Atlanta’s sad sports history: One lousy title in 149 pro seasons
The initial response to the sight of Atlanta patrons leaving an NFL playoff game with a quarter still to play — this happened only last weekend — was to loose the boilerplate harrumph. “Nothing new here! These people are the fairest of fair-weather fans in all the land!”
That’s always the reaction from national voices, and there was a time when it was the belief of this correspondent. Atlanta’s the city that can’t sell out playoff games and then, when finally it does, the crowd goes home early when the scoreboard gets ugly, et cetera. But 26 years and 10 months of residency have had an erosive effect, and now this neutral-by-profession can say:
Folks, I feel your pain.
Since big-time professional sports arrived in 1966, teams sailing under the Atlanta flag have completed 149 seasons. (We won’t count baseball in 1994, when the World Series was canceled by a players’ strike, or the 2004-2005 NHL campaign, which was scrubbed due to a lockout.) Only one has yielded a championship. That’s a batting average of .007, which is nice if you’re James Bond, less nice if you’ve invested financial and emotional capital in any of those 148 misses.
(Just to clarify: I haven’t included the Atlanta Chiefs’ 1968 NASL title because soccer wasn’t a major American sport. Nor is the Knights’ 1994 International Hockey League championship factored, the Knights having been by definition minor-league.)
The history of major Atlanta pro sports is of the cosmic whiff. Our teams build us up to let us down. The Hawks have never won more than one playoff series in any season since moving from St. Louis. The NHL Flames, who left for Calgary in 1980, didn’t win a single series in six tries. The Thrashers, in operation since 1999, haven’t yet won a postseason game.
The Falcons have won six playoff games in 45 years of trying. The two times they held the No. 1 seed resulted in flops of wildly differing flavor. On Jan. 4, 1981, the Falcons led Dallas by two touchdowns after three quarters and lost. (See YouTube video below.) This January the Falcons led 14-7 only to watch with benign neglect as they were outscored 35-0 in a span of 18 minutes, 25 seconds.
The one time the Falcons graced a Super Bowl — this after the epic overtime victory in the Minneapolis Metrodome that stands as the greatest performance by any Atlanta team — they messed it up. On the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII, safety Eugene Robinson got himself arrested for solicitation hours after receiving the NFL’s Bart Starr Award for citizenship. Was it any wonder the game’s key play — an 80-yard touchdown pass from John Elway to Rod Smith — featured a late-arriving Robinson?
Andruw Jones chases the Leyritz blast -- to no avail, naturally. (AJC file photo)
The Braves, to their credit, reached the World Series five times in the ’90s. They lost four, the first three in excruciating fashion. Bobby Cox, manager of those teams, would later say, “We played better in three of the ones we lost than in the one we won,” and it was just Atlanta’s luck that its one professional title was achieved the year after the players’ strike of 1994, a debilitating event that served to sap some of passion from the moment of long-deferred (and never-repeated) moment of arrival.
We Atlantans know the drill: Whenever one of our teams gets close, Lucy snatches away the football and Charlie Brown goes flying. With a chance to take a 3-1 lead in a World Series, Mark Wohlers throws Jim Leyritz a slider. With a chance to close out the Boston Celtics at the old Omni, the Hawks’ final shot is taken not by Dominique Wilkins but by the sub Cliff Levingston, who offers up a running lefty hook. With a chance to take a 2-1 series lead on San Francisco, the reliever Craig Kimbrel is removed but the shaky emergency second baseman Brooks Conrad remains on the field in what will be the penultimate ninth inning of Cox’s managerial career.
One hundred forty-nine seasons, one victory parade. (Although the worst-to-first Braves of 1991, who lost the World Series when Lonnie Smith dallied at second base in Game 7, held a parade, too. And so, on a predictably rainy day, did the Falcons after their lost Super Bowl.) Over the same span, the modest city of Pittsburgh has won 11 championships — 12 if you count the ABA crown taken by the Pipers. Long-suffering Philadelphia has six titles since 1966. Denver has four, one at Atlanta’s expense.
