Henry Aaron made pro sports in Atlanta.  When the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, it was an up-and-coming city.  Thanks in a great respect to Hammerin’ Hank, the city has made it, and even hosted a Summer Olympics in 2000. 

Hank Aaron still has the home run record in my eyes and in that of many peoples.  The accomplishments of the gentleman from San Francisco notwithstanding, Hank’s record should stand.  Aaron’s career followed the key points of the civil rights movement, and even though his winning the title had a small minority of people reflecting negative racial overtones, his winning it brought the country together in many respects.

The Atlanta Braves, led by Bobby Cox (second basement of my hapless New York Yankees of the late 60’s), won over a decade straight of Eastern Conference Championships.  But, they were unable to get it done in the World Series, except for once.  Does this mean they overachieved in the regular season, or the other teams in their division just weren’t that good, or that they just caved in the playoffs?  I have no idea, but it is a definite topic of discussion in Atlanta.

The Atlanta Falcons came into being at the same time as the New Orleans Saints joined the NFL.  The Saints have won a Super Bowl, now it is the Falcons Turn.  With Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and a cast of good defensive personnel, they won 13 games last year and look to be better this year.  Don’t be surprised if the Falcons win the Super Bowl this year.

Atlanta has had less success in the NBA with the Hawks and the NHL with the Thrashers.  The Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, which is somewhat of an embarrassment to the city.  But the Hawks continue on in mediocrity, and we don’t expect it to get better.

Then, there is Georgia football.  Georgia Tech vs. Georgia.  Big time, SEC football.  This is serious stuff.  While neither team has been that special in the last couple of years, they both have strong histories and a National NCAA Championship or two.  Unfortunately, not this year.