Atlanta’s Fountain of Youth
The Key to Future Success for Atlanta Sports Lies in its Wealth of Young Talent
The defeat Atlanta suffered in Super Bowl 51 was emblematic of a larger truth about Atlanta sports: There’s been more disappointment than not. Even when The Falcons made SB51, it never felt real, and it certainly seemed that sooner or later, the fairy tale would have to come to a tragic end, which it did.
So what is there to keep the City of Atlanta invested? The plagued sports down with a history of losses so excruciating, of players so personally problematic and no track record worth really mentioning is in a strange state of flux. For one, a Big-4 team made a championship in Atlanta for the first time since The Braves in ’99, bookending a decade of disappointment with merely one shining beacon in ’95. Ending a 17-year drought of objective apathy is certainly nothing to scoff at, even if it later led to (perhaps) the worst loss in the history of football.
The reality of The Falcons’ situation is that they weren’t supposed to be playing in SB51. They weren’t supposed to even be competing in the playoffs. Many in the sports media world hammered the team for its youth early on, its underwhelming QB who hadn’t truly elevated his game since 2012, and a young offensive coordinator that often seemed to get in his own way. Ironically, the all around youth of the team is what allowed it to excel. Spearheaded by a defense full of youth and speed, a big-play offense full of young, explosive talent, and a 2nd year coach looking to make his mark on the league, The Falcons failed to recognize the history they faced simply by wearing the name “Atlanta” on their uniforms.
Sometimes, youth can be an advantage. There’s no memory of the past, no skeletons in the closet. Fortunately for Atlanta, there’s enough youth throughout the city to go around.
Making Atlanta Fun Again: The Hawks
If you ask Atlanta fans to name the most talented players across the ATL sports spectrum, you might not hear the names Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schrøder mentioned first. They’re not superstars on the court, however, they are the driver behind Atlanta’s energetic attitude and approach. The Hawks’ jovial backcourt ignites the team’s youthful energy, providing the spark for a team with no chance at true contention.
The more you watch Schroder, the harder it is to not fall in love with the young German point guard. And when Kent Bazemore video-bombs his teammates as they get interviewed after wins, its easy to forget about his questionable shot selection, and the team’s lack of an elite, true #1 scorer. It’s just fun to watch the team play together. It’s a hodge-podge cast of young characters who have such a palpable energy that they even managed to resurrect the much maligned career of Dwight Howard. You can’t watch The Hawks this year without taking note of how much fun Howard seems to be having. Coming from a Houston locker room that while toxic, had a bona-fide super star, it would be hard to fault Howard for having a sense of bitterness towards his new position — coming to a team that has no chance of contending as currently constructed from a team on the brink of contending for a championship.
But, on the contrary, and in stark contrast to what many NBA fans (myself included) thought would be the case, Howard seems to be having the most fun he has since he left Orlando years ago.
Credit Dennis Schroder with Dwight’s new found sense of joy. The well-traveled center and his young point guard have a visible friendship that is unmistakable. Schroder and Company have taken a veteran NBA center (who has seen the need for his original position vanish in a matter of a few years) and rejuvenated him, setting precedent for future superstars and MVPs who may look to join Atlanta.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has also emerged as a bright spot of late. After looking as though he was a waste of a first-round draft pick trade with The Knicks, he’s become more consistent and bold, taking over the pseudo-sharpshooter role over in the wake of Kyle Korver’s departure for Cleveland. Of course, he still has areas to improve, but he’s become a truly exciting talent who can score in bunches from time-to-time. Add to that the free-wheeling attitude he brings to the team, and he’s become one of the most enjoyable young players to watch on the team.
It doesn’t matter that The Hawks have no chance to contend this year, or, realistically, as long as Paul Millsap is their best player. They’re just having fun.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the box scores and the advanced stats that are so prevalent in The NBA in 2017, sometimes it’s nice to watch a product take the court that has fun despite being able to truly contend.
It’s the little things that make basketball fun. And in a year (or era) where realistically only 4 teams (at most) have a real shot at a title, I’m all for Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, and THJ cultivating an environment that leads to an exciting and fun product on the court.
Returning to Former Glory: The Braves
Last year, The Braves had perhaps their worst season on record, and certainly in the last 25 years. At least, that’s what their record would say. And that’s fair assessment. (“You are who your record says you are.” — Bill Parcells).
The Braves were bad in 2016. But, they were also young. While it’s easy to forgive a young team for losing games, especially in the MLB, it’s hard to give continued support when a team doesn’t have exciting players that truly feel like they can become the face of a franchise, or a roster that doesn’t seem to be showing marked signs of improvement.
About midway through the season, hope emerged in the form of homegrown shortstop Dansby Swanson. For someone whose name sounds like it belongs to a South Carolina politician in the 40’s, Swanson sure brought a great deal of youthful energy to a Braves team that was mucking through a season marred by over-the-hill veterans, injuries, and young players who were either struggling or simply weren’t panning out.
As soon as Swanson joined The Braves, excitement returned to Turner Field.
Swanson is emblematic of the future of The Braves — it’s bright. With enough grade-A prospects in their pipeline to form a small battalion, many fans were left wondering why the team was so bad from April-June of 2016 (and yes, they were still terrible for a large portion of the rest of the season). What fans needed was a sign that the organization was headed in the right direction, some sign of life to wake the once proud franchise from a 7-year lull. Once Dansby was called up, fans finally got a good, long glance at the future — and again, it’s bright.
Swanson has already begun to learn how to carry himself as a star. It also would seem he understands how much the team needs (and probably) expects him to be their first true all-around super star since some guy named Chipper. He’s flashed his potential, both in the field and in the batter’s box, and it’s exciting to see.
