No Sprite, no spite: Braves' Anthopoulos beaming as WS champ

CARSLBAD, Calif. (AP) — Stuck at home while his Atlanta Braves won the World Series last week, Alex Anthopoulos wasn't sure how to celebrate when his two young kids offered an idea:

“They wanted us to pull out the Sprite and spray it all over the place,” he said.

The age-appropriate bubbly was a no-go on a school night, but the Anthopoulos family found other ways to be festive after the general manager was forced to quarantine at home with COVID-19 as the Braves ended Atlanta's 26-year championship drought in the big four major sports.

Anthopoulos arrived at the general managers' meetings in Southern California on Tuesday night and, a day later, he smiled wide recounting the siloed-yet-celebratory 12-day stretch in which he won his first championship.

Anthopoulos, who is vaccinated, had a sniffly nose and tested positive for the coronavirus on the morning of Game 4 in Atlanta. Days later, he stayed at home while the team traveled to Houston for Game 6 with a chance to clinch.

The 44-year-old said he was a nervous wreck at the start of Game 6, telling wife Cristina he wanted to go for a drive instead of watching first pitch.

She talked him out of that plan, but when Atlanta put runners at first and second in the first inning, Anthopoulos grabbed the remote and turned on a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game.

“As I have gotten older, I have a harder time watching a game that’s close," he said, adding he couldn't shake off thoughts about the 3-1 series lead the Braves blew in the 2020 NLCS to the Dodgers and the Falcons' infamous collapse from a 28-3 edge in the 2017 Super Bowl.

Anthopoulos tuned back in time to see Jorge Soler's third inning, three-run homer — he shouted loud enough to wake his 11-year-old daughter, Julia. His anxiety eased when Atlanta led 6-0 through...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/No-Sprite-no-spite-Braves-Anthopoulos-beaming-16611102.php