The Mindset of the Braves Fan

I'm not going to pretend that my heart hasn't been broken by the play of the Braves the past five weeks or so. It has.

I'm not going to pretend that I haven't gotten frustrated watching the Braves play lately. I have.

Still, the most I read the comments on Braves blogs like Talking Chop and AJC Braves, the more I realize that I seem to have precious little in common with many of my fellow Braves fans. Reading the comments you would think that Bobby Cox and his Braves purposely tanked their season just to ruin their lives. Is your happiness really that dependent upon the performance of a baseball team?

I don't understand the anger, at least not the lasting anger. Have the Braves attacked you personally? At the very least, these people need to find something in their life that will make them happy. The Braves clearly aren't capable.

Here's a two point reality check for these fans:

1. The Braves are simply not as good as the Phillies. Man for man, our lineup just doesn't match up with theirs. There's no shame in that; the Phillies are a darn good baseball team. They've been to the big dance the last two years. September is their month. Hats of to them. Don't sit there and blame Bobby and his decisions for our descent from first; just recognize that the better team, at the end, rose to the top.

2. The season is NOT over yet. Every time this Braves team had a chance to quit, they didn't. I was afraid the season was going to come off the rails after they blew that 10-1 lead in Colorado, but it didn't. I thought the fight had gone out of the team after that last homestand, but then they swept the Mets. Of course, we can't forget the month of April after which the Braves responded with their best summer in many a moon. No doubt, the last three games were bad. A disaster for our NL East hopes even. Still, here's the thing. We are tied for the Wild Card birth. Is it the same thing as winning the division? No, but come on, it gives us that shot. Once you're in the post season, anything can happen. Why, the Braves could even beat the Phillies. I'm not saying they will, but to say it's all over is not only ridiculous, it's factually inaccurate.

I'm not saying fans need to be loyal when they aren't happy with their team's play; I'm just saying grow up a little and stop acting like a child who had a toy stolen from them. As I learned from one of my many books on Anger Management, if you're still upset about the performance of a baseball team more than an hour or so after a game, and I mean angry, then please, get yourself a shrink.

The comments on the major blogs are worse that sports talk radio.