Really, can anyone blame us if we’re jaded? Even if we don’t know what will go wrong this time, we’ve seen enough to know something will. We live in Atlanta, where something always does.
By Mark Bradley
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491 comments Add your comment
The Joker...
January 21st, 2011
1:54 pm
Its tough being a Falcon Fan or any other Fan in the State of Georgia. My Father still has nightmares about that 1981 playoff game, he said that the Falcons should had literally walked in the SuperBowl and won it that year, he said that the dallas game put Falcon Fans in a state of depression for years. Still today, he says he will NEVER pull for the cowboys under any circumstance. I wasn’t born until shortly after that 1980 Falcon team but I have been a huge Professional and College Sports Fan in the State of Georgia long enough to know that you should always hope for the best but expect the worse…. Someone please destroy the voodoo doll that has been sticking us in the spine for years!!!!!!!
misterwax
January 21st, 2011
1:54 pm
1969 – Atlanta Chiefs North American Soccer League, Phil Woosnam….
long before there ws hockey in town….need to know the city’s history before you write.
Calm Down
January 21st, 2011
1:55 pm
That’s why Sports Illustrated knows Atlanta as “Loserville”.
John
January 21st, 2011
1:55 pm
The Atlanta Chiefs did win the North American Soccer League championship in 1968. Georgia has won national championships in sports other than football.
Ted Striker
January 21st, 2011
1:56 pm
JSS — Agree with you about the Dream.
Btw, if the Dream were to sign a couple members of Athens’ Classic City Rollergirls as enforcers, it would make the old 80’s Detroit Pistons teams look like a roster of country gentlemen. For that matter, Mike Smith might want to consider trying “Rollergirls” out at fullback if anything ever happens to Ovie Mughelli. They may not catch a pass any better than Michael Turner but I’ll bet they can block like Michael Oher with Sandra Bullock in the stands.
http://bit.ly/hTwfEK
Mark — Thanks for providing the clip. Only time I’ve ever seen the fateful drive as I was at a wedding that day. Sneaked to the car to hear the last few minutes of the game. Ugh. Did notice this from watching the clip. Falcons were putting a heckuva rush on White. But man did they get burned on the screen play. Other thing. The skill players all looked so slow compared to guys today….except for Dorsett. Darned if he didn’t kill UGA in ‘76 (I was too young to remember that) and the Falcons in ‘81.
When I was a kid I could never get my dad to explain to me sufficiently why the Bulldogs never played the Falcons. (One day my dad told me “son, it’s because the Bulldogs would beat the Falcons.”)
MF
January 21st, 2011
1:58 pm
I’m Buffalo born, Atlanta raised. I know sports pain.
Biggest Loser
January 21st, 2011
1:58 pm
Biggest losers……
San Diego
Seattle
Atlanta
Overachievers….
Green Bay. Wherever the heck that place is has more championships than Atlanta, about 1 championship for every 500 people.
Anaheim. 2 major championships this century alone, Angels and Ducks. Both teams still being run well. Anaheim? Lol. Or is it Cucamonga?
red & wack
January 21st, 2011
2:00 pm
I want a do over! Let’s get a outdoor stadium for the Falcons.
The Joker
January 21st, 2011
2:01 pm
Its tough being a Falcon Fan or any other Fan in the State of Georgia….My Dad still tells me about that 1981 playoff game and he says that the Falcons should have literally walked into the SuperBowl and won it that year. He says that that dallas game put Falcon Fans in a state of depression for years, and to this day he saids that he will NEVER pull for the cowboys under any circumstance. I was born shortly after that 1980 season, and I have been a Professional and College Sports Fan long enough to know that you should hope for the best but expect the worse…. Someone please destroy this voodoo doll that has been sticking us in the spine for years!!!!!
The Baltimore Browns
January 21st, 2011
2:01 pm
I think Cleveland might have it slightly worse (even though Atlanta does have it pretty bad) because:
1) The Indians first chance to win a series since 1948… lost to none other than the Atlanta Braves.
