By Daniel Wright
July 10, 2021: Ronald Acuna Jr. tears ACL
August 5, 2021: Braves break .500 for the first time this season
*Fast forward nearly 3 months*
October 23, 2021: WORLD SERIES HERE WE COME!!! TAKE THAT LOS ANGELES. TAKE THAT ALL YOU BIASED ESPN REPORTERS. TAKE THAT WORLD. THAT ATLANTA BRAVES ARE COMING FOR YOU, WATCH OUT!!
No Acuna. No Ozuna. No Soroka. No Pache. D’Arnaud was out for half of the season. Anderson was out for 60 games. Under .500 until August 5th. And here I sit, in the wee hours of October 24, 2021, proud to say that the Braves are back in the World Series. Did you understand that? THE BRAVES ARE PLAYING IN THE WORLD SERIES. For the first time in 22 years, the first time in my life, the Atlanta Braves are competing for a world title. It is impossible to put into words what this means not only to me but to this city of Atlanta (and of course, to all cities with Braves fans). For so many years, the Braves stunk. Not like cooking broccoli stink but like putrid, rotting landfill stink. We were BAD. Now, here. We. Are. I love this team (probably a little too much if I’m being honest) and this is what fandom is all about. The Big Dance hasn’t been played yet, but...well, let’s not jinx it (and no, I’m not superstitious). I’ve been sitting here for about twenty minutes trying to write this and the only phrase that keeps coming back to my head is, “This is actually happening.” I would go into the nitty-gritty of the season (Rosie Harper did a great job of that already, check that out here) but all that matters right now isn’t where we’ve been, but where we’re going. For now, I’ll leave you with a passage that I wrote back in February of this year.
“Whoever they [the Braves] face in the NLCS will give them some problems, but the veteran experience of guys like Charlie Morton and Freddie Freeman plus the young energy of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies will propel the Braves to the big dance. They know what they want and, in a close match, motivation beats skill.”
Take that ESPN. Take that LA (best team in the league my butt). LET’S GO ATLANTA BRAVES.
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