After the Atlanta Braves won the world series against the Houston Astros, the meaning behind the win is more meaningful than most realize. The history of Atlanta sports is one of heartbreak and disappointment; Atlanta hosts a multitude of professional sports teams, most notably the Atlanta Braves, the Falcons and the Hawks. Throughout the history of professional sports in Atlanta, there have only been 4 championship wins from any major team in the city’s history. The Braves won the World Series in 1995 and 2021, the Georgia Swarm, a lacrosse team, in 2017 and Atlanta United, the soccer team, in 2018.
The difficulty of understanding the heartbreak Atlanta sports fans have dealt with throughout history comes from looking at the losses these teams have faced in major games. The most notable game was Superbowl 51, where the Falcons had a 28-0 lead halfway through the third quarter, and proceeded to allow 34 unanswered points to eventually lose 34-28. The Falcons also lost another Superbowl in 1998 to the Denver Broncos, 34-19.
When looking at the NBA franchise, the Atlanta Hawks only have one NBA Finals win in team history, which occurred in 1958 when the team was located in St. Louis. The team did not move to Atlanta for over 10 years after their win, finally making Atlanta their home in 1969. Since then, the closest they have come to a championship was in 2021 when they lost in the Eastern Conference finals to the Milwaukee Bucks. Before that, though, the team made it to the playoffs for nine straight years from 2008 to 2017, all resulting in losses.
Finally, the majority of the heartbreak Atlanta fans have felt can be found in their winningest franchise, the Atlanta Braves. Though the team has a total of 4 World Series wins, only two of them were when the team was located in Atlanta. One of the wins came from the Boston Braves in 1914 and the second from the Milwaukee Braves in 1957. Since the move to Atlanta in 1966, the Braves have won 2 World Series titles, the most recent being this year. Their win in 1995 was a proud one, but did not come without heartbreak in the years leading up to and after. Before their win, the Braves lost back-to-back World Series in 1991 and 1992, then lost the National League Championship game in 1993. After their 1995 win, they lost the World Series the next year, and the next to National League Championships, and then another World Series after that. The 2020 season proved to be another heartbreaking year as they lost the National League Championship in a hard-fought series against the Dodgers, only to go on and win the World Series in 2021.
With a history of heartbreak and loss, Atlanta sports fans are surely taking pride in one of the few championship wins they have this year. It is fair to say that every championship win is special for any team in any sport, and should be celebrated accordingly, but for Atlanta sports fans, this World Series win will come with more excitement than most, considering their heartbreaking history of professional sports.
