Atlanta Braves

You may love them or you may loathe them, but you can never say that Philadelphia sports fans aren't passionate—and creative. When their teams suck, Philly fans generally deride and degrade their own more than any visitor would dare. But as a rival, it is cathartic to watch them choke on their antics.

Well Braves fans, after almost a decade of sustained mediocrity—one division title and two measly postseason wins—a head is finally rolling. But it’s not the head you wanted.

East Cobb lawyer Susan McCoy hoped “something exciting” would happen when she asked the feds to investigate Cobb County’s bond deal with the Atlanta Braves. “I didn’t realize that would be my garden and fence burning up,” she said.

It was party time in East Cobb, Tuesday morning be damned, courtesy of the county’s newest corporate citizen. The Braves laid down AstroTurf beneath the dance hall-sized tent they pitched in the middle of the barren Cumberland construction site that will, in two years time, be their new home—the newly christened SunTrust Field.

Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee must feel like he’s sitting in a dunking booth. During the Public Comment portion of the bi-monthly Board of Commissioners meetings, it has become almost customary for citizens disgruntled with Lee’s handling of the new Braves stadium to take their best shot at the chairman.

For both millenials and long-time fans, this Braves season is starting to bring flashbacks. Young fans recall the collapse of 2011 as the long-sufferers fight off visions of the late 1980’s. The team has lost six straight games—falling to three games behind the first-place Nationals. Despair over this slump is mitigated by a trade with the Cubs that could give the team a needed jolt.

It’s been a busy season for the Atlanta Braves and their future home in Cobb County. The past few weeks have seen heavy machinery on the ground, and last night, the development team for the $400 million mixed-use complex was formally announced. Today, new images of the stadium were released–and although we have to admit that a few of them are rather stunning, it’s important to realize that nothing pictured is official.

The Atlanta Braves' up-and-down streakiness has left them one game behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East (at least, that is, until the Nats play tonight). In the midst of this season's roller-coaster ride, some may have forgotten about the team's new stadium in Cobb County set to open in 2017. And the warm and fuzzy feelings from the weekend’s Hall of Fame inductions of Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux might have just been enough to put outrage about the planned relocation on the back burner for most fans. (We stress: Most; not all.)