Atlanta as the most miserable sports city? Guilty as charged
Been there, done that. Been there a lot, done it way too often. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Take a bow, A-T-L. After an agonizing near-miss last year — we finished second to Seattle — we made it this time. We’re now No. 1 in Forbes magazine’s listing of America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities. Time for another ticker-tape parade down Peachtree!
Here’s the rationale of Tom Van Riper, who compiled the rankings:
Since last spring, the NHL Thrashers left town for Winnipeg, baseball’s Braves blew a near-lock playoff spot on the final day of the season and the NBA Hawks and NFL Falcons got bounced out of the postseason early yet again. That was enough to push Atlanta, always among the top finishers in Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities, back to the top spot for the first time since 2008.
And what can we say in rebuttal? All of the above is, alas, true.
The Forbes “methodology,” to invoke Van Riper’s word, concerns “misery as defined by heartbreak — teams good enough to win a lot of games and advance through the postseason, only to disappoint fans in the end by falling short of a championship.” That’s not the same as being, say, the Cubs over the past century or the Cavaliers after LeBron. But it does describe Atlanta.
The Hawks were a hot ticket in the late ’80s, same as the Falcons were in the late ’70s, just as the Braves became in the early ’90s. But disappointment broke the Hawks’ and Falcons’ waves — our NBA club couldn’t close out Boston in 1988 and flopped in Round 1 against Milwaukee in ‘89; our NFL franchise couldn’t get past Dallas — and the players’ strike of 1994 cooled our baseball ardor more than any postseason defeat every did.
That’s the part outsiders don’t get. From September 1991 through the summer of ‘94, this city was as crazy for a team as any city has ever been. (Remember the rush to buy foam tomahawks?) The Braves could have sold two million tickets to the 1992 postseason, but after the strike and the washed-out World Series, demand wasn’t the same. In October 1995, even as the Braves were en route to winning it all, you could walk up to the box office and buy tickets to single games for both the NLCS and the World Series.
Attendance at the old stadium dropped from 3.88 million in 1993, the year before the strike, to 2.9 million in 1996, the year after the World Series was won. Even the bump that came with the 1997 opening of Turner Field waned by 2001. Not since 2003 have the Braves finished higher than 14th in home attendance. It’s not that we stopped caring altogether; it’s that we don’t care quite enough to pack the stadium on a nightly basis.
I know, I know. Every other baseball city suffered from the strike, too. But Georgia is a right-to-work state, and the distrust of unions is higher here. Besides, the Braves simply won too often to hold us through every game of the 14-year run of division titles. We came to bide our time until the playoffs, and the playoffs came to yield Round 1 exits.
And those, I submit, hardened our predisposition to wait and see. We’d gotten excited about the Falcons and then the Hawks only to have hopes dashed. Then the Braves, who were the best Atlanta pro team ever, started doing it, too. Leeriness became our default civic stance. Thus was the Braves’ epic September collapse met with the same cry that had greeted the Falcons’ blowout playoff loss to Green Bay: “See? Told you so!”
Loading ...We’ve had major-league sports teams since 1966, and only once has an Atlanta major-league team hoisted the big trophy, and that came a year after some among us swore we’d never watch that particular sport again. Our teams have since been undone by Jim Leyritz swinging and Aaron Rodgers flinging and Eugene Robinson getting arrested, and we have become fatalistic. We’re kind of like Red Sox Nation before Dave Roberts stole second in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS: We expect the absolute worst, and we’re seldom disappointed.
But here’s the difference. Even if the Red Sox went 85 years between World Series titles, folks in Boston still had the Celtics, who won 11 NBA titles in 13 years, and the Bruins, who won two Stanley Cups in three years, and the Patriots, who’d started on their run of Super Bowl victories. We’ve had only the Braves in 1995, and we’ve come to see that as the exception — the clincher was the function of a 1-0 one-hitter — that proves the rule.
America’s most miserable sports city? By Forbes’ definition, we absolutely are. But I would offer one quibble: We’re not the worst sports city. Our pro teams aren’t nearly awful, and our fervor for college football is unparalleled. So there’s that.
If/when another Atlanta pro team takes a title, our joyful deliverance will be unconfined. Until then, we’ll remain skeptical. We’re Atlanta, and it’s what we do.
By Mark Bradley
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247 comments Add your comment
wxwax
February 29th, 2012
5:41 pm
The Hawks made the payoffs.
The Falcons made the playoffs.
