The year 1995 marks one of the greatest years in Atlanta history: Atlanta was one year away from hosting the Olympics, and the Atlanta Braves won the World Series. This championship would be the last championship an Atlanta team would win in either the MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL.
Both the Atlanta Flame and Thrashers left the city without a professional hockey team. After finishing with the best record and advancing to their first Eastern Conference Finals, the Atlanta Hawks were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From 1991 to 2005, the Braves were elite and made five World Series appearances, but only won one title. The 2019 Braves’ young core seemed destined to advance in the playoffs. The Braves led 2-1 in the National League Division Series, but eventually lost and allowed a record ten runs in the first inning of the closeout game.
Lastly, the Atlanta Falcons hold the record for the largest blown lead in NFC Championship and Super Bowl history. Some say it’s a curse, but there is likely a logical reason behind it.
Atlanta has become the largest entertainment market in the South. Numerous television series, movie studios and musicians are based in Atlanta. The clubs, music and countless activities can be major distractions, and I believe Atlanta’s party scene is a major reason for the city’s lack of championships.
Wallethub.com ranked “The Most Fun Cities in America,” and half of the top ten cities are titleless in the four major sports over the past quarter-century. Why do cities known for extraordinary entertainment struggle in sports? Fatigue both mentally and physically, secondary careers, fan bases and most important, lack of focus can all be blamed.
University of Georgia and Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins was featured on the BS Report. Wilkins was asked about hosting opponents before games, and he admitted to distracting and tiring players.
“I did the same thing in Atlanta that Magic [Erving “Magic” Johnson] did in L.A… Guys came to town,” Wilkins said. “We made sure they had a great time. I had a couple of night clubs. Had a great time, and that is right, we wore them out for the game.”
Temptations and distractions are a recurring cause for the mental lapse and ultimate failure.
Former Falcons safety Eugene Robinson infamously was arrested the night before Super Bowl XXXIII for attempting to solicit an undercover police officer for oral sex. The Falcons would go on to lose the Super Bowl, and a lot of fans and media blamed Robinson for the loss.
In a 2016 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Robinson spoke about his incident. He felt he distracted the team and caused them to lose focus.
“It’s easy to lose your way. It’s easy to be distracted,” Robinson said. “It’s so easy, for all the hard work you put in, to jeopardize that because of your own internal selfishness, and that’s basically what it was.”
Luckily, in 2018, the newly formed Atlanta United won the Major League Soccer Cup. In a sweet piece of irony and symbolism, Atlanta United celebrated at legendary club Magic City. The team even allegedly brought the trophy to the club with them. Maybe partying didn’t distract them?
Although we couldn’t win in the four major American sports, maybe Atlanta United victory will apply pressure to our other franchises to be more aggressive. Trae Young, Julio Jones and Ronald Acuña Jr are superstars who can break the nearly quarter-century drought, but we have to win when it matters.
