It's Over: The History of the Georgia Sports Curse

The Georgia sports curse is over. After so many years of failure in big moments, the Atlanta Braves have carried the torch for the state of Georgia by winning the 2021 World Series.

The Braves came into the season with World Series aspirations, but after a mediocre start and a brutal injury to star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., it looked as though the Braves would come up short for another year. Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos opted not to stay quiet at the trade deadline, rather he acquired high-upside, cheap outfielders in Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Jorge Soler. Although the price to get these players weren't high, no one expected them to fill the void left by Acuna and right the ship to the postseason. Come August and September, the New York Mets collapsed, the Philadelphia Phillies couldn't find consistency, and thus the Braves took advantage and catapulted into 1st place in the NL East.

They were in the postseason, but with a mere 88 wins, the least amount of all playoff teams, surely they weren't going to beat the Milwaukee Brewers and their elite pitching staff? Wrong. Joc Pederson continued his annual postseason success and the Atlanta pitching staff locked down the Milwaukee offense en route to a 3-1 series victory. Sure they beat the Brewers, but there was no way they'd compete with the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that eclipsed 100 wins! Wrong. The Braves bats showed up and the pitching continued to dominate, leading Atlanta to gain a 3-1 series advantage over Los Angeles. We've seen this story before, as the Braves blew a 3-1 lead in the NLCS against the Dodgers just last year. In that position, sports fans around the world made jokes about the Braves, "knowing" they'd throw away a ticket to the World Series. The Dodgers won Game 5 and the jokes continued to come, "Dodgers in 7" they said! Wrong. The Braves closed it out in Game 6 and would meet the Houston Astros in the World Series.

On paper, the Braves were inferior to the Astros, but that wasn't new to them during this postseason. Atlanta captured a crucial victory on the road in Game 1, but it came at the expense of starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who broke his fibula and would miss the rest of the series. Even with the loss of Morton, the Braves willed their way to a 3-1 series advantage. Just one win from a title, the jokes ridiculing the Braves and Georgia sports came pouring down once again. Just like in the NLCS, the Braves lost Game 5, but this one felt different. Adam Duvall hit a grand slam in the 1st inning to put the Braves up early, but they would end up surrendering their big lead in the loss. It truly felt like the beginning of a classic Atlanta choke job. With the series heading back to Houston, the Braves gave the ball to their ace, the left hander Max Fried, to end the series and bring a trophy back to Atlanta. Facing a terrific Astros offense (albeit they struggled hitting in the World Series) in a small ballpark, Fried threw six innings and surrendered zero runs, needing only 70 pitches to do so. The Braves were dominant through seven innings, holding the Astros bats at bay, while slugging for seven runs of their own. 7-0 with only 9 outs left, certainly Atlanta has the game in the bag, right? Well, it is a Georgia sports team… Screw that rhetoric! The Braves finished off the job, winning 7-0 in Game 6 to capture their first World Series title since 1995. Sans Ronald Acuna Jr, Mike Soroka, and Charlie Morton, facing a gauntlet of opponents, Freddie Freeman and the scrappy ol' Braves became world champions.

I've alluded to it, and a lot of sports fans know what it is, but let's discuss the Georgia sports curse. I previously mentioned the Braves World Series in 1995, but they won their division 14 straight years from 1991 to 2005, and that was the only title to show for it. They had a 2-0 lead in the 1996 World Series, but ended up losing to the Yankees that year and then again in 1999, when they got swept. Since then, they only made two NLCS appearances through 2020. Throw in their brutal 3-1 choke against the Dodgers in the 2020 NLCS, it becomes apparent that the Braves consistently failed in the presence of greatness and success.

Dating back to 1998, three years after the Braves World Series, the Atlanta Falcons were playing in the Super Bowl. They had their fair share of upsets to get to the championship, but they would ultimately fall to John Elway and the Broncos. Fast forward to 2010 and 2012, the Falcons captured the #1 seed in the NFC, but failed to make the Super Bowl either time, including a blown 17-0 lead in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers. Finally, Atlanta made the Super Bowl in 2017 and looked poised to win it all, leading 28-3 over the New England Patriots. Alas, New England pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, winning 34-28 in overtime. Rightfully so, that colossal choke job put Atlanta's curse front and center across the nation. The Falcons haven't since made a deep run in the playoffs, but they did make history by blowing back to back 15+ point leads in 2020. Throw in trading the face of their franchise, WR Julio Jones, and that just about wraps up the state of the Atlanta Falcons.

