Atlanta Braves’ Fans, It’s Just Day 2
Mar 31, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez gives a thumbs up to his players before opening day baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
I didn’t get to watch the opening day game for the Atlanta Braves yesterday. As most grown-ups do, I had to work, so I set my home DVR to record the game, kept myself isolated just enough to avoid seeing any of the scores during the game, and then plopped down in front of my big screen to watch the game when I got home. No, it wasn’t live, but since I didn’t know the score, it might as well have been. I watched it fresh, giddy for another opening day, and pumped for what the Braves might do in the game. The Braves didn’t win, as you well know, but no worries!
I spent the evening last night after the game, and this morning on the web, looking for reactions to the game. As always, the Twitter folk don’t disappoint – you can always rely on a great many of them to overreact to anything and everything, and trust me when I say there was a TON of overreaction. The season is doomed! No way the Braves will get remotely close to their winning % from last year! Why didn’t Frank Wren do more to get some people who can help this team? It went on and on.
Twitter was bad enough, but then I read some articles about familiar themes, and low expectations, etc. Every year we see this doom and gloom from Braves’s fans, and I know we’re not unique. It’s human nature to be negative, to look at the worse-case scenarios, and to wax nostalgic about what could have been, and yes even on day 1 of a new season!
It’s true that the Braves didn’t wear the cover off the ball with hits. It’s true that they went a big fat ZIP with runners in scoring position. It’s true that the struggles for Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton from the 2013 season seem to be carrying over to this year, as both went hit-less. Never mind that Julio Teheran pitched a pretty good game (and I believe will only get better), and that Ian Thomas and Gus Schlosser (as I’ve predicted) performed well in their big league debuts with the club. Never mind any bright spots, because again in 2014 we seem to be seeing entirely too much doom and gloom, and all of that entirely too early!
Keep your collective chins up Braves’ fans! There will be some struggles with our injury plagued pitching staff, but the positive signs we saw in spring will begin to blossom in the regular season soon enough. Hang tough, be loyal, and root for your team no matter what. Isn’t that the hallmark of a true fan?