The Braves almost made the playoffs.
How is this a miserable sports city? Not even close. Crazy talk.
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
5:54 pm
For the last 12 months (or at least since May of 2011) we have had a miserable time.
First we lose our NHL team; and more people cared than given credit for.
Then, the Braves choke bad. The Falcons have a pedestrian regular season then get blown out in the post season, and insult of all, we are stuck with the ATL Spirit with the Hawks.
And the Hawks, well, its an up and down injury prone yr and we are stuck with those same lousy owners.
College Basketball is a disaster and College Football, TEch and GA okay but nothing special.
I can take or leave college sports anyway.
Worst thing was the Thrashers leaving and the Spirit staying. Having Liberty Media also helps with the misery.
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
6:08 pm
I won’t attend another Hawks game until ATL Spirit sells the team….they sold my hockey team after not even trying to put a winner on the ice the entire time the team was here.
TD 1992—I feel the same way. I do not have the same feeling about ATl sports since the Thrash left. But, there were problems with the Thrashers before the Spirit got in, notably Dim Waddell’s incompetence at player decisions in free agency and player development. Andrew Brunette was the first big blunder they made and that was before the Spirit got into existence. That was after year 2. He would have been nice secondary scoring behind a young Kovalchuck and Heatley.
The Spirit did not build on the momentum of that division winning team. What alot of people forget is that they came a hairs close to the plaoffs the year before. If they had any goaltending in 05-06 we would have had 2 playoff teams in a row. .
And no other GM would have drafted Alex Bourrett (traded down twice) and Boris Valabik where they did. Those were the worst picks, even worse than Patrik Stefan.
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
6:10 pm
wxwax—The Braves gave us a monumental collapse in September and that almost is not good enough. Unless you are accepting of mediocrity.
The Braves are a civic embarrassment after September. And Liberty Media does not try to make them better. Garbage ownership.
Oh, yea, the Falcons really distinguished themselves in their last 2 playoff games vs the Pack and Giants, heh…..
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
6:14 pm
DEA in ATL–If you were cancelled tommorrow, I would care less.
Go read the girlie living section. What in the #$%# are you doing posting in the sports section.
Pro sports are everything and to me its more important to have major league sports than public eduction.
Slick Richt
February 29th, 2012
6:50 pm
I agree we have the most miserable writers in sports.
David
February 29th, 2012
6:53 pm
That Eric Gregg strike zone in 1997 was disgusting.
BravesFan79
February 29th, 2012
7:10 pm
So this article means we have the most teams likely to make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs? Sounds great to me! Ill take that anyday over the misery of DC with the redskins, nationals, capitals… etc. This article is stupid.
dean
February 29th, 2012
7:29 pm
I’m in my late 50’s. No one is going to tell me squat about ATL sports misery.
Ekim
February 29th, 2012
7:37 pm
Amen, BravesFan79
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
8:10 pm
I would be glad to take the Capitals. That is better than what we will have in that sport.
The Braves just plain stink. September proved it. They almost frittered it away in September 2010, thanks to the much maligned D. Lowe, his September pitching kept the Braves from choking that one away.
September of 2011, not a thing to just forget.
loserville
February 29th, 2012
8:16 pm
atl—city of losers! Come to NY to see champions—-I miss the bronx–hopefully I can move back next year if the economy picks up.
Spud
February 29th, 2012
8:32 pm
Who cares what that guy at Forbes thinks? One reason attendance is not what it could be, is the lack of MARTA trains going right up to the fields and and that getting to, in, and out of Turner Field, GA Dome, and Philips Arena is basically a PITA! For those of fans that live outside of ATL, it takes a lot of consideration before we commit to the time consuming and fairly expensive choice of coming to any pro game in ATL. I enjoy being at the games, absolutely hate the process of getting there and getting away.
If I could park say at the South Lake area, and catch MARTA and go directly to the games without changing trains, riding buses, and walking two miles, I bring my family more.
The challenges that ATL sports team face are not just on the field.
Charlie S
February 29th, 2012
8:34 pm
“We’re Atlanta, and it’s what we do.” This summed it up well. And as far as that Leyritz homer being the beginning of the end, it was. I watched it and felt it live (well, at home). Unfortunately, I think the Braves players and organization did the same thing. It took away that thought that we could be actually become a dynasty. Like in “Inception,” once that seed was planted, it took root.
