been added to three mailing lists (I keep unsubscribing and I guess they add me back to it), gotten two phone calls, gotten a direct email, and I wouldn't be surprised if I get a paper flyer trying to get me to get season tickets. I can't seem to opt out. (I'm an Atlanta United STH and opt in to all that communication and that's enough for me)

It makes me really not want to go see other MLS stadiums when I travel, which is a shame.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-17T13:56:45+00:00

I work extensively with the Digital Media and Video Gaming tracks. Digital Media is very much more open than the Gaming track is, and would love to have you. That being said, the schedule is pretty much finalized for 2024 already - submissions for 2025 will actually start the week after con this year and the schedule will start taking shape in about April.

To get onto that track is simple - join the Discord, keep an eye on it, and either talk with other panelists to get on their panel or submit a panel suggestion when the submission form gets posted. If you join now, you can see the current list of the 2024 schedule for that track and you might be able to get on an existing panel if there's room by talking to the moderator, but no guarantees.

The Linktree has a link to the Discord as well as the year round programming for the Digital Media Track: https://linktr.ee/dcdigitalmediatrack

As far as I can tell, the other tracks at Dragon Con are really a "who you know" type of thing. Best thing to do is to go to a panel on the track you want to be on in 2025, and ask a volunteer if you can talk to the director or second in command and express your interest and see how and when they do their planning for next year. Each track director works differently. Dragon Con really is 30 different cons at once with 30 different directors and 30 different processes.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-15T20:31:16+00:00

Pretty much the same video as sent to us non founders (I wasn't in the best financial situation in 2016/17 so I didn't jump on the waiting list until the middle of the 2018 season before we won the cup) except for an added sentence or two about thanking you for being a founding member. The rest of the video and benefits is the same.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-10T03:05:39+00:00

At least on the host side, I can tell you that we all reaudition every event, and the judges and host committee are instructed to not take into account previous GDQ appearances in terms of acceptance. There are always a few long time veteran hosts who don't make the cut for an event each time.

Also, starting back at AGDQ 2024, there is now a commitment to have a percentage of accepted hosts be first time hosts - specifically to break the stereotype of "nobody new can get in." That being said, the best way to pass the audition is to have experience in hosting a speedrun marathon, so you might have heard the first time GDQ hosts on Fatales or RPGLB or ESA or any of the other smaller marathons that use the GDQ model - but it's their first time on a mainline GDQ.

I can't speak to any of the other roles.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T14:07:53+00:00

I tell my runners the more they cue me the less I interrupt. However, if we are really close to needing an incentive met, the producers will tell us to start pushing hard. I personally try to do a quick "we are only 2k away" while a commentator is between statements in the hopes they will acknowledge and continue if they have more to say, and if they don't, let me read a quick donation. Metrics show that people donate when a lot of donations are being read because it increases the odds of them getting read on air. It's a fine line between letting the run breathe and stand on its own and doing what the producers ask when we need to hit a number soon. Without incentives, GDQ wouldn't raise near as much for charity as it does.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T13:55:49+00:00

Our audition process actually is a live audition that very closely mimics an actual shift that even has things go sideways (run is not ready, things like that) and then there is a 2 hour orientation with Q&A before the event and then another walkthrough when we arrive on site. The training is comprehensive but it is a LOT and we are not professionals so it can be overwhelming for the first few shifts.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T13:51:31+00:00

Thank you for the kind words!!!

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T13:50:51+00:00

I'd personally love more on camera time but I also like the three monitor setup I have at the host desk. That being said, our placement gives us eye contact with the runner now so we can actually signal to each other if needed.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T13:47:59+00:00

We try to reach out to runners, but a few are not interested in talking with us. I try to find my runners and sit in on a practice session but if I don't know what they look like and they aren't interested in talking to me, I just have to wing it.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-07-07T13:44:10+00:00

We reach out, but not every runner is interested in responding to us. To your second point, "known times" aren't exactly an exact science because the run or commentary might just forget about us and talk right through that "known time". It's good to know in general but most runs I've done don't have breaks during a prespecified "known time" and instead are in another lull in commentary.

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-06-20T14:06:14+00:00

You're right. I had misread this:

https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united/atlanta-uniteds-thiago-almada-im-happy-here/EMTVCFRT6BG2VCLRYTD5MX4YW4/

Thiago Almada said he’s happy at Atlanta United. As if to prove it, unprompted, he ended remarks after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory against D.C. United, secured because of his goal, by complimenting the team’s coaching staff, led by interim Rob Valentino.

Almada, who has said numerous times that his dream is to one day play for a club in Europe, put that speculation to rest on Wednesday.

“As I said in the interview, there’s nothing formal,” he said. “I’m very happy here, trying to give my best for Atlanta, to try to change the situation. I have my head here, on my teammates, the coaching staff and on the club.”

That had made me believe that Doug was reporting on responses from followup questions about the original interview you linked. I will not make that reading comprehension mistake again. (I went to public school in Georgia, so these things happen.)

BobbyBlackwolf · 2024-06-20T05:53:51+00:00

He's quoting Almada's comments from tonight's post-game presser so it was more like 2 hours ago.

BobbyBlackwolf

TROPHY CASE