The Falcons 28-3 lead in Super Bow 51l, the Braves led 3-1 in the 2020 NLCS, and the Bulldogs lead 13-0 in the 2018 College Football National Championship, and what was the common outcome in each of these monumental sports moments for Georgia team? Loss. Fans of Georgia sports have been forced to deal with constant heartbreak and disappointment, and when the Braves went up 3-1  in the World Series against the Astros last weekend, the stage was set at home once again for a team to bring a championship to Georgia, but the Braves lost, and were forced to go back to Houston for games 6 and 7, having to win one of the two games.

 It was beginning to feel like deja vu for Georgia sports fans, as they thought this was another year of getting close but choking in the 12th hour. Game 6 came, but instead of anguish, Braves stars Jorge Soler, Dansby Swanson, and Freddie Freeman brought joy and bliss, propelling the Braves to a 7-0 victory with three critical home runs, bringing a World Series crown for Atlanta for the first time in 26 years.

For those that are unfamiliar with Georgia sports, this victory might have seemed like just a sports team winning a championship. But for Georgia’s faithful, such as NAHS students, this was much more. It was the first championship that many members of NAHS’s student body have lived to see. “I have been on this earth for 17 years, and have cheered for the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and UGA for that whole time,” said Junior John Gregory. “This is the first time in my entire lie that I have gotten to experience one of my teams winning a championship, I will remember this for the rest of my life.”

This championship not only impacted teenage Dubs, but transcends the the barriers of ages and backgrounds of people across the state. Sports have a unique way of bringing people together. They allow for people that might have different values, beliefs, and experiences to come together with a common interest. 

With the tensions in Atlanta this past year and the mayoral race starting to heat up, this Braves World Series was something that was needed for the livelihood of the A. “For the first time since I have lived in Atlanta, I have seen lots of people unified in a new and special way.” said IB Literature teacher Lee Lundy. ”Seeing what this championship has done for Atlanta as a whole cannot be understated, and is way bigger than just 4 wins on a baseball field.”

The success of the Braves has created a sense that the curse commonly believed to be holding down Atlanta sports teams for so long has been lifted. With the Hawks starting off the season following a birth in the ECF last season, and UGA football being ranked at #1 boasting national title hopes, fans are beginning to wonder if this is the beginning of a cultural shift in Georgia sports. “As Georgia sports fans, we have had to deal with heartbreak at every turn, and it truly has felt like we are cursed,” said sophomore Carter Rose. “I believe this championship broke the curse and will lead to the same type of success in other sports across Georgia.”

Is the curse broken? Will this championship transform the sports culture in Georgia? These are both questions that remain to be answered, but what we do know is that this Atlanta Braves championship has raised spirits across the state and changed the way people view sports in our state for the foreseeable future.