The latest disappointment has inspired me to reflect upon some of the most disheartening games, plays, and moments for the world of Georgia Sports in recent memory. Whether its the Braves, Bulldogs, Falcons, or Hawks (and we can't forget about the Thrashers (RIP)), Georgia teams have always been excellent at one thing--letting you down.
Georgia teams are by no means the worst in sports, generally speaking; but, you know what? That might be the problem. Maybe if we were the worst team in sports, we wouldn't have expectations. You can't be disappointed if you expect to lose in the first place, right? I think that's why it's so painful. We consistently have a reason to believe that at least one of our teams may go the distance, but they never fail to disappoint, and typically in what seems like the most demoralizing fashion possible. Here's my thinking, though.
Maybe it's like grief. Whenever one season ends (brutally), the next one rolls around and gives us another glimmer of hope. As a state, we've never been able to truly grieve our losses--that is why I write this article. Maybe if we just take a few moments to soak in our sadness, anger, and dismay, we can finally move past this era of despondency and into one of finally realizing expectations. Shall we?
5. 10-0 in the First: Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series
Thomson200 on Wikimedia Commons
Should have won game four. Unfortunately, we didn't; but, losing it in come-from-behind, walk-off fashion is sure to get our guys going, right? And, game five comes back to our place? The atmosphere at Suntrust will be electric. Our team wants revenge--they'll be hungrier than ever. 97 Wins? We haven't done that since '03! This is the most talented club Atlanta has seen in a long time, and there is absolutely no way we lose this game.
Ten runs. Ten runs in the top of the first inning. That's the most the league has ever seen in the first inning of a playoff game, by three! The second most runs seen in the first inning of a playoff game was seven! Brian McCann, beloved Braves catcher from '05 to '13 who made his return to Atlanta in 2019 to provide some leadership for this talented but inexperienced squad, watched ten runs cross the plate right before his eyes in that first inning, and it was the last first inning he'll ever see. What a sad way to go out.
To add insult to injury, it just so happens to be against the team who broke our hearts in 2012 with the infamous infield fly ruling, which just so happens to also own a spot on this list.
4. Infield Fly: 2012 National League Wild Card Game
Thomson200 on Wikimedia Commons
2012 Marked the beginning of my all-too-intimate memory of crushing playoff defeats for the Atlanta Braves. Around this time is when I really started keeping up with the Braves, and thus becoming a bit emotionally involved; so, you better believe this one hurt.
There's obviously a great deal of controversy as to whether or not the infield fly called on Andrelton Simmons' pop-up to left field was technically the right one. There is no controversy, however, as to whether or not the sheer deflation at Turner Field was unlike anything my generation had witnessed up to that point (but would get a healthy dose of in the coming years).
The infield fly call doesn't quite (though it is close) bring about the same shock-factor as does having ten runs scored against you in the top of the first inning in a game everyone expected you to win. With that being said, I rank it higher than the 2019 NLDS simply because of timing. Ten runs in the first is absolutely demoralizing, yes, but there was a lot of baseball left to be played. The infield fly, however, was called in the bottom of the eighth. Just as the Braves gathered momentum, what would've been the tying run was called out, severely diminishing the Braves' chances of finishing the comeback they had begun.
Much like Brian McCann's final baseball game was spent watching the Cardinals run laps around the bases, in 2012, Hall of Famer Chipper Jones got to watch tens of thousands of people's hopes die in a matter of seconds during his final competition. This less-than-ideal finish to an illustrious career just adds to the disappointment of that fateful night.
3. 2018 SEC Championship Game
Southeastern Conference on Wikimedia Commons
Statistically speaking, this game sucked. Not in the sense that we played poorly, but on paper, every stat says we should've won except for the final score. Georgia had more first downs, more time of possession, more total yards, etc. The Bulldogs never trailed until the final minute and four seconds; that minute and four seconds was all the Crimson Tide needed to break our hearts.
The way this game played out was so painfully ironic. In the national championship much earlier that year (the next item on the list), Jalen Hurts was replaced by Tua Tagovailoa because he couldn't complete a pass to save his life. Tua took over the game and won it, largely through the air. Now, fast forward some eleven months to the SEC Championship. Same two teams, and Jalen Hurts hasn't showed a great deal of improvement in his passing game; but, he can still run with the best of them.
Alabama utilizes both Tagovailoa and Hurts to defeat us, effectively deploying a system of specialization. Hurts may have been pulled in the national championship because all he could do was run, but when the next SEC Championship rolled around, Alabama used it to their advantage. The same guy who was yanked because he couldn't pass ran into the end zone to score the SEC Championship winning touchdown not even a year later. The come-from-behind, Tua & Hurts tag-team victory is so disgustingly ironic that it makes me sick, and if you're a true Georgia fan, it should make you sick too. The only reason it isn't ahead of the national championship earlier that year is because, well, it's the national championship.
2. The Tua Game: 2018 College Football National Championship
The University of Alabama on Wikimedia Commons
Halftime rolls around and this game is ours, right? It's 13-0 in favor of the Bulldogs and Jalen Hurts can't hit the broad side of a barn. There's no way Tua Tagovailoa, a 19 year old kid from halfway across the Pacific, is going to step in and rally his troops to victory against a determined Georgia team, right?
Wrong. The second half kickoff marked the beginning of the end for the Bulldogs. Tagovailoa must have taken his reps in practice very seriously, because he played like he'd already won two Heismans. The kid was on fire and our defense, caught off guard by a totally different Alabama team than they'd seen in the first half, just didn't have an answer.
Tua delivered the final blow via 41 yard touchdown pass in overtime, earning the Crimson Tide a national title and squandering the hopes of thousands upon thousands of Bulldog fans who knew for a fact that the 2017-2018 season was their year. Unfortunately, this idea of "our year" not coming to fruition seems to be a recurring theme.
1. The Comeback of All Comebacks: 2018 Super Bowl
Brian Allen on Wikimedia Commons
This one needs no context, for if you've read this far, you probably know what happened.
28-3. That was the score with 8 minutes and 31 seconds left in the third quarter. Having grown up a Georgia sports fan, I've learned never to get my hopes up until the game is won. When we scored that fourth touchdown to give us a 25 point lead, I tried not to get too excited. I really and truly tried not to get my hopes up--in the NFL, a 25 point lead in the third quarter is a pretty secure lead, especially when the losing team hasn't been able to get the offense going all day.
The state of Georgia doesn't know what a secure lead is; every athlete who comes here becomes proficient in blowing leads, it's been shown time and time again. We are a state of choke masters and blown lead aficionados, and the Patriots exposed us for it.
I don't know what kind of black magic Bill Belichick pulled to transfer every last bit of momentum from the Falcons to the Patriots, but whatever he did, he did so quite effectively. After scoring that fourth touchdown and PAT to go with, the Falcons didn't see the end zone again. The Pats, on the other hand, did so four times throughout the final 23 minutes of the game. With the help of a couple field goals, the Patriots were able to blow the "largest super bowl comeback" record out of the water and give the Georgia sports fan base yet another crushing loss to grieve over for the certainly disappointing years to come. Sad.
