The Atlanta Falcons play the New York Giants in a playoff match today scheduled for 1 p.m. (Go Giants!)

But ESPN's Rob Parker says the city hasn't earned a playoff win because the fans here are so lackluster.

"Without question, Atlanta is the worst sports town in America," he wrote in a Jan. 6 column.

"If the New York Yankees are the standard for excellence in baseball, Atlanta is the epitome of the bottom of the barrel when it comes to fan support."

Hash words. Fighting words. But could there be a grain of truth to what he says?

In my experience, I'd say yes.

Having grown up going to Yankees and Giants games, the Braves Hawks and even Thrashers games (remember them?) that I've attended were less than the rabid, diehard-fan-spectacles to which I was accustomed.

Even the U.S. tennis matches I've gone to had a little bit more fan oomph and vigor.

Part of the problem, he says is that so many of us — yours truly included — are from someplace else.

But I think there's another reason that one of my friends, who hails from Alabama, pointed out to me: College sports rule in the South.

I have to agree. The Georgia Tech basketball games I've attended had the passion and fan spirit I found lacking in the pro games. In comparison at my alma mater, Rutgers, when it came to some school sports, the attitude was more like 'who cares?'

What's your take?