One of the activities that stand out whenever you talk about Atlanta is watching the Atlanta Braves. From the airport on the way to downtown, you will surely pass by Turner Field at your right. Yes, at the very first day (January 4, 2012) I have been here, Turner Field has been luring me. There were no baseball games then, but I was already eager to step inside the stadium that I went there one winter Saturday morning for the Turner Field tours. Unfortunately, the locals could not even help or direct me to these tours. I had to wait up to April 2012 to watch my first Braves game.
2012 will surely go down as one of the memorable years in Braves history regardless if they win the World Series or not. At the start of the season, Chipper Jones declared this as his final year of playing professional baseball. For those who do not follow baseball, Chipper is a future Hall of Famer third baseman. He has the stats to prove it. He is also one of the most distinguished switch hitters in the league (he can bat right or left-handed). In 1999, Chipper won the National League Most Valuable Player. But, what was the most important feat Larry Wayne Jones had? He was loyal to the Atlanta Braves. He started and he will end his career here. Say what you want about Derek Jeter for never changing the pinstriped jersey, he is in New York anyway. Chipper has the stronger feat which was to stay in a middle market. No bright lights. Just laid back fans. That is what you want from your star player.
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| Chipper is my favorite Braves slugger of all-time |
April 17, 2012. My first Braves game ever. They were playing their hated division rivals – the New York Mets. Rivalry may not be as big now than it was in the ‘90s but for me, I still consider the Mets as our biggest rivals instead of the Phillies especially now that they are cellar dwellers (bwahahaha). It was opening week. I bought the earliest cheap ticket near third base so to ensure that I get to watch Chipper play (for those who do not know, Chipper frequently gets injured because he always wants to play even if he is already hurt). It was a lazy day and fans were not yet filling up the seats. I was already aware that Atlanta is known to have fair-weathered professional sports fans. However, the Braves are the most consistent team. The whole South of USA roots for them. My concern was that the most I could hear from them were claps from some people. Welcome to Major League Baseball, Jeff. The most boring sport in America.
It was turning out to be a slow day until a Brave reached second base. The PA started to play the tomahawk chop song and the fans suddenly got into action. Like a disease, they started doing the chop – young or old; guy or chick. There was a collective cheer going. Sports analysts love to call this lame, but whatever – the Tomahawk Chop is one of the best collective forms of cheering I have seen in the United States. Here are the reasons why:
1) It is infectious
2) Whenever you incorporate hand actions in cheers, it always brings a strong intimidating effect.
3) Getting chopped by a tomahawk is not intimidating? I know there are more intimidating ones (like the Cameron Crazies of Duke University doing their spirit fingers), but if you see a throng of red tomahawks in chopping motion at your direction, wouldn’t you feel a bit shaken?
4) It gets the fans to collectively cheer up on the fly.
5) It is catchy. Fans chant it even after the game. Even outside the stadium.
6) Sports analysts call it lame. Yeah, they are just jealous their team does not have a chant used in rallying and bringing the fans into life.
7) Everything that puts the fans on a collective manner to motivate their team is a huge plus.
8) Even Braves players say it is the most memorable thing about the Atlanta crowd.
And yes, I can fully attest to that. We rarely get sell-outs in Turner Field, but the tomahawk chop adds the ‘advantage’ in the homecourt advantage. It is easily the most memorable sight in my baseball experience. Aside from motivating the team, it is also serves as the final stand chant when Braves try to defend their home game (Translation: The Braves are losing in a game with a one or two-run deficit).
From there, my experience as an attending Braves fan grew. And so did the team.
April 17, 2012: New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
There were several runs scored in this game but the Braves always comfortably held the lead. The Mets gave away six runs in just the first two innings. When Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana was replaced, the guy beside me was booing because the pitcher was helping the Braves win. For the first time in five games this season, the Braves were winning against their rivals. The fan turnout was just OK. It was early in the season and it was a weeknight. I have to admit that this was the most “silent” baseball game I have watched. This blowout game was a huge treat for my first game though. Nothing flashy but I like those boring, easy wins. These show how dominant your team is.Result: Atlanta – 9, New York – 3
April 18, 2012: New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves
It was raining hard for this game. I was fortunate to escape the rain the previous night, but not this day. It also did not help that I left my jacket. I arrived early for this game to see the crew covering the field. I was sceptical that it might be a rainout. As I could not come inside, I spent my time taking pictures of the past Braves teams. The Atlanta Braves is a storied franchise. They are the oldest team in the league. They are the only team that had three home cities. The Braves hold the record of most consecutive division title pennants on ANY sport (fourteen). This was because of the 1990s Braves dynasty – the same team I grew up watching. Because of the winning tradition, most of the fans are knowledgable about the Braves.
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| I will always cherish this. |
With just my Braves jersey and my Braves cap, I experienced how the players felt getting soaked in that rain. I pondered on getting a poncho like a lot of the people did but because I did not want to spend extra money and did not want to miss a part of the game, I spent the whole game shivering. The Mets started this game with a one-run home run. I felt cheated that Chipper did not start the game (See… this is why I wanted to watch a Braves game early on). Bad start, huh? Nope. I still sat in the third base field view (a little farther than the previous night), but the foul balls still kept on coming. If you are the fan who wants to catch souvenir baseballs, there are three strategic areas: the field views (left or right) or the middle area near the covered part (but not near the plate because there is a protective net). There is absolutely a higher chance to catch a foul ball than a homerun. There were some balls that went our way but it was still at least twenty feet away. It was cool to see a flying baseball heading your direction. You will get the thrill of catching the ball or you will get startled if you should avoid it because you do not want to get injured.
