Bracket Town Refreshed By Coca-Cola Zero

Bracket Town is the name of the NCAA Final Four fan fest. Since the Final Four is in Atlanta this year, the fan fest is being held downtown at the Georgia World Congress Center. This is right in the middle of all the action with the national semifinal and championship games being played next door at the Georgia Dome and the free «Big Dance» concert series taking place nearby at Centennial Olympic Park.
Bracket Town is an inexpensive way to take part and enjoy in some of the Final Four festivities. The event started Friday, April 5 and ends today, April 8 (on the same day as the national championship game between Louisville and Michigan). Tickets are $ 10 per person, but there are several discount deals available. For example, Groupon ran a two-​for-​one ticket deal. Groupon also ran a similar deal for last year’s Bracket Town in New Orleans, so be on the lookout if you plan to attend next year’s Final Four in North Texas (Dallas metro).
Bracket Town is essentially a giant marketing opportunity for a bunch of big companies. Every area or activity in Bracket Town has a sponsor, such as the McDonald’s Slam Dunk Zone and the Bleacher Report Sports Lounge. The big sponsors are Coke, AT&T, Capital One, and Buick. Speaking of Buick, they have 25 courtesy shuttles driving around downtown, giving people free rides. We got a free ride from Atlantic Station (location of ESPN’s College GameDay setup) to Centennial Park on Saturday.
For $ 5, it’s worth it. $ 10… is pushing it. You can play games to win prizes and lots of free stuff is handed out, though a lot of it is useless junk. Kids will like it. Clear Men Scalp Therapy has a booth and is giving out free bottles of shampoo. CBS Atlanta and McDonald’s have prize wheels you can spin for free items like sunglasses, basketball stress balls, coupons to McDonald’s, etc.
AT&T has a pointless game where you take a card and tap it to different AT&T employees’ phones. I think it’s supposed to encourage you to check out the different products AT&T has to offer, but the employees couldn’t care less about selling their products. After five successful taps, you are eligible to claim a prize such as a cord organizer or a Final Four 75^th anniversary poster. Ooh.
Games include NCAA sports such as hockey (speed shot, accuracy shot), golf (closest-​to-​the-​pin on a simulator), soccer, rugby, baseball, football (passing, receiving), and fencing. There are also several basketball courts for indoor pick-​up games. I saw a lot of kids on those on Saturday. It’s almost like their parents dropped them off there to play basketball for the day.
My favorite parts of Bracket Town are the displays and photo booths. There’s a giant bracket with this year’s field, the NCAA championship trophy, a mural painting of all the coaches who have ever won the NCAA championship, etc. Wilson has a booth that shows you how a basketball is made, from start to finish. You can see what the basketball looks like throughout each phase of the manufacturing process.
The NCAA has a photo booth where you can don the jersey of any of this year’s Final Four teams and get doctored into the team photo. There is also a mock «cutting down the nets» setup, where you can climb a ladder and pretend like you’re cutting down the nets. I like cheesy stuff like that since I’m a fan. There’s an NCAA store near the entrance where you can buy Final Four merchandise like t-​shirts and hats.
Finally, there are appearances by various college basketball players (former), coaches (current and former), and personalities. This year, the list includes Danny Manning, Clyde Drexler, Christian Laettner, Gary Williams, Bill Walton, David Robinson, Dick Vitale, Bill Raftery, Dominique Wilkins, Lenny Wilkens, Elgin Baylor, Johnny Dawkins, Brian Gregory, Mateen Cleeves, Robert Horry, and Steve Lavin. Even Atlanta Falcon Julio Jones, who has nothing to do with basketball, is on the list.
I have attended Final Four events in Atlanta in 2002, 2007, and now 2013. The attendance downtown has increased each time. It just gets bigger every year. Compared to the NBA equivalent (NBA All-​Star Jam Session), Bracket Town has a long way to go, but it’s still a fun and affordable way to spend an afternoon. It was a madhouse downtown on Saturday. If you’re going, take MARTA. Even then, the trains may be packed. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll run into one of the Buick courtesy shuttles.