Hallelujah! Praise the sports gods! The unending torture to Atlanta sports fans is finally over. Watching the Atlanta Braves defeat the favored Houston Astros in the World Series (and square dance in a Game 6 laugher) must've been a peculiar feeling for fans in the ATL. Yes, that bizarre emotional state is called joy, wrapped up in relief, dotted with delight. There are no more games. You don't have to worry about a gagged lead or another inning to blow it.
In Atlanta's four oldest sports, this is only the second title in city history. If you include Atlanta United's 2018 MLS Cup, it's three championships since 1966. The intervening five-plus decades have been stuffed with ghastly collapses and missed opportunities. In an effort to exorcise the demons, let's count down the most miserable. These events shall never haunt an Atlanta sports fan ever again. Well, they can't be erased, but at least there's redemption.
No. 5: Kap's Comeback -- The 2012 NFC title game was held in Atlanta after the 13-3 Falcons garnered the top seed in the playoffs. The 11-4-1 49ers came to town with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. The Falcons stormed to a 17-0 lead, and held a 24-14 advantage at halftime. But their offense was suffocated in the second half, as Colin Kaepernick and the Niners outscored the Falcons, 14-0, the rest of the way. Inexplicably, the dynamic Atlanta attack completely imploded down the stretch in the last great chance Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez had at a ring.
No. 4: Jack Morris' Masterpiece -- The 1991 Braves are one of the greatest stories in baseball history. The previous season, the franchise lost 97 games, finishing in last place in the NL West. In 1991, they won 94, reaching their first World Series since relocating to Atlanta. The worst-to-first storyline captured the nation, and the epic series against the Minnesota Twins is widely regarded as the greatest in MLB history. In an iconic Game 7 at the Metrodome, Morris' 10 scoreless innings lives in lore. The Twinkies scratched together a run in the 10th to win 1-0, and the Braves' magical season ended in heartbreak. Atlanta's pitching, led by John Smoltz's 7.1 scoreless frames, held the Twins off the board through nine. But Morris managed to top that with a gem for the ages.
No. 3: Tua's Toss -- If we consider Georgia Bulldogs football as an Atlanta team (it's only 90 minutes to Athens), this is by far the darkest moment in program history. Still searching for its first national championship since 1980, the Bulldogs held a 13-0 lead over hated Alabama at halftime, and Nick Saban pulled starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to begin the third quarter. At that time, Tua Tagovailoa's legend was born. Midway through the third, UGA had a 20-7 lead, but freshman Tua guided the Tide back. Alabama pushed the game into overtime, but Georgia held a 23-20 lead in the extra session and was one stop from victory. A 16-yard sack of Tua may have been the kill shot, but on a 2nd-and-26, he launched a perfect laser to DeVonta Smith for a 41-yard, walk-off touchdown. The Bulldogs' hopes were crushed on one throw.
No. 2: Jim Leyritz's Homer -- In 1996, the Braves were the reigning champs. They had finally broken through the previous fall and won the first professional title for the city of Atlanta. They dominated the first two games of the 1996 World Series over the Yankees, which had reached the Fall Classic for the first time since 1981. In a crucial Game 4 at Fulton County Stadium, the Braves held a 6-0 lead after five innings. It appeared Atlanta would cruise to a dominant 3-1 series lead, and be on the verge of a repeat. But the Yankees had cut their deficit to three runs when Leyritz stepped up to the plate in the eighth. With two on, Leyritz drilled a head-shaking homerun to left, which tied the game and stunned the stadium. New York went on to win in extras and two more games to clinch the series. The lowest moment in Braves history.
No. 1: 28-3 -- Tom Brady has basically tattooed it on his goji berry-sculpted thighs. The Falcons held a nearly insurmountable 25-point lead during the second half of Super Bowl 51. What transpired is the scariest house of horrors in NFL history, and perhaps sports history. It took an iconic performance by the greatest quarterback of all-time. It took clock and game mismanagement by the Falcons. It took a few good bounces for the Patriots, and a few lousy ones for the Falcons. A Braves championship can't erase the dumbfounded sting of this choke, but at least Atlanta fans no longer have to dwell on it as their last (nearly) great sports moment.