After the Mets homer, the Braves hitters started to get hot in this game. If the previous night was already a high scoring game, this was way more explosive. The Tomahawk Chop song was overplayed to the point that the fans were not anymore chanting – they were just doing the hand actions. However, when Chipper pinch hitted, there was a huge uproar. There was still some crowd applause by the time he hit the first pitch to score an RBI double. Hraaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! Go for it! Score! Score! Yeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh!!! Man, that was and still is the biggest crowd pop I have heard in a baseball field my whole life (yes, even louder than the grandslam homerun in the sold-out Fenway Park). I was fortunate to actually catch this in video.
The game was a blowout in favor of the Braves. This prompted the vocal New York fans in our area to walk away or exclaim “you kicked our asses real good.” I love it whenever opposing team fans watch the game. It always fuels me to cheer harder.
Say what you want about Atlanta fans as fair-weathered. Atlanta Braves get showered with some strong fan support. Yes, even in not-so-fair weather games like this.
Result: Atlanta – 14, New York – 6
May 17, 2012: Miami Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves
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| This is Braves Country! |
But years passed and the Marlins became consistently mediocre. However, they won their second championship last decade (even before the Sox won). Unfair, right? And they have empty stadiums. Why does God favor them more? Kidding aside, I have become indifferent to the Marlins lately (anyway, they won their second World Series to deprive the Yankees).
As the baseball season goes deeper, so did the Braves fan support. This was a weeknight game but we had around 75% of the stadium filled. Fans are more avid when doing the tomahawk chop. They were cheering and clapping every time the Marlins got two strikes with just one out to end the inning. The wave was in full effect. And with the way the Braves have been scoring this year, the tomahawk war chant intimidated the opposing team.
The memorable part of this game for me would have to be the time when the ball headed towards our direction. Having the opportunity to catch a baseball in a live game has to be one of the most thrilling experiences I have had in a sporting event. It was a line drive heading towards us. It was so fast and so near that we do not know what to do. This was my mental process then.
Damn! It’s heading towards us… Oh shit! It’s really going here. Time to catch it… Uh oh… this is freaking fast. Should I avoid it or catch it?
BANG! I did not have time to answer that question as the ball hit the chair two rows above us. We did not see the ball bounce as it was too fast. All we saw was the number mark in the chair getting removed because the ball was so fast. Thank God, I did not catch it. I would have been severely injured if ever.
The thing I liked the most was that a lot of fans stayed up to the end. The main reason was that Brandon Beachy tossed his first shutout game. He was one of the few pitching gems this year as Atlanta – known for outstanding pitching through the years – struggled in keeping the opposing runners at bay. It was a shame that we lost Brandon for the rest of the season a month later.
Result: Atlanta – 7, Miami – 0
June 8, 2012: The John Smoltz Jersey Retirement Game – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Atlanta Braves
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| Thank you, Smoltzie! |
After beating the Atlanta traffic and overpaying the greedy parking guy with $20 for parking space (TWENTY FREAKING DOLLARS!), I ran to witness John Smoltz’s speech. It was a sunny afternoon – it’s summer so the sun is up until 8:45 PM EDT. I was sweating like hell at those general admission seats (Section 419). It was another Brandon Beachy game. He pitched solid again (I did not know that it would be the last time this year that I will see him pitch) but the Blue Jays managed to tie up the Braves to go into extra innings. If you are counting from home, every Atlanta game I have been into has been special in some way: First Game, Major Thumping of the Mets, Shutout, Jersey Retirement Game. This time, it was not just a retirement game, it was a walk-off win. Jason Heyward went for the steal to third. The Blue Jays tried to pick him off but they had an errant throw. Thus, Heyward went for the steal at home (which made him breathe heavily for thirty minutes including in his interview). Braves fans made a huge uproar. There was no effin’ way the Braves lose in John Smoltz Night. Not only was the stadium filled then, most of the fans stayed in the extra innings.
Say what you want about Atlanta fans, but they were active these days.
Result: Atlanta – 4, Toronto – 3
June 13, 2012: New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves
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| Bobblehead! |
It was a sunny evening when I arrived for this game. I expected a sizeable Yankee fan turnout. Fans from opposing teams always watch in Atlanta. Since New York is the winningest team of all-time, around 30 percent of those who watched were Yankee fans. It became like a pseudo UAAP game as Braves and Yankees fans clashed in cheering and booing the players. Braves fans still outcheered their pinstriped counterparts but boy, the “Let’s Go, Yankees” cheer was loud (and annoying). Derek Jeter gets the biggest boos and applauses. I cheered extra hard for this game because the Yankee fans annoyed the hell out of me.
I could have cheered more if…
Hold on, let’s get back to the start.
Before the game, the weather announcer said that we will have zero percent rain. It was good for me because 1) I decided not to bring my Braves cap; 2) I was wearing office attire as this was a weekday; 3) I am carrying a Subway sandwich and the bobblehead; and 4) I decided not to bring my Braves cap. Guess what, a storm cloud passed by Turner Field and we started experiencing raindrops. The bummer was, the row from my back was covered. We were the last unlucky row. I had to move out for three innings because I was so drenched.
The biggest mistake I had was not just wear a Braves cap, I also had nothing on that represented the Atlanta Braves. Instead, I was wearing pinstriped pants. Ack!
If you watched the game, you will notice that the Braves were actually in control for most of it. They always reached base. However, they could not capitalize. They probably had thousands of men left on base. I saw them load all the bases by at least 365 times but they never scored at least a run when the bases were loaded. By the time Atlanta got the lead, New York took it back at the very next inning with a two-run homer.
Talk about having every game as special. I endured my first Braves loss. OK, let’s forget the game happened and let’s just call this as the Bobblehead Game, OK? Thanks!
Result: It rained so hard I forgot what happened.
OK, fine…
Result: I got a Craig Kimbrel 2011 Rookie of the Year Bobblehead. Yay!
To be continued...
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