Column: Atlanta tries to transform itself into Winnersville

Stephen King could've written “Misery” about an Atlanta sports fan.

That would've been a truly horrifying tale.

From Jim Leyritz to 28-3, from DeVonta Smith to losing not one, but two NHL teams to western Canada, Georgia's sports history is filled with knee-buckling heartache, epic meltdowns and, yes, plenty of misery.

But now, as the World Series comes to Atlanta for the first time since 1999, there is hope that this city — once immortalized in print as “Loserville USA” — and this state could be taking a turn toward some long-overdue parades.

The young, hungry Hawks are just a few months removed from a surprising run to the NBA's Eastern Conference final. The fearsome Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 1 college football team in all the land. And the Braves just ended their 22-year Series drought by knocking off the 106-win Dodgers.

Heck, even the woebegone Falcons — who haven't had a winning NFL season since 2017 — are at .500 and hopeful of joining the party.

“I'm so happy for all those guys with the Braves,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Talk about a team that grinded through a year. I don’t think they were above .500 until the middle of August and find themselves in the World Series. So maybe we can draw a little inspiration from that.”

The Braves remain the city's lone professional champion in the four major sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey. (Side note: Atlanta United did win the MLS Cup title in 2018, but soccer remains a notch below the Big Four in this country.)

Even that solitary Atlanta title in 1995 would eventually be overshadowed by all the close-but-no-cigar calls the Braves had in a single decade of nearly annual World Series appearances.

1991. 1992. 1996. 1999.

Losses, all of them.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-Atlanta-tries-to-transform-itself-into-16572087.php