2) The uncomprehensibly beloved Browns were a football juggernaut until the invention of the Super Bowl and have sucked until the team was literally stolen out of our town to Baltimore. Super Bowl winner two years later: the Baltimore Ravens.
3) The Browns have won something in the ballpark of 35 games total since 1999.
4) Condolences for the awful sports? Atlanta: beautiful weather, beautiful people. Cleveland? ummm, not so much on either point.
5) LeBron James. You didn’t see Greg Maddux jumping ship to win a title did you? Although there was Kovalchuk…nevermind; forget this one.
Don’t get me wrong; Atlanta’s got it pretty bad too. I think maybe this is just a Clevelander trying to win SOMETHING even if it’s the title for “worst”. Or maybe as a newer resident, I’m trying to identify with my new home.
GSU Eagle 91
January 21st, 2011
2:06 pm
Mark….
I just watched the 5:32 clip of Danny White torching the Falcon Defense….I watched it as a 19 year old when it happened, in total disbelief, and it still is the toughest loss as a Falcon fan for me. The team simply laid down on that drive and let Dallas walk all over them.
Thank goodness I went to school at GA Southern, where our coach and team knew how to WIN games like these in the 1980’s.
Jameytime
January 21st, 2011
2:08 pm
This looks familiar….
http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2011/01/20/bens-sports-take-worst-loss-in-atlanta-sports-history
JASon
January 21st, 2011
2:12 pm
“Even if we don’t know what will go wrong this time, we’ve seen enough to know something will. We live in Atlanta, where something always does.”
So true.
MY CITY
January 21st, 2011
2:13 pm
HOME TEAM!
playoffs?
January 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
I hate to bring up the Dream here too but they also lost in the finals this past year.
vafalconfan
January 21st, 2011
2:19 pm
OK, but Philly and Pittsburgh are two of the filthiest, dreadful, coldest places to live in the entire US of A. They come south because they want a better life..would not live there for all the rice in China.
UGAFan
January 21st, 2011
2:20 pm
But, Mark, the Braves won “14 straight championships,” according to the Bobby Cox butt-kissers on the Braves blogs.
te29wr
January 21st, 2011
2:21 pm
HOW MANY PULITZER PRIZES HAVE YOU WON DURING THIS TIME MARK?
a
January 21st, 2011
2:22 pm
lehman bennet vs tom landry.
nuff said
JS
January 21st, 2011
2:23 pm
Didn’t the Atlanta Chiefs win the North American Soccer League championship in 1968?
Frozen Tundra
January 21st, 2011
2:26 pm
Mark was talking about major sports. That’s why he omitted the Atlanta Chiefs.
Frozen Tundra
January 21st, 2011
2:27 pm
And the .007 is rather appropriate… they kill our hopes every season.
A Tech Fan Forever
January 21st, 2011
2:29 pm
Well, Bradley, I don’t like the Headline…….it’s misleading, and probably meant to be so. The City of Atlanta does not, I repeat does not, have a lousy sports history. It just that you choose to focus on spoiled brats and thugs who could care less about Atlanta and their sports history…..all they care about is money, money and more money and making a name for themselves in the game of thuggery. Stop focusing on pro sports and take your damn blinders off and read of some of the great sports teams of Atlanta’s past……High School Teams and College Teams. There are a lot of great stories there about great teams and athletes……of course, since you don’t know how to write a “Great Sport Story”, or even recognize one for that matter, you’d have to use a ghost writer
JS
January 21st, 2011
2:29 pm
oops, should have read through ALL of the comments B4 posting. This was already noted. It was the same yr. the Atlanta side cleaned the clock of England powerhouse Manchester City twice
Dirty Pimp
January 21st, 2011
2:31 pm
Mark I’m so glad you wrote this article. I’ve been saying the same thing for years. Atlanta fans don’t suck, our teams do in big moments, and we’re sick and tired of it. Everybody outside of the city think our teams are always terrible, that’s not the case. We’ve had some good teams here, that did bupkiss in the playoffs. That Falcons game was a perfect example of how we get the reputation. As you could see we showed up, but the team didn’t. Atlanta fans aren’t terrible we’re cynical!
bob
January 21st, 2011
2:34 pm
Mark you forgot about that Atlanta Chief’s banner that is hanging in the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium rafters. Well maybe it is in the dump nowadays, but those great memories linger as an Atlanta sports pinnacle moment.
