ATLANTA — One of the earliest memories of my sports affinity was visiting my paternal grandfather’s house. It was the late 1970s, and in his colonial-style home in southwest Detroit his den was one of the centerpieces of the house.
He sat in a leather reclining lounge chair with a side table and the sweet smell of tobacco from his pipe spread throughout the den, as much as the aroma of my grandmother’s cakes captured the kitchen.
My grandfather didn’t talk much, especially when he was watching the Atlanta Braves on TV. At the time, there were barely Detroit Tigers games on local TV, so I never really understood the notion of watching an out-of-town sports team.
But somehow, he made me a Braves fan.
In the following years, that became our connection whenever I visited — I would find a spot on the floor, trying to pay attention to that Braves era, soaking up the game and learning the rosters that included Dale Murphy, Bob Horner and Phil Niekro.
Even though he never saw a World Series champion in Atlanta before he died, my grandfather did his job as a sport fan.
Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]
Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]
He created another fan to follow in his footsteps.
So there I was, during the 1991 and ’92 World Series, rooting for Atlanta — donning a Braves hat before Outkast made it a thing — hoping against hope that they would win one for him. It took a few more years, but it finally happened in ’95, and there was sports justice — David Justice, even.
In that run of 14 playoff runs in 15 seasons, every year seemed like the year, as if making the postseason was a fall rite of passage.
It never is.
The lesson from that is that nothing is guaranteed, and like those Greg Maddux and John Smoltz teams loaded with talent and one of the best pitching staffs ever, you just have to take chances and go for it if you want to succeed.
That’s my reality now.
I’m the new senior sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and I’m stepping out on faith, making the move to the A after 23-plus years at The Detroit News. I’ll be guiding the pro sports writers like Bobby Cox did during the Braves’ heyday.
Always the underdog
In my writing career in Detroit, I covered all sports, including the Pistons for seven seasons and Michigan men’s basketball for five years. One of my most memorable experiences was covering the Wolverines as they made it to the Final Four in 2013 before falling in the championship to Louisville.
I’ve been fortunate to see the Detroit Tigers win a World Series in 1984 and to get back to the World Series in 2006 and ’12. The Pistons won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and ’90 and again in 2004.
And the Lions … well, I’ve gotten to see the Lions play.
That’s more than 20 years since the last pro sports championship in Detroit, so I know the anguish of the current sports landscape in Atlanta. We’re in the midst of the treadmill of mediocrity, but there’s a way out.
Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]
Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]
Just a few years ago, Detroiters were talking about the number of days since any of their pro teams last made a postseason appearance. The Pistons just ended six years in the NBA basement with a good season — they had not had a winning record since 2016 and won just 14 games last season. Last season, the Tigers made a late-season surge to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The Lions are good again, earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs before an upset loss in the divisional round. They’ve never made a Super Bowl, so even getting to the NFC Championship in ’23 was almost reason to have a parade. The last time they won a league championship was before the final game was even called the Super Bowl.
Yes, I’ve been through it as a sports fan, too.
I get your anguish, your frustration, your desire to be better. I want that same success for the city of Atlanta. Through years of futility and subpar sports teams in Detroit, I’ve become an optimist. Things should get better — and they usually do.
Our coverage will reflect that. We’ll give you a front-row seat to all the best coverage, and we’ll fill in all the blanks with what you need to know between games. And after it’s all said and done each season, we’ll break down what went wrong and what the teams need to do to get it right.
Maybe we’ll do what my grandfather did, and create some new Atlanta sports fans along the way.
You can reach Rod Beard at [email protected]
