I mean seriously, when was the last time Atlanta sports fans had such a great weekend? The Braves, Falcons, Dawgs, & Yellow Jackets all won games this weekend in dramatic fashion. Not only that, but some of our rival teams like the Saints, Patriots, & Buccaneers all lost to boot. Atlanta United fans can complain about the team’s ugly loss to New England, but that’s about it. We can even talk about the nice weather we had, as we were mostly unaffected by the hurricane. Without further ado, let’s dive in & recap a fantastic weekend for Atlanta sports fans worldwide.
Braves impress & sweep the Mets
We definitely needed to win this series, and on top of that we really needed to sweep the series in order to stay relevant in the NL East. Needless to say, we took care of business in winning all three games by a total score of seven runs. I was in attendance for the Braves series clinching win over the Mets on Saturday night, and let me tell you it was such an impressive win. Kyle Wright facing off against Max Scherzer was entertaining, and it served as a reminder for me as to why Wright leads MLB in pitcher wins with 21 on the season. He went 5 solid innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits with 3 strikeouts on 87 pitches to basically match Scherzer on the day. No offense to him or any of our other starters though, but the story of this series was our offense coming to life & our bullpen reclaiming their status as one of the most elite units in all of MLB. Matt Olson & Dansby Swanson homered in all 3 games, and the “Arm Barn” shut the Mets out.
Falcons hang on against the Browns
I hate that I missed most of this game, but sometimes gaming with the boys is important. This was a back & forth affair with several lead changes throughout, an impressive win for sure. Believe it or not, we’re actually tied for first place atop the NFC South standings with the Bucs! We play against them this coming weekend too, which sets up an entertaining game on the road. Anyways, despite Mariota’s recent struggles we’ve been able to win games by running the ball & playing “bend but don’t break” defense. Who thought we could ever say that about the Falcons?
Bulldogs rally late against Missouri
Ya know, being at the Braves game while the Dawgs were playing was a surreal experience. People were whispering about Georgia being on upset alert against Missouri around the 7th inning, and these conversations continued as I journeyed towards my car after the game. The latest update I heard before separating from the crowd was that the Bulldogs were down by a score of 19-22 with around 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Things were not looking good, and it wasn’t until after I reached my car that I found out that we had survived the road upset. Now, we got bumped down a spot in the CFP & AP rankings, but to be honest who really cares? We all know that Georgia will be there at the end of the year, and kudos to them for their win.
Tech stuns Pittsburgh on the road
My coworker is a huge Pitt fan, an alumni who watches them religiously on Saturdays. She was not happy about her team’s loss to Georgia Tech, and honestly who could blame her? Tech had recently fired both head coach Geoff Collins (who wasn’t properly dismissed) and athletic director Todd Stansbury after the team’s abysmal start to the season with a 1-3 record. They were outscored 127-55 during this timeframe, and these wholesale changes were needed. Not even the most die-hard Tech fans expected a win against Pitt, who seemingly had Tech’s number in recent seasons. Who knows, maybe there’s something brewing on North Avenue?
Saints, Patriots, Buccaneers all lose
Atlanta sports fans sure are a petty bunch, aren’t we? We were certainly rooting for the Vikings, Packers, & Chiefs on Sunday to beat our rival teams. It’s as the age-old saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Luckily for us, we made many new friends on Sunday. All of these teams losing was just icing on the cake of this wonderful weekend in Atlanta sports.
The Sports Beacon 
Well said Sir! Go Braves!
LikeLike