by Jeremy Holcombe

Created on: May 22, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

These days most people are a fan of one of two teams in baseball. You are either a Yankee fanatic or a part of Red Sox nation. I am neither. For me it all begins and ends with the Atlanta Braves. While I am a huge fan of basketball and football and have favorite teams in both respective sports, nothing in sports gives me a rush like when the Braves win.

Before the Yankees starting buying all their talent, and before the Red Sox over came the curse of Ruth, the Atlanta Braves had the best run at the post season in baseball history. They won the west/east division a record 14 times in a row. While they only came away with one World Series win the organization was a constant model for the rest of the league to follow. The 90's pitching trio of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine is widely considered the best pitching trio ever put together. At one point, Braves pitchers won 6 in a row and 7 of 8 Cy Young awards.

Growing up in another country the Braves were just about the only accessible team because Turner Broadcasting Station always played their games. My father was also a huge Braves fan so it was ingrained in me from early childhood. I can remember early on during the 80,s when the Braves were constantly the worst team in the league. For some reason that did not matter to me, they lost close to a hundred games almost every year yet I would try not to miss a game. Then finally after years of watching the tide changed, the Braves went from worst to first and did not look back for over a decade. I remember watching way back in the early 90's when they came back to beat the Pirates in the NLCS. Francisco Cabrera hit that seeing eye single and Sid Bream lumbered around from second for the winning run. My Father and I erupted in our chairs; we could not believe what we had just seen. That moment was probably the most excited I have ever been at any moment during a sporting event of any type. Even though they ended up losing the World Series that year to the Twins I was ok. That series is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best World Series ever played.

Through the years I have kept up with the Braves. My Father and I always wanted to win one more World Series; even after dad passed I continued to keep up with every Braves game. Even though the record for east division titles was snapped a couple years ago I look forward to watching them start a new streak. The Dallas Cowboys can lose and I am disappointed, The Lakers or Suns can lose and I get over it. I absolutely cannot stand when the Braves lose, it puts a damper on my entire day. You can imagine what a losing streak does to me. Go Braves!

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