He’s energized a team with numerous web gems, a bat that hasn’t disappointed like so many of the vaunted Atlanta prospects in years past, and the candor and charisma of a superstar. So often in Atlanta, our superstars either neglect to assert themselves, or simply suffer as a result of playing in the “cursed” sports town. Swanson, it seems, is not only on the trajectory to becoming the face of The Braves franchise, he has the potential to become a national brand in a fashion similar to that of Chipper Jones.
When you’re moving a team to a new stadium in the midst of a rebuild process, that’s just what you need.
Short Memories: The Falcons
If you were to list off the most prolific athletes in Atlanta at the moment, Julio Jones would have to be at the top. There’s no one more electric, no one who is more unique to Atlanta.
New York has OBJ and Pittsburgh has Antonio Brown, but neither is as universally dangerous as Julio.
For all of his talent, Jones is a quiet superstar. He has drawn no undue attention to himself in the ways that Beckham Jr. and Brown did in the 2017 postseason. That’s how most of Atlanta’s recent superstars have been (excluding Vick). Chipper Jones was never outspoken, neither was/is Andruw Jones, Joe Johnson (fondly referred to as “the NBA’s forgotten superstar”), Paul Millsap, or Matt Ryan. [Sidenote: What a boring list of stars. You couldn’t build a more vanilla list of stars if you tried.] Jones represents the way most Atlanta superstars operate: under the radar, quietly going about their business and receiving national respect only from those who study the game and recognize the immense talent. The Super Bowl was his true moment in the spotlight, and he has finally become largely recognized as the best wide receiver in the league. It’s exciting to finally have the most talented player in the league at a certain position on The Falcons again. And, while he may not be as electrifying as Mike Vick, he’s also in no danger of bringing trouble to the franchise with his personal endeavors.
Julio is the key to The Falcons’ future growth. A quiet young star who leads by example is just the sort of leadership Atlanta needs after a depressing end to a fantastic 2016/17 campaign.
On the other side of the ball are Keanu Neal, Deion Jones, and Vic Beasley, and, as of the Super Bowl, it would appear Grady Jarrett is part of this group as well. A headhunter, a ball-hawking linebacker and a sack artist, all under the age of 24. As The Birds transition to a new stadium under a relatively new head coach, the young leaders of The Atlanta defense are poised to make their mark on the city and NFL as a whole.
Keanu Neal has established himself as a lethal hitter, being flagged numerous times even when he made clean hits, a sure sign that his calling card has become recognized around the league. He was drafted to become Atlanta’s own Kam Chancellor, and if nothing else, he certainly hits like his Seattle doppelgänger.
Deion Jones first sprang into the spotlight with a pick-6 against his hometown New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football earlier in 2016, and never looked back. The former LSU Tiger impressed with his speed, quickness, and nose for the ball, coming up big in numerous situations.
Beasley and Jarret came to Atlanta from Clemson in the same draft, and while both had very underwhelming 2015 campaigns, 2016 saw Beasley become the premier pass rusher ATL has been looking for, while Jarrett wreaked havoc on The Patriots d-line in a performance that would have led to his becoming SB51 MVP, had The Falcons not blown a 25-point lead with 17 minutes left… Yes, I’m still in anguish.
While I was initially quick to dismiss the idea that The Falcons will rebound and make another run to The Super Bowl in the near future, the rational and logical side of me has perhaps come to prevail. This is a very good young team, with talent that grew leaps and bounds in just one year. If they can forget the horrors of SB51, The Falcons truly do have the potential to be a legitimate contender for the foreseeable future — something no one has been able to say about The Birds in quite some time.
The Falcons’ youth is what will have to take charge in 2017/18. The young squad must put their Super Bowl shortcomings behind them and move forward. Fortunately, young players tend to have short memories.
The City — Atlanta’s Renaissance
When you look past the true youth and talent of Atlanta sports, and take a broader view of the city’s sports culture as a whole, you notice that the entire alignment of the city is shifting as well.
The Falcons are set to move into the world-class Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Braves will be breaking in Sun Trust Park in less than two months. Both of these stadiums are expected to re-ignite passion, driving new fans to each team. The Braves, on the one hand, are trying to start over altogether, while The Falcons are trying to forget.
At the same time, The Hawks are looking to build on raw talent that can capitalize on aging superstars, aiming at taking the next step towards consistent contention.
Meanwhile, Atlanta has an entirely new MLS Club team, one that has no recollections of the city’s shortcomings and complete failures. I won’t pretend to know enough about The MLS or soccer as a whole to accurately analyze the situation, but for a city continuing to grow across the board in the way that Atlanta is, embracing the world’s sport is a continued step in the right direction.
Youth is the key to success with all of these endeavors.
And while Atlanta has begun to boom as a center for culture and conversation thanks to talented young creators like Donald Glover, its wide array of young rappers and musicians, and others, its sports culture still lags a step or two behind. The Atlanta Renaissance is something that I’ve fully bought into, and sports are the final roadblock between ATL and national prominence across all platforms of entertainment and culture. If ever there were an ideal time for Atlanta sports to make this move, it would be now.
The Atlanta sports scene needs a breath of fresh air — or several. For the last 21 years (I can’t personally speak to anything else, it’s all I’ve known), the city has seen nothing but futility in big moments. There have been flashes of greatness — Michael Vick, The Braves (a few times), The Hawks in 2014/15 — but no sustained periods of dominance on a national level. With a new crop of talent across every major team, new stadiums, and even new teams, it’s the perfect time for Atlanta to move past its history and to take a final step forward towards consistency.
Atlanta’s sports scene has a bright future, one that can hopefully erase the memories of a dark and troublesome past.