Looking at the other "big four" pro sports, the Atlanta Hawks have never been to an NBA Finals, although they did get to the Eastern Conference Championship in 2015 as a 60 win team before getting swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks had an improbable run to the ECF in 2020, but fell to the Milwaukee Bucks as star PG Trae Young went down with an injury. To the NHL, Atlanta saw the Flames leave for Calgary in 1980 and the Thrashers to Winnipeg in 2011. While in Atlanta, neither team could even win one playoff series. In the NBA and NHL, Atlanta has seen less choking than in the NFL and MLB, but more general failure.

Looking beyond pro sports, the Georgia Bulldogs boast one of the proudest college football programs, yet they haven't won a title since 1980. Since the turn of the century, Georgia has been good, but not incredible. They've made a bowl game every year dating back to 1996, but they've only played in one National Championship Game. Speaking of that National Championship Game, the Bulldogs led the Alabama Crimson Tide 13-0 at halftime in January of 2018. They had stifled QB Jalen Hurts and the Alabama offense, putting themselves in a great spot to win a title. Out of the half, Nick Saban inserted true freshman Tua Tagovailoa at QB and the rest is history. Tua, along with fellow true freshman RB Najee Harris and WR Devonta Smith, led Alabama to a thrilling comeback, tying the game at 20 apiece at the end of regulation. Like the Falcons in 2017, a Georgia sports team was going to overtime in hopes of winning a championship. The Bulldogs kicked a FG to start overtime and proceeded to sack Tua Tagovailoa, setting Alabama back to a 2nd & 26. Chris Fowler, the commentator of the game, went on to say "Tagovailoa, trying to make up for it, fires to the end zone… TOUCHDOWN! ALABAMA WINS! THE TIDE WILL NOT BE DENIED". Once again, Georgia sports suffered a gut wrenching loss. This wouldn't be their last poor experience with Alabama, as the teams met again in the 2018 SEC Championship, where Georgia once again had Alabama in a deep hole, up 14 at halftime. This time, Jalen Hurts relieved Tua Tagovailoa to lead the Crimson Tide to another comeback victory over the Dawgs. Instead of competing for a title in the College Football Playoff, Georgia would go on to lose in an uninspiring performance against Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Year in year out, Georgia football is always in the elite tier of talent. Since Kirby Smart took over in 2016, the Bulldogs have been top 6 in recruiting each year, including two finishes at #1 (per 247Sports). With all that being said, there is no excuse for Georgia only reaching one National Championship (and losing) under Kirby Smart.

With all of the Georgia sports failures stated, the Braves 2021 championship should mark a turning point for the state. I'll begin with the caveat- and that is the Atlanta Falcons, who appear to be beginning a large rebuild as the Matt Ryan era comes to a close and most key pieces from their NFC Championship team have moved on. To the great news, after being contenders for the last few years, the Braves finally got over the hump and found themselves atop the baseball world! With Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mike Soroka set to return next season, as well as money to spend this offseason, there's little reason not to believe that the Bravos will be in the hunt for the World Series again next year (and moving forward). To the court, the Hawks have blossomed into one of the best young teams in the NBA. No one expected them to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but behind incredible performances from Trae Young, the Hawks made it there. Trae Young is a face-of-the-franchise type player and with a nucleus around him that include PF John Collins and SF Cam Reddish, the Hawks should be competitive as long as Trae is still ballin’ out in the ATL. There is no bringing back the Atlanta hockey franchises, but what can be brought back is a championship football team in Athens. At this point in the 2021 CFB season, Georgia has been far and away the best team in the country. With weapons galore on offense and arguably the best defensive unit this century, the Dawgs seem poised for a title run. Granted, they'll likely have to overcome recurring foe Alabama to capture a title. Alabama has looked more vulnerable than usual, while Georgia has thrashed every team they've faced. Georgia isn't a shoe-in for a title, but it seems overwhelmingly likely that they'll be playing in the College Football Playoff come January, putting them on a collision course to play in (and win) the National Championship.

There are no guarantees in sports. The Braves may regress, the Hawks may have been fraudulent, and maybe the Georgia Bulldogs can't handle Alabama. Heck, maybe the Falcons will have a resurgence, maybe Atlanta will bring back another NHL team. In any case, the Braves recent World Series victory signifies the breaking of a long and painful curse against Georgia sports. Will the Braves go on to win more titles? Will the Hawks go to their first ever NBA Finals? Will the Bulldogs conquer all of college football? Only time will tell, but regardless, Atlanta is now free from their sports agony.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Do you think the curse is really over? Will Georgia win the College Football National Championship? Can the Braves repeat as champs? Let me know in the comments below!

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