It’s a time of celebration for Atlanta sports fans as we’ve had a banner year in 2021-22. The highlights included the Braves winning the World Series & the Dawgs winning the CFP National Championship; however, the great year wasn’t done yet for these diehard fans. That’s because we haven’t yet mentioned the surprising success of the Atlanta Hawks, nor the sudden retirements of several prominent figures within the NFC South division. Sure, we’ve taken our losses along the way this year (looking at you, Atlanta Falcons), but overall this is the type of year Atlanta sports fans have been dreaming of for several decades. That’s why it’s so critically important to take a step back in appreciation for all that has happened this past calendar year.
Drew Brees retires (3/14/21)
Atlanta sports fans sure are a petty bunch, aren’t we? We don’t know how to handle success very well, so we enjoy every opportunity we get to bask in the failures of our rival teams. I have nothing but respect for Drew Brees, but as a Falcons fan I was happy he decided to retire. He absolutely terrorized our defenses for about two decades since the Saints signed him in 2006. Brees was 29-9 all-time against the Falcons, with 54 TDs, 8,695 yards, & a 97.1 QBR against us. It’s no coincidence that the Saints struggled at the quarterback position this year once Brees left.
Hawks advance in playoffs (6/20/21)
I’ll confess that I don’t know very much about the Hawks & basketball in general, but I was certainly paying attention when the Hawks started making some noise in the 2021 playoffs. You could feel it, the entire city was rooting for them & paying attention to their games for once. Their run finally came to an end in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, but the team made tons of progress under [then] interim head coach Nate McMillan, who was later hired full-time. Who knows what will happen to the Hawks in 2022, but ‘21 will be remembered fondly by fans.
Braves win World Series (11/2/21)
The 2021 Atlanta Braves were the team of destiny that Atlanta sports fans dreamed of. The team was 44-45 at the All-Star break, and they didn’t cross the .500 mark until August 6th. They finally beat the Dodgers in the playoffs to advance to their first World Series since 1999. Jorge Soler won the World Series MVP by leading off Game 1 with a homer & by hitting a moonshot home run in Game 6. That ball surely hasn’t landed back on Earth quite yet, right? Max Fried dazzled in Game 6 after getting his ankle stepped on while fielding in the 1st inning. This championship win made up for the ghosts of Atlanta sports playoff failures over the years.
Personally, it meant a lot to me to be able to participate in the World Series parade afterwards. I’d never seen the city gather together like that, and plenty of fans watched the event on TV too.
Falcons overachieve (1/9/22)
The Falcons were coming off of a 4-12 season in 2020 that necessitated a regime change. Needless to say, expectations were fairly low for the 2021 Falcons after trading away franchise icon Julio Jones earlier in the offseason & letting OL Alex Mack & others walk in free agency. Then the Calvin Ridley debacle happened midseason, and all bets were off for them after that. Considering the circumstances, this team should receive praise for their 7-10 record in 2021. They were playoff relevant until the end of the season, even if it always seemed like a longshot. Our Falcons weren’t the highlight of our calendar year, but things certainly could’ve been worse.
Georgia wins the Natty (1/11/22)
I was screaming at my TV when Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo intercepted Alabama QB Bryce Young with 1:04 left in the game and returned it 79 yards for a defensive touchdown! The ghosts of Atlanta sports playoff failures past haunted me, and at the time I wanted Ringo to play it safe & take a knee with the ball so that our offense could just run the clock out on Bama. After all, what if he had fumbled & Bama recovered the ball near our own 20-yard line instead? What I didn’t realize was that Ringo’s convoy of blockers simply wouldn’t allow that to happen. Two championships in 1 year from our Atlanta sports teams? I’ll take that any day of the week.
Sean Payton retires (1/25/22)
It seems the Saints recent run of dominance in the NFC South has finally come to an end. Their two franchise cornerstones (Payton & Brees) have retired in subsequent offseasons, they have no viable franchise quarterback to speak of, and their franchise is in salary cap hell to boot. All of this makes Falcons fans smile, as our rivalry with the Saints is one of the best in football. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Sean Payton, whether that’s as a head coach for the Cowboys or as a TV analyst for Amazon; however, I’m happy he won’t coach the Saints again. His 21-9 record against the Falcons shows that his teams were superior to ours in recent years.
Tom Brady retires (2/1/22)
I have huge respect for Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game; however, not one part of me will miss him at all after he dominated the league for two decades. It’s been especially frustrating as a Falcons fan having to watch my team play against him in Super Bowl LI & twice a year for the past two year upon his arrival with the Buccaneers in 2020. Fun fact, the Falcons are 0-5 in those games & 0-9 lifetime against teams featuring Tom Brady. I’m hopeful that he’s decided to actually retire, as defenses around the league won’t miss him.
The Sports Beacon 