Six months ago Atlanta emerged from a more than two-decade slumber when the Braves defeated Dusty Baker’s Astros in the 2021 World Series. A dream had risen in Atlanta. Max Fried’s lights-out pitching performance and Jorge Soler’s timely hits in the series finale sparked a monumental party inside Truist Park and in the streets of downtown Atlanta like it was 1995 at the old Fulton County Stadium, better known as the “House that Aaron Built,” after 25-time All-Star Henry Aaron.
Atlanta released the hex, bringing only the city’s second major title (outside of MLS) since the Braves’ previous World Series championship trophy in 1995. “Teams here played well enough to get your hopes up and would then let you down when it really matters,” one lifelong Atlanta fan says. It was like leaving the house 45 minutes before a weekend brunch—with the GPS predicting an early arrival—only to sit an additional 20 minutes in a car at the exit with traffic like the Spaghetti Junction between I-85 and I-285 bumper-to-bumper in northeast Atlanta. Two words: brutal heartache. “The Braves had finally gotten over the hump,” the fan says.
When the city tasted its first championship, only four of the Dream’s current players were above the age of 2. Atlanta newest stars, Kentucky standout Rhyne Howard and Michigan’s Naz Hillmon, were two of seven on this year’s squad who had not been born yet.
