Even though it’s the middle of the Georgia football season, it’s also baseball season, and for the first time in 22 years, the Atlanta Braves are going to the World Series.
As crazy as it sounds, with the Braves breaking their streak, it only means one thing — the Dawgs will end theirs.
We are all flying high now in this region because even though we’re Dawgs first, seeing the Braves make it to the World Series makes all of us giddy with excitement.
There has been a trend with Georgia sports, and it seems the curse is beginning to lift.
The Braves were the last to rise to greatness in the state, and yes, Georgia recently made it to a national title game but hasn’t won. Much like the Dawgs, it’s been a while for the team of the 1990s.
The 1990s wasn’t a good decade for Georgia Football as they went 70-43-1. After legendary coach Vince Dooley left after the 1988 Gator Bowl, Georgia would suffer a falloff. In 1989 Georgia, under the new head coach, Ray Goff, went 6-6.
In 1990 Georgia went 4-7 while the Atlanta Braves finished dead last in the National League West with a 65-97 record. In ’91, the Braves would go worst to first and begin their dominance.
Georgia would keep up with promising years in 1991 and 1992. 9-3 and 10-2, respectfully. Then things went out of control from 1993-1996, going a combined 17-16-1.
The Braves won the World Series in 1995, and the Dawgs would go 6-6 — seems it never meshed. The Braves and Georgia have never had that magical season or anything close at the same time until now.
The Mark Richt era would bring hope as the Braves were still winning divisions, but they struggled to advance in the postseason. During that time, the Braves would win one series, the 2001 NLDS. At the same time, Georgia would not make it out of October without at least one loss.
In 2012, Georgia would lose within a week, eliminating the Braves when they made it to the NLDS. A trend that would continue in 2020 as Georgia would lose to Alabama on Oct. 17. The Braves blew a 3-1 series lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and lost Game 7 on Oct. 18.
A horrible weekend for fans of both, however, a trend we all grew to accept as the norm.
Let’s gooooo!!!!#BattleATL https://t.co/Th1ki3bUY6
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) October 24, 2021
Now it is 2021. The Atlanta Braves again went up 3-1 to the Dodgers in the NLDS. However, this time they would finish the job and kill the narrative that they could not win the games that matter the most.
Meanwhile, Georgia is the No.1 team in the country, getting ready to go to Jacksonville to play the Florida Gators as a two-score favorite.
People from all over the country have taken shots at the Dawgs for the lack of titles. But, there is something special brewing and not just Trusit Park in Atlanta.
Atlanta and Georgia’s fans have been beaten down, filled with hope, just to get let down year after year. To an extent, some fans are scared to get too excited from the fear of heartbreak because every time they begin to hope, disaster happens.
To that, I say, soak it in, folks — enjoy this. Times like this may never happen again. Enjoy the World Series this week. Game 4 is in Atlanta, with the first pitch coming about 30 minutes after the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party finishes.
Lewis Grizzard said, “Nothing Better than being a Bulldog on a Saturday Night.” While true, being a Bulldog while being No. 1 and watching your Atlanta Braves play in the World Series would be just as memorable.
To finally see the Braves get to the World Series means Georgia will win it all. No, the logic isn’t there, but at the same time, it is because when does this ever happen?