Sid
January 21st, 2011
2:35 pm
I guess I’ll return my Ga Bulldog and Ga Tech National Championship Coke bottles.
Milledgeville Dawg
January 21st, 2011
2:36 pm
Please go home now Mark Bradley, you are not liked here in GEORGIA!!
E Watkins
January 21st, 2011
2:38 pm
Hey Mark, Atlanta has two if you count the pro soccer team we had back in the 70’s, they won one. Don’t remember the year but maybe you can look it up.
bob
January 21st, 2011
2:38 pm
Oops never mind, Chiefs have been addressed already. Besides everyone in Atlanta seems to root for some perrenial winning franchise anyway, but the Braves & Falcons are this local boys team.
Who Dat?
January 21st, 2011
2:38 pm
It appears most of you are missing some of what this article is about, the ATL Fans are fair-weather. I couldn’t agree more. I laughed so hard when they were claiming their fans were the “12th Man” knowing that if the going got rough they would turn tails and run. Go to Greenbay some time and see all the fans staying to the bitter (cold) end even if the team is losing. Check out all the Chicago Cubs fans, they support their team every year no matter what. Most of the comments confirm what I believe, they are a bunch of winers and cry babbies! WAH WAH thats not fair.
TM
January 21st, 2011
2:45 pm
I’d like to add a tag line to the article:
You can read about it and hear about it all you want, but unless you have lived through it… you truly don’t fully understand it.
RTR
January 21st, 2011
2:48 pm
Mark… you are officially my new favorite writer! As an Atlanta native we need some championships!
JR1967
January 21st, 2011
2:49 pm
To Tommy: You mention the Vikes of the 70s and the Mets of the 80s, but here’s the big difference: Minnesota has had two World Series Titles (1987 and 1991), and New York City has had championships in other sports (Giants in 1986, 1990, 2007), the multiple Yankees World Series Titles over the last two decades plus the Stanley Cup titles of the Islanders (1980-1983) and the NY Rangers in 1994.
As for Atlanta, well…………………………
JSS
January 21st, 2011
2:49 pm
James
January 21st, 2011
1:53 pm
January 21st, 2011
1:28 pm
“The Dream won’t be winning a title for awhile either especially since Maya Moore will be in the WNBA soon she will be the #1 pick for the (Minnesota Lynx) so they will probably win the title.”
They’d need six Maya Moore’s and Dianna Taurisi to touch the Dream, Sun, Mercury, or Storm…. Sorry to tell you, but the Dream has a young superstar who’d I’d take in WNBA showdown with Moore any night of the week: Angel McCoughtry! And it would not even be close! Love Maya since she is the 2nd best player this State ever produced….
LawDawg
January 21st, 2011
2:57 pm
And the Falcons shout “good grief”
Ed Zachary
January 21st, 2011
3:01 pm
At least we’re not Kansas City
indigo
January 21st, 2011
3:09 pm
I’m just wondering: what percentage of the NFL cities have won a championship since the Falcons came into existence?
What percentage of Major league baseball cities have won a World Series since he Braves moved to Atlanta?
Ditto with the Hawks.
Not to diminish Atlanta’s failures, but I suspect the city’s record is not that unique.
