Why fans were in the Braves’ stadium celebrating Nick Markakis’ walk-off home run

Fans celebrated a walk-off homer from inside a restaurant at the Braves’ stadium.

Part of the deal in having sports back in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic is that stadiums are empty. There have been no fans in MLB, NBA or NHL stadiums, while NASCAR has limited attendance at some events.

It’s been extremely weird to see. Leagues and broadcasts have resorted to things like creating virtual fans in the stands and bringing fans in virtually to try and normalize things. Some teams have even used rows of cardboard cutouts.

None of it has felt truly normal in this surreal time, though.

That’s why it felt so out of the ordinary to actually see fans in the Atlanta Braves stadium on Thursday night during their game against the Blue Jays.

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT… There were fans at the game?

Yup! Apparently so. There were actual people in the stadium on Thursday night for the game against the Blue Jays.

You had to pay close attention to spot them. But they were definitely there.

Where were they?

They were inside the stadium’s Chop House restaurant, not actually sitting in the stands. So they weren’t easy to spot.

But in watching the highlight of Nick Markakis’ walk-off home run against the Blue Jays on Thursday night, you can very clearly see fans raising their arms in celebration through the windows of the restaurant.

It’s jarring at first because they’re standing still initially and appear to be cardboard cutouts. But then you see arms go in the air. Take a look.

Wait a second, those are ACTUAL PEOPLE?!?

Yes. Someone on Twitter took a screenshot and it’s very clear that these are actual people.

Other pictures also surfaced of people in the stadium at the Chop House during the game.

Why were they even there?

A private event was held inside the restaurant, according to a spokesperson from the Braves organization.

So were they able to go to the field?

The private event was restricted to just the restaurant, according to the spokesperson. Those invited did not have access to the playing field.

There seemed to be a good amount of people in the restaurant with the doors closed. We have no idea if the event was socially distanced or if they wore masks or anything.

That doesn’t sound very safe — especially considering the fact that Georgia has the sixth most confirmed coronavirus cases in the country. Not to mention that baseball hasn’t had the easiest time containing the virus at all.

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