History of Team Atlanta

   One summer night in 2003, Mark Stevens, Jason Duke and Derrick Drury met for after-dinner drinks at the Taco Mac in Roswell.  The night started out like any other, but ended up changing the course of their lives, as well as the lives of their friends and acquaintances, forever.

   Sometime during the evening, the conversation led to a discussion of Derrick's thirtieth birthday.  Since we all wanted to do something special for his "Big 3-0" and, since we all have a love for German beer, it was suggested that we travel to Helen, Georgia and spend a weekend in the small German-style town located in north Georgia.  This, in itself, was a grand idea; however, it did not last long.  After many Monty Python Holy Grail Ales were consumed, somehow Mark and Duke decided that a drinking contest was in order.  Both swore up and down that they could out-drink the other, so it was decided that the drinking bet would be settled in Helen on Derrick's birthday.  Mark brought up a valid point that Duke's frame (one or two pounds heavier than Mark's) would give him a definite advantage, so Mark needed an advantage, too.  Duke looks up and says, with a gleam in his eye, "F$ck Helen, let's do it in..."  Mark, with a grin on his face, cut him off with "Munich.  That gives me the home field advantage."  (Mark lived in Munich in 1993-1994 and considers it his second home.)  Both agreed, and Derrick anointed himself The Impartial Judge, charged with settling the bet once and for all.  The idea was born. 

2004

   Even though Mark, Duke and Derrick are close friends and would have had a great time by themselves, they thought it would be best to share the idea with other close friends.  Michael Sallas and Josh Phillips, two friends from Auburn University, decided to join the group, and the five members of (what would become) Team Atlanta became the inaugural group to visit the Oktoberfest in September 2004.  Many new friends were made during that week, including our good friend Alex in Munich and our servers Nadja and Ines in the Hofbräu tent.  Many stories were also brought back.. So many, in fact, that there is not room on this website to hold them all.  (This is an easy way for Mark to tell you that he doesn't want you to hear them all.)

2005    

   The group had barely landed in Atlanta in October of 2004 when they began to plan the next year's trip.  In September 2005, four of the five inaugural members joined newcomers Dave Jones, Wendy Fletcher and Worth Wells in the trip of a lifetime.  (The fifth inaugural member, Josh, was unable to attend due to work.)  The seven members of the 2005 trip not only visited the Oktoberfest multiple times, but were able to take side trips to Garmisch and the impressive Castle Neuschwanstein as well.  Aside from losing Duke for a few days due to illness (editor's note: makes you wonder what he and Sal got into in Garmisch during their romantic evening alone) everyone had a great time.  As in the previous year, we met lots of new friends, including Julia, the most beautiful German woman we have ever met, and members of Team California, whose members liked us so much they sent one of their own, Megan, to join Team Atlanta at the 2006 Festival.

   At the end of 2005, a general consensus led us to develop a new trip format.  Everyone loves attending the Oktoberfest, but many wanted to see other parts of Europe as well, so we decided to split each year's trip in half, with the first half devoted to a mutually-agreed-upon location and the second half devoted to the Oktoberfest.  The decision was made to visit France in 2006, Prague the following year, and several other major European cities after that.

   2006

   In 2006 Team Members Mark Stevens and Derrick Drury visited Paris and Normandy for several days before traveling to Munich, where they were joined by Jason Duke, Michael Sallas, Megan Hitchcock, Jenn Gemini, Matt Morris, Joe Bucher, Rob Vermillion and Josh Phillips.  The ten members of the 2006 trip spent Friday and Saturday in the Hofbräu Tent, Sunday in the Schottenhamel Tent (Skandal!) and Monday in the Hippodrom Tent.  During the four days on the festival grounds, we spent lots of time with our good friend Alex and his stunningly beautiful girlfriend Sylvia, Ben and his friends from every point of the world, Julia (who looked incredible in her new dirndls), and many new friends that we made.  The inaugural members were all present on Friday and Saturday, and afterward each one had to admit that no one thought that it was possible to have as much fun as we did the first year, but the 2006 trip surpassed all expectations and was, by far, the best trip we've had so far.  

2007 

   In 2007 Team Members Mark Stevens, Jason Duke, Derrick Drury, and Michael Sallas were joined by Alex and his girlfriend, Sylvia, for four incredible days in Prague.  After taking a train to Munich, the twelve members of the 2007 trip spent Wednesday in the Schottenhamel Tent, Friday and Saturday in the Hofbräu Tent, and Sunday evening in the Hofbräu Tent once again to celebrate Derrick and Alex's birthdays.  On Sunday, we were joined by many of Alex's friends from Karlsruhe, including Sven, who we met in the Armbrustschuetzen Tent in 2005.  We spent each day with new (no longer honourary) members Ben and Alex, along with our new friends (Paul, Chris, Graham, Rene, Tina and Nathalie) from the UK.  Josh was able to join us for a long weekend, allowing the inaugural members to be together once again.  No crazy stories emerged from the 2007 trip, but everyone came home knowing it was still an incredible experience.   

2008

   In 2008 Team Members Mark Stevens, Jason Duke, Derrick Drury, Steve Benson and Ben Bakker began the trip by traveling to Dublin, Ireland for several days.  Steve flew ahead to London on Monday to scout the city while the other four traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a quick history lesson on the Troubles.  After a fantastic night in Katy Daly's (bingo, anyone?) and a fascinating trip through the city with Ken Harper of Harper's Taxi Tours, the group hopped over to London, where they met up with a few friends (Chris and Nathalie) from the previous year.  After a few pre-Munich Maß in an Austrian bar, the group flew from London to Munich on Wednesday.  That night, TA met up with friends from Öperätion Zeitwürst in the Hacker biergarten.  A restful day on Thursday led up to the first reservation in the HB tent on Friday, where it was business as usual for the veterans, with the rookies impressing everyone with their ability to keep up.  Another restful day on Saturday (due to a lost fax) led into the closing ceremonies in the HB tent on Sunday evening.  Duke, Derrick, Kim and Mark stuck around to celebrate Derrick and Alex's birthdays on Tuesday night, then the majority of the group headed home, with Kim and Mark closing out the trip upon their return on Friday.  As in 2007, no crazy stories emerged (aside from the French Fry Incident), but somehow it still ended up as being the best trip we've had yet.

2009

   Team Atlanta has now returned from the 2009 trip to Madrid and Munich, and details will be added to the website as soon as possible.  We'll soon begin planning the trip to Rome and Munich in 2010.. Are you ready to go with us?