Over the last few weeks, Atlanta has experienced something I’m gonna call “city limit creep”. Somehow Atlanta has spread to include my living room in Illinois…and maybe yours wherever you are. Nothing has been more fun than having my heart beat with the pulse of my hometown from all these miles away. Seeing friends on tv during the series. Picture after picture of folks cheering at home and at the games. Hilarious banter on group texts. Without being there, I was magically… there.
This past June, my family attended our first Chicago Cubs game as new Illinoisans. We were all enamored with Wrigleyville and the rich traditions of the club. I complained that while Wrigley Field stayed constant, I’d been to three different ballparks with the Braves in my lifetime. Where was the history and charm the Cubs have so abundantly? This post season, I’ve realized that IS history. I’ve lived through three different ballparks with the Braves… and so many more iterations than just where they play. And Joc Pederson’s pearls are down right charming. Sure he came from the Cubs, but did he bring the charm or did Atlanta inspire it? Braves history is so ingrained in the fans that even when we were up 6-0 at the top of the 9th inning, we couldn’t let ourselves believe it. With the team described as “the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America” I publicly apologize for doubting those roots.
Any sports fan has a million memories of their team. My personal moments with the Braves include: a jackass who grabbed a foul ball out of my seat before I could put my beer down, meeting Hank Aaron in the hallway of the Ritz-Carlton Downtown, and the time my daughter’s choir sang the National Anthem before the game. Side note, I also selected my lasik surgeon based on who had operated on Greg Maddux. (His eyes are clearly more valuable than mine, so I felt success was guaranteed. AutoMaddux). I suspect my friends and I will share more Braves memories over the coming months as we bask in this championship. The top two for all has got to be from 1995… and now 2021. (Any of ya’ll remember 1957 or 1914?)
I’m not gonna pretend I watched a lot of regular season play this year. I didn’t. Never do. But the Braves only beat me to Atlanta by 6 years, so I’ve had a seat on the bandwagon a long time. Lately, it’s been a super fun ride. And this squad, with their je ne sais quoi voodoo magic, has been a blast to watch.
Atlanta Braves, congratulations. Thanks for bringing that trophy (and those of us who aren’t there anymore) HOME.
Feels damn good for you guys to be those motherf*ckers.
Braves and Dawgs, too………pure joy!