D man
February 29th, 2012
8:36 pm
World champions of being the worlds worst sports city. Yeah baby yeah. “Celebrate good times come on”…
D man
February 29th, 2012
8:39 pm
Loserville – we hope you move back to NY so you’ll stop honking all the time and yelling and being rude and complaining about everything… Maybe some of our southern manors rubbed off on you so you can teach your friends up north how to act.
Atlanta fans… do we truly live in the most miserable sports city the nation??? « I got somethin to say!
February 29th, 2012
8:45 pm
[...] more about it but then when I woke up this Wednesday morning and went about the day and read Mark Bradley’s blog (local sports writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution) agreeing with the article and it made me [...]
Nativebird
February 29th, 2012
8:49 pm
Shuerholz has perfected the Barnum-rule in business here in Atlanta. All he had to do was to give these long ti
The truth....
February 29th, 2012
9:05 pm
How many guys that play for the Celtics, Pats, Bruins, Sox are from New England or even the Northeast? Few if any. How many Pirates, Pens, or Steelers are from western Pennsylvania? Cardinals from St. Louis? Packers from Wisconsin?
The bottom line is that this stuff is entertainment. By in large, professional athletes care about the city they’re in……so long as they cut the check. Sports is entertainment, it’s not something to tie your self esteem to. The people of Atlanta and surrounding areas spend their money on that which is entertaining. When you take a team like the Hawks, they have a 0% chance of winning the NBA championship. If I can clearly see that it’s a foregone conclusion you have no chance in the playoffs……I’m just not interested. You want people to get interested? Go sign Dwight Howard.
Atlanta baseball fans are bored with early exits in the playoffs, do something about it to entertain or captivate the fanbase and people will attend. The bottom line is that people in Atlanta have other stuff to do. They enjoy college sports, they enjoy high school sports, they play golf, they hunt, they fish, the go to the beach, they go to the race, they hike, they bike, they canoe, they have stuff to do.
The Falcons are a good team, but they don’t really scare anybody, and like Georgia they don’t win championships because the suck on the offense line of scrimmage. The Falcons suck on both lines. If they fix that, they’ll both win championships and have more fans than they can contain.
Disgusted
February 29th, 2012
9:10 pm
Hey loserville, the Bronx slum should not be that expensive for u to move back to. There should be a vacant burned out crack building u can occupy.
Pls, go back to NY and stay in ur rathole of a city. Better yet, why not move to Sewark aka Newark, that is not too far from ur promised land.
I would rather be in a trailer anywhere in GA than within a 100 mile radius of the NY sewer s#ity
IceColdATLien
February 29th, 2012
9:13 pm
As a man who cries about virtually nothing, I will likely have tears if our falcons can ever grab a ring.
Brave Oldie
February 29th, 2012
9:20 pm
Dang we finally won something!!!!
Really though just to echo previous posters, the Hawks and Braves ownership groups are the worst in professional sports. Heck the Hawks dont even have a NBA head coach.
What is really pathetic is that the ASG has screwed this franchise up so bad that Dwight Howard doesnt even want to come home and play the Hawks! That is a huge statement.
$10 and a trip to WalMart
February 29th, 2012
9:21 pm
And you too can be a Yankees, Lakers, Red Wings, or Steelers fan. Again…….how many guys that play for the Yankees are from New York…….right. Steelers from western Penn?
The “Yankees” are all from Georgia, Florida, California, Texas, and the Carribean. They damn sure aren’t from the Bronx.
If you tie your self esteem to the results of a team you don’t play for, you don’t recieve a check from, they don’t consult you about team moves, you don’t get a ring, you don’t get a bonus…………..but they will take $10 for that beer and why don’t you buy a few more….the New York Yankees would like to thank you for your continued patronage. You are important because you paid the bills, but make no mistake, the Yanks are a corporation that doesn’t give a damn about you that happens to be in your home town.
1966 Falcon
February 29th, 2012
9:23 pm
Love the Falcons, could care very less about the ATL
Brave Oldie
February 29th, 2012
9:26 pm
The cheapass Braves will not be contenders this season. No LF or SS and a broke down has been 3B.
Hillbilly D
February 29th, 2012
9:34 pm
As the late, great Leroy Powell once said, most of these guys wouldn’t even lived here, if they weren’t paid to. (That goes for any professional sports team).
Angry Bird
February 29th, 2012
9:47 pm
Sadly this is Loserville USA. Even players from here such as Dwight Howard do not want to play for this miserable sports town.
