By Zack Steele
Not since the first couple days of September 1864 has the state of Georgia been in such misery.
Let me say for the record it gives me no joy to see my childhood favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, go down in such a way. The Braves were cruising against the hated Dodgers, up three games to one, ready to bring back the glory of the 90’s with Maddox, and Glavine, and Smotlz. David Justce and Sid Bream and Mark Lemke.
The Braves are a young team. They will be back. But in the end, it was timely hitting and great defense by the Dodgers that sent the Braves home early in this COVID-shortened year.
I personally haven’t watched much baseball lately, unless you count my 10-year-old’s travel baseball team. My son gave up baseball for soccer at the end of the summer (too much standing around he says), so who knows when I’ll actually sit and watch a game. But I did enjoy the nostalgia of Braves baseball, as many middle-agers in the South must have in 2020. Here’s hoping they pick up another pitcher or two in the offseason.
At least the Braves made it interesting. You can’t say the same if you are a Georgia Tech fan. Now that I mention it, has anyone ever met a Georgia Tech fan? I am sure there are a few, but it must be a tough life. I say this as an Auburn fan who watched his team lose to South Carolina for the first time since the Great Depression.
Georgia Tech suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in ACC history at home against Clemson. The Wramblin’ Wreck fell 52-7. Wait, that was the halftime score. The final was actually 73-7. It was really nice of Tech to pretend to be the FCS opponent that no one gets to play this year, I suppose.
Finally, we cannot forget the Georgia Dogs. Georgia has looked so salty on defense, so good in the running game that we all just knew they would finally get Alabama after years of frustration. I mean, Nick Saban was out with COVID, so we thought. Alabama would only have 20,000 or so fans in the stadium, so the home field advantage would be greatly diminished. This was supposed to be Georgia’s night. Until it wasn’t.
The Tide found its long-lost defense in the second half and Georgia had no answer for Najee Harris and Jaylen Waddle. A first half Georgia lead turned into a second half laugher as the Tide cruised 41-24. Kirby Smart was completely outcoached again by his mentor, who continues to add scalps when it comes to the Saban Coaching Tree.
All in all, a lousy weekend for the state of Georgia. But chin up Georgians, the Atlanta United soccer bandwagon is open for business.
Till next week.