Life Has Moved On, but Fans in Atlanta Mourn the All-Star Game

Friday’s home opener offered some prepandemic-like excitement, but even fans who support M.L.B.’s choice to move the signature event are sad to see it go.

ATLANTA — In and around Truist Park in suburban Atlanta on Friday, there were scant clues that Major League Baseball’s 2021 All-Star Game, as of roughly a week ago, was supposed to be held here on July 13. There were no leftover banners. There were no protests. Only a handful of people wore gear with the game’s logo. And the only booing heard on Friday night — when the Braves played their first home game following M.L.B.’s decision to yank the Midsummer Classic out of Georgia because of a contentious new voting law — was for the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and their outfielder Bryce Harper. The atmosphere around Truist Park felt almost prepandemic. Two hours before the first pitch, the bars and restaurants in the surrounding streets swarmed with fans. The concession-stand lines during the Braves’ 8-1 win were long. The mandatory masks and social distancing appeared optional. The tomahawk chop, a chant widely viewed as racist, emerged at key junctures in the game.