Metro Atlanta Sports Teams Seeks to Shake “Cursed” Status

Super Meltdown: The grief of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after the team’s Super Bowl loss is emblematic of Atlanta sports fan’s misery.

Super Meltdown: The grief of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after the team’s Super Bowl loss is emblematic of Atlanta sports fan’s misery.

Atlanta area sports fans: Consider this recent list of woes. UGA made it to the finals of the National Championship game and lost. Atlanta United finished 3rd in the MLS and qualified for the playoffs and lost. Tthe Hawks are last in the NBA standings. A year ago, the Falcons made it to the Super Bowl 51 final and lost, throwing away a 28 to 3 point lead in the process. What do they all have in common? Each team disappointed perennially heartbroken sports fans here in the state of Georgia.

The Atlanta Hawks are the highlight of the disappointments, for no reason they can be proud of. Hawks fans have become accustomed to the team reaching the playoffs but not getting very far while there. This season will be different. As of January 24, they stand in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 14 wins and 32 losses. Many fans are claiming that the team is becoming a disgrace and falling into shambles.

Atlanta United had a string of success during its inaugural season. The team enjoyed a good regular season with a record of 15 wins, 10 ties and 9 losses, and the Five Stripes racked up 55 points and secured a 4th place finish in the MLS (Major League Soccer). But when the team qualified for the playoffs, they lost in the first rounds against Columbus Crew in a penalty shootout. Atlanta United statistically created more chances and held 56 percent of the game’s total possession. After the match supporters were disappointed with the match, saying the team should have put away the chances they had.

The Falcon’s meltdown in the last Super Bowl has been well documented. The team dominated the first half and third quarter. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Falcons were in charge of a 28 to 9 points game against the New England Patriots. All hope seemed lost for Patriots fans but it seems impossible to underestimate an Atlanta team’s ability to choke. Somehow the Patriots rallied and the rest of more sad history for fans in our metro region and state.

After all of this generational gloom and doom, what really is on Georgia’s mind? For its sports fans, it would be the possibility of some success — one day.