Go back a couple of years and you could scarcely utter the word “comeback” in the city of Atlanta, on account of the traumatic memories it was certain to induce.
Over a dirty little span where a cruel wind blew through Atlanta sports and “so near yet so far” became an ever-present catchphrase, the area’s most popular teams found increasingly creative ways to let glory slip through their nervous fingers.
There was that whole 28-3 Super Bowl business, of course, with Tom Brady to blame for torching what would have been an epic Falcons party in February 2017. Less than a year later, Tua Tagovailoa‘s off-the-bench heroics toppled Georgia in the national championship. And during the COVID-shortened 2020 MLB season, the Braves surrendered a 3-1 series lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers to cost themselves a World Series berth.
Yet it is those same Braves that put up a roadblock on the tortured narrative a year ago and, heading into their National League Division Series clash with the Philadelphia Phillies starting Tuesday (1:07 p.m. ET; FOX and the FOX Sports App), have continued the re-editing process this season.
For “comebacks” are no longer what everyone else does against Atlanta teams. The art of the comeback? Well, that’s just how the Braves now live.
“Comeback” doesn’t typically get used to describe a long, drawn out, come-from-behind turnaround in a pennant race, where the reeling-in takes place over months rather than minutes. But that’s exactly what happened as summer became fall and the Braves chased down the New York Mets, turning a 10.5-game deficit into a final week snatch of top position.
The scale of it was impressive, as was the fact that the Braves conjured a blistering record of 78-33 following a subpar start to the campaign. What truly turned it into one of the great pennant chase stories of recent times was the manner it went down, a sweep of the Mets at Truist Park on the final weekend to take the division lead, to head into the postseason buoyed by momentum.
“I think these guys have probably got more confidence in what we’re getting ready to experience here than they did last year,” manager Brian Snitker told reporters. “In that respect, we’re better equipped to handle the stresses because of what we’ve been through the last four years.”
Atlanta’s streak has been fun to watch and came laced with some notable quirks and snippets. The team didn’t lay down a sacrifice bunt until the 161st game of the season. Dansby Swanson was the only MLB player to start all 162 games, while Matt Olson, who has done an admirable job of replacing fan favorite Freddie Freeman, essentially achieved the same feat – but one of his appearances was off the bench.
The run has elicited memories of last season, when the Braves got off to a similarly poor start, survived and persevered, got revenge on the Dodgers with a 3-1 reverse in the NLCS and won the World Series despite having only two starting pitchers, Max Fried and Ian Anderson, that they felt they could rely on.
As things stand, the oddsmakers have Atlanta as +450 third-favorites (FOXBet) to win it all again, behind the Dodgers and the Houston Astros.
Back-to-back titles would be another intriguing chapter in the history of sports in Atlanta, which went from having zero pro teams to one in each major league during a whirlwind spell from 1966-1972.
A recently released book, “Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta – and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports,” takes an intriguing and detailed look at that evolution, with the title being a reference to a 1975 newspaper column that lamented how the early excitement regarding the influx of teams had given way to disappointment and apathy.
“There is a bit of an imbalance,” the book’s author, Clayton Trutor, told me via phone on Sunday night. “Older people from Atlanta remember the bad days, with poor teams and low attendances and little interest.
“But newer fans feel pretty good about things. Even with the near-misses, people have gotten used to the Braves being good and Georgia being competitive. The Hawks have been fun with Trae Young and Atlanta FC in Major League Soccer has gotten people behind them.
“There is a certain expectation locally when it come to the Braves. And the way things have gone the past couple of seasons has added to the excitement, because it has been so dramatic.”
If you’re looking for drama, hunting down the Mets in a catch-me-if-you-can tussle for the ages will do the trick.
But don’t call it a comeback. In fact, call it whatever you like, for the tale of woe seems to be in the rearview, Atlanta’s scars are mostly healed, and the Braves, buoyant and dangerous, are having fun.
“Winning is winning,” Swanson told reporters. “And winning at the highest level, there’s nothing that can replace it.”
