The Dirty South
Atlanta is a city known for many things: hip hop, Waffle House, Chick-fil-A, the civil rights movement, the world's busiest airport, and, of course, sports. Legends have come and gone and had their stories written in this great city: Hank Aaron, Dominique Wilkins, Deion Sanders, Dikembe Mutombo, Matt Ryan, Chipper Jones, the list goes on and on. As an Atlanta native and resident ATLien myself, I take great pride in my city's four sports teams, whose upcoming seasons I will be taking a closer look at in this article.
Perhaps the most notable sports team in Atlanta, and also my favorite team in all of sports, is the Braves, who are currently on a quest for their sixth straight NL East title. They have had a great showing so far this season, going 6-1 in their first seven games against the Nationals, Cardinals, and Padres. Their offense, led by the top three of Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, and Austin Riley, has been mashing at the plate, accounting for 7 of the team's above-league-average 10 home runs so far this season. The defense has also shined, especially that of shortstop Orlando Arcia, who had big shoes to fill after the departure of team-favorite Dansby Swanson during the offseason. As for pitching, the starting rotation took a blow after ace Max Fried and 20-game-winner Kyle Wright landed on the 15-day injured list, but Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton have kept the staff in check, with Strider slowly becoming one of the best starting pitchers in baseball with his velocity and high strikeout rate. Rookies Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd also recently made their debuts, with Dodd striking out 3 and allowing just 6 hits and 1 earned run across 5 innings in his debut. The bullpen has also locked down amidst closer Raisel Iglesias's landing on the injured list. The strongest arms thus far have been those of A.J. Minter, Collin McHugh, Jesse Chavez, and Nick Anderson. Amidst a much more competitive NL East division, the Braves remain my favorites to win it, as well as my favorites to win the NL pennant. Come November, the Braves will see themselves playing for a World Series trophy.
After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 7-10 record and 4th in their division, the Falcons certainly made a splash this offseason, with moves being made left and right by general manager Terry Fontenot. Just recently, the team signed free-agent linebacker Calais Campbell, who was with the Baltimore Ravens last season. Other notable acquisitions and signings include Jonnu Smith, Taylor Heinicke, and Mack Hollins on offense, and Jessie Bates, Mike Hughes, and David Onyemata on defense. The majority of these moves have been defensive, with the team looking to support an already-strong offense that scored the most points of the four teams in the NFC South in the previous season. The biggest announcement to come from manager Arthur Smith thus far has been that Desmond Ridder will be the team's QB1, with Heinicke serving as backup, dispelling rumors that the team would make a trade for Lamar Jackson. The NFC South will be a division to watch this year as each of the other three teams have made big moves, with the Saints, Panthers, and Buccaneers picking up plenty of offensive pieces that will make it extremely competitive. The team is projected to take another defensive player in the upcoming draft, with many predictions pointing towards Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez. With all of these new additions, the Falcons will most likely be the favorites to win the NFC South. The Dirty Birds will be one of the most surprising teams in this upcoming season, defying the expectations of coaches, critics, and fans alike.
The Atlanta Hawks have long been an important cultural piece of the city of Atlanta. Wherever you go, whether it be Midtown or College Park or Little Five Points, there's almost always guaranteed to be someone wearing a piece of Hawks gear. Their 2022-23 season so far has not been relatively successful, as they currently sit with a 41-39 record and 8th in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Nate McMillan was fired around the end of February, with Quin Snyder taking the reins of a team that was projected to be one of the best and most dominant in the league before the season started. The core three of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and John Collins have made up the majority of Atlanta's offensive production this year, with other strong players being De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic. The most surprising player, however, has been rookie A.J. Griffin, who was drafted in the 1st round in 2022 out of Duke. He has played in all but 9 games so far this year, and has impressed on the court. While their performance has been abysmal compared to preseason predictions, the Hawks clinched a spot in the play-in tournament after a win against the Wizards on Wednesday night. Last year, they defeated the