Midtown Mike
February 29th, 2012
9:53 pm
Heeeeeeeeeey!
Dwight Howard would love to play here because he is on the down low. You heard it here first.
alex
February 29th, 2012
9:54 pm
with you loserville, as for manors, first learn how to spell…(good atlanta public schools). Atlanta is loserville because the population doesn’t buy into it. People come here to make some money and have a job and then leave as soon as anything comparable or better comes up somewhere else.. Team owners are greedy and reflect the “fans”.
Timbo
February 29th, 2012
9:54 pm
The AJC is the most miserable “big city” hometown newspaper as well. Thanks Mark for contributing to the decline of “professional” journalism. I actually remember when the AJC was a source of pride among the citizens born and raised in the metro Atlanta area. Now it’s just a rag news sight that attempts to get “hits” by inciting the emotions of the mouth breathers that get overly emotional over nonsense. I rarely buy the paper or visit this site anymore. Every time I break down and take a peak, it’s like deja vu. Same ole crap.
Sorry @ss
February 29th, 2012
9:57 pm
The hawks suck,the braves suck, the falcons suck. bird of a feather flock together……
ATL Sports Fan
February 29th, 2012
10:06 pm
I agree with the Forbes article. Our sports history is drenched in heartbreak and disappointment. I have waay more bad memories than good when it comes to ATL sports, not even close. 95 was sweet, but how many World Series’ did the Braves get to and LOSE? Even the Braves in the glory years ended in disappointment and heartbreak for the most part. Twins pushing Lonnie off the bag, Joe Carter and the Blue Jays, the freaking Yankees…and the Falcons? Where do I start. Mediocre my whole life and then we get the first pick in the draft and get this incredibly exciting player that takes us to an NFC championship and then…well, you know how that story ended. They’ve been good as of late thankfully but getting blown out on Natl tv and in the playoffs every year is more heartbreak/disappointment. And the Hawks? They have been bad pretty much my whole life. Then they get good enough to make the playoffs and get blown out in the 2nd round each year. Good enough to be almost there but with a dfysfunctional ownership group and bad management and Woody for way too long and not getting a center and trading our draft picks for Kirk Heinrich and paying Joe Johnson Michael Jordan money…Miserable
ATL Sports Fan
February 29th, 2012
10:07 pm
Btw, can someone please open comments for the story about the girl shoving hashbrowns down her pants. Thank you.
kingdaddy
February 29th, 2012
10:15 pm
M.B.
At least we’re consistent. It’s good not to suck at everything. We are Great at being Bad. Your article really brightens my day. Oh yeah, I’ve been married 3 times and divorced 3 times too.LOL Maybe you can do an article on AJC/Sports Journalist not having anything to write about …
NtheNo
February 29th, 2012
10:17 pm
Count me as one that said good-bye to MLB and the NFL after the strikes….haven’t bought a ticket to either since. Don’t plan to.
kingdaddy
February 29th, 2012
10:22 pm
Atl.Sports Fan
She was just keeping them warm for her roommate. Ever since the story broke, I’ve had a hard time ordering the hashbrowns at Denny’s.
Ed
February 29th, 2012
10:24 pm
Atlanta can be considered a miserable sports town in one sense. We live in a Major League City with a Bush League Newspaper with about a four page sports section. You idiots want to write about ownership. What marquee free agent would want to come here? So he could read Mark Bradley’s dribble and listen to John Kincade talk about how great Philadelphia is? Give me a break. I heard the “face of the Braves” on satellite radio tonight and he said as much for the world to hear.
dawg4u
February 29th, 2012
10:26 pm
Mark I am glad that you made the distinction between “most miserable sports city” and “worst sports city” because there is definitely a big difference there. Good analysis and as much as I hate to say it, absolutely true!
extremus
February 29th, 2012
10:42 pm
Think we could get a few more butts in the seats at Turner Field to see Liberty Media’s CEO push a baseball around the bases with his nose ala’ Ted Turner?
It’ll never happen; a corporate, Denver-based ownership is also a big part of the disconnect for Braves fans right now. At least even back in the 1970s and mid-late 1980s when the Braves were awful, they had an enthusiastic human owner who gave a care.
