Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s Train Horn is Awesome

Whenever the Atlanta Falcons score a touchdown or the United score a goal the sound of a train horn is emitted from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and it’s awesome.

Those who watched the the Sunday Night Football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers might have noticed something different, other than the obvious (the obvious being the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium as a whole).

The match itself played out almost exactly like the NFC Championship game, with the Falcons dominating and the Packers not being able to score much until they were faced with soft zone defense in garbage time. The difference was the sound omitted throughout the stadium whenever the Falcons made their way into the end zone (and it happened a lot) — the sound of a train horn ringing amid the celebration.

This has been somewhat of a polarizing topic in the aftermath of the game; many people like the train horn being let loose, some people don’t. I’m here to tell you that everything about that train horn is absolutely awesome!

There’s a reason why the powers that be chose to implement a train horn in the new stadium, it wasn’t just random. For those who don’t know, Atlanta is a town which was founded on the implementation of a railroad connecting the port of Savannah to the Midwest. Before it was given the name “Atlanta” the town was called “Terminus”. Trains are literally the foundation of this city. There’s even a railroad line right across the street from the stadium.

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An association between a sports franchise and its city’s history is something often treasured, especially in Atlanta.

Before the professional hockey team relocated to Winnipeg, its name while representing the city of Atlanta was the “Thrashers”, which is the state bird of Georgia. After the name Terminus didn’t stick, the town was renamed “Thrasherville” as well.

When the Atlanta Hawks revealed their new jerseys two years ago they dedicated the away jerseys to the state, calling it “Georgia Granite Grey”. There was also a period of time during this past basketball season where the Hawks would play a Coca-Cola sound effect whenever the team hit back-to-back free throws. Coke of course being the beverage giant which was founded in the city of Atlanta, and which holds its main headquarters just a few blocks from Phillips Arena.

The new soccer team, Atlanta United, also embraces the history. Its biggest supporter section is named “Terminus Legion” for the aforementioned reasons detailed above. The United, which plays its home matches in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as well, also uses the horn whenever they score a goal.

The historical respect to the city is reason enough to keep the train horn active for Falcons games, but beyond that it just sounds cool. Playing that sound effect is aesthetically appealing to the senses amidst the delirious celebration associated with scoring a touchdown (or a goal in the Untied’s case). It’s why every single hockey team in the NHL plays some sort of horn sound effect whenever the home team scores a goal (and has been doing so since the 1970s).

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Just when I thought the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium couldn’t get any cooler, I was proven wrong upon hearing the train horn sound effect both after watching the Atlanta United score its first goal in the digs against FC Dallas over a week ago, and after seeing Devonta Freeman break the plane for the first time on Sunday Night.

Embrace the history behind the horn, Atlanta.