Ueeediot
January 21st, 2011
3:10 pm
It is not a lousy title
JSS
January 21st, 2011
3:10 pm
Ed Zachary
January 21st, 2011
3:01 pm
“At least we’re not Kansas City”
KC has two since the modern era… Chiefs in 1970 and the Royals in 1985…
heartofdarkness
January 21st, 2011
3:12 pm
Negative. Negative, Mark. Look at how no heavily attended championship games reduced traffic flow has reduced congestion downtown. BTW, Woody Johnson, owner of the Jets, pointed out on CNBC today, that championships drive up the operating costs of the team that gets the crown, which is not recovered in increased attendance or gate.
Andy
January 21st, 2011
3:13 pm
The good news is, not one of the four teams needs serious work done. All four look to be annual playoff contenders (maybe a stretch with the Thrashers, but they’re pointing in the right direction), and all four have a foundation of good young talent. Come April, we may have two more teams to be excited about in the playoffs. As an Atlanta sports fan, and not solely a Falcons fan, waiting until April is a lot easier than waiting until January 2012.
CBI Cadet
January 21st, 2011
3:17 pm
Haven’t brought the Falcons much luck in attending the Super Bowl vs. Broncos, NFC Championship vs. the Eagles and the Packers debacle (although we did stay till the end). Heard on the radio as we started the 500-mile trip home that Saturday was the worst night in Atlanta sports history. There have been a lot of tough nights. But also a lot of great nights.
Atlanta's sad sports history: One lousy title in 148 pro seasons … | Daily News 24x7 World News
January 21st, 2011
3:20 pm
[...] See original here: Atlanta's sad sports history: One lousy title in 148 pro seasons … [...]
Motocross Survivor
January 21st, 2011
3:20 pm
Sheeeeit, who cares? Unless you’re a sports writer, one of the players, or sell $10 hotdogs and $3 t-shirts for $30 what difference does it make to dopey fans? They leave the arenas just as broke as they were before, just as fat (usually fatter) and their kid still eats boogers. What a waste of dough. I sometimes watch Falcon games on TV, but as far as baseball or basketball, Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
JSS
January 21st, 2011
3:23 pm
Since the Falcons entered the League in 1966, only the Eagles, Lions, Vikings, Cardinals, Panthers, Oilers, Chargers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Texans, Browns, and Bills have failed to win a title. 3 expansion teams have won Super Bowls before them… Two expansion teams The Bucs and Saints, and two relocated franchises the Rams and Ravens (the old Browns) have won Super Bowls before them,
Dumbo
January 21st, 2011
3:26 pm
Bradley…you are a idiot…are you so arrogant, that you won’t include the 1968 Atlanta Chiefs Champions of the NASL….you butthead. I know in 1968 you were in training pants and didn’t know what soccer was…still no excuse.
Mitchell
January 21st, 2011
3:26 pm
Who Dat?
January 21st, 2011
2:38 pm
It appears most of you are missing some of what this article is about, the ATL Fans are fair-weather. I couldn’t agree more. I laughed so hard when they were claiming their fans were the “12th Man” knowing that if the going got rough they would turn tails and run.
Wait a minute. What about when the Rangers were eviscerating the Yankees in the ALCS this year?
As soon as Games 3 and 4 got clearly out of hand, those people were running for the exits like it was a hundred yard dash.
Those supposedly die hard New York fans emptied out Yankee Stadium in absolutely stunning fashion.
The fact is nobody wants to see their team lose and as has been well documented our teams lose more often than not.
In the case of the Braves more than any other, they always seem to do it in their home ballpark.
Really, at a certain point it became so self-evident it was just futile. Who would want to pay to see that year after year? The ones that did should have been given one free beer per game.
Anybody who had tickets for both Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS last year and who could still find it within themselves to show up for Game 4 after what unfolded the previous night is a stronger man then I.
The game is played on the field, not in the stands.
Calm Down
January 21st, 2011
3:30 pm
Dumbo, you have definately assigned an appropriate name for yourself and who gives a rat’s behind about the NASL??
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 21st, 2011
3:36 pm
Check out all the Chicago Cubs fans, they support their team every year no matter what.
If you’ll go their website and read their blog comments, you’ll find many there are less than happy. Quite a few of them are wanting to run Jim Hendry out of town.