As for Atlanta pro team sports in general, I wholeheartedly agree; having the full expectation of getting to the playoffs in a given sport year after year only serves to magnify the agony if it results in early exits. You win it all or you failed, whether that’s fair or not, and after awhile people tend to wrap their hearts in concrete to prevent them from being crushed yet again. The seeming apathy and skepticism of Atlanta sports fans is a product of unparalleled disappointment, heartbreak, and even bitter schisms created within the fanbase over the past 15-20 years; after that long maybe we’ve earned the right to it.
atlantato seattle2015
February 29th, 2012
11:00 pm
went to the playoffs when the falcons played Green bay..we were hyped and excited driving through iced over roads to get to the Georgia Dome ..and the DOME WAS LOUD AS WELL..Falcons scored first place went crazy then after it went down hill we were dissapointed bitterly..i,m a big Falcon fan the let down lingered for weeks ..the falcons were 13/3 that was thier chance to pull this racialy divided city together ..they failed big time..bottom line win and the fans will respond big time ..put a product on the field and play with emotion the fans will in turn feed off that..best game ever Atlanta vs minnesota vikings winning and going to the super bowl in minneapolis SHOCKING THE WORLD..remmeber the response from the city then ???thier were tons at the airport and fans in droves at the falcon headquaters
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
February 29th, 2012
11:03 pm
And CHOKE is the most MISERABLE qb impersonator…………….
HA HA HA
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
February 29th, 2012
11:05 pm
Remember the days when the Dome used to be sold out before the start of the season?
Remember when playoffs didn’t end with 1 & done?
Remember when the team was respected?
HA HA HA
4dabirds
February 29th, 2012
11:10 pm
Oh no, once again the media says we are a terrible, miserable, (pick your own adjective) sports city. Looks like we are #1 at being bad fans again. Millions of us have pulled together to say we don’t like our teams enough to show up for any games, much less any of the significant games. I want to thank whoever it was that got us all organized for this historical feat. The millions of disappointed have spoken, so suck on it America and call us what you like, because we refuse to embrace mediocrity.
As for me, I’ll get excited when football rolls around again, and I’ll go to my usual 5 or 6 Braves games. Meanwhile, I’ll go play some golf, mountain bike, and chase the hot women of Georgia, because I will certainly be more entertained by those activities than anything coming from our pro sports franchises.
MyPatootie
February 29th, 2012
11:16 pm
There’s always Jacksonville and Nashville. Neither even has a MLB team and the NFL teams stink to high heaven! I think either one of them would take what ATL has in a “Georgia second”!
4dabirds
February 29th, 2012
11:17 pm
Matt “CHOKE” Ryan, you’re going to give Vick a groin injury with all the jock ridin you do.
Your hero is part of the misery. For every one thing he did great, he did 5 bad things. He quit on his team, never dedicated himself to getting better, and then embarrassingly went to jail. Good times.
MyPatootie
February 29th, 2012
11:20 pm
BTW, who is that in the photo at the top of the article? Looks like #15 on the helmet. AND why are the Braves’ players such litterbugs? Don’t they put any trash cans in the dugouts? Wonder if they do that at home?
Hillbilly D
February 29th, 2012
11:22 pm
can someone please open comments for the story about the girl shoving hashbrowns down her pants.
That gives a whole new meaning to “scattered, smothered and covered”.
Arnold Ziffel
March 1st, 2012
12:16 am
I’m an ATL native and can say our sports scene really stinks. I used to think it was just a matter of time but reality says different. So much disappointment has me where I don’t really care anymore. I get less invested with our teams each year both in wallet and results. The Forbes article finally brings to light the unique level of suffering we endure here that no other city has experienced to the level we have. Our teams excel in maxing out at “above average” and providing total embarrassments in national performances. Nothing is going to change because this is the ATL.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 1st, 2012
1:07 am
If ATL isn’t the most miserable sports city it’s up there near the top. I think Cleveland and Seattle fans have more to complain about than ATL fans, but that’s probably about it.
So why, then, do ATL fans get clowned by the national media? If our teams are obviously such disappointments, why are ATL fans then expected to shell out hard earned cash to go see these disappointments in action? Are fans expected to dutifully pay to see bad products?
Najeh Davenpoop
March 1st, 2012
1:10 am
“the falcons were 13/3 that was thier chance to pull this racialy divided city together ”
The race thing is so overrated. Everyone in this city rallied around the 1998 Falcons quarterbacked by lily-white Chris Chandler. Everyone in this city rallied around the Vick Falcons. The current Falcons haven’t yet won over this city because they are frauds, not because of race. If Aaron Rodgers had taken over at QB in 2008 the Falcons would be the toast of the town.