By 3:00 p.m., all Atlanta, Fulton County, and state government establishments will close. By 4:00 p.m., most schools and college campuses will be a ghost town; students and teachers alike will be skipping class.

By some time midafternoon, the President of the United States of ‘Murica himself will touch down in Atlanta for the biggest college game of the year.

By 8:00 p.m., millions of eyes will be glued to TV screens nationwide to see the Georgia-Alabama kickoff in this fateful throw down.

But part of the sport will not even be what’s happening on the field; it’s all the implications of what’s happening in the stands, the city, and how it reflects the state of our country.

45 is not just attending to “roll tide”; he is there to shake hands, kiss babies, and remind his core voter base who “made America great again.” Come Monday, the Mercedes Benz stadium will be a field ripe with current supporters and future votes, and Trump is coming to harvest.

According to Forbes, Trump won all 11 SEC states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. To no one’s surprise, the heartland of college football was almost unanimously red.

So underneath the festivities, the occasion will also be fraught with political tension.

The National Anthem is sure to be a patriotic show like no other, with the NFL’s ongoing battle with peaceful protest sparked by Colin Kaepernick. Monday also marks the first day of Georgia’s Legislative session for the year, which will touch on tighter bills for hate crimes and sexual harassment.

As diverse as they are, each of these issues have been hot topic buttons in the country’s conversation. With 2017 came a reckoning for sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as a re-awakening for women rights. Civil rights bled into sports arenas, as athletes like Kaepernick took a knee for injustice, or took a stand against the current administration like NBA star Stephen Curry.

Trump has been a clear adversary in these political fights, publicly endorsing Alabama candidate Roy Moore despite several sexual harassment allegations. Or his even more public Twitter temper tantrums against Curry and protesting NFL players in general, calling for those “sons of bitches” to get in line and just play the game.

Meanwhile, this will be taking place in a city which recently elected its second black female mayor, while buckling under the pressure of gentrification and a rapidly changing demographic.

All of this social strain will be simmering just below the turf Monday night.

It will be sport, politics, and bitter rivalries till the clock strikes zero in the last quarter. There will be blood, and there will be one hell of a game.

But while we’re clinking beers and placing bets, stay woke to the real game at play here.

God Bless these “United” States of America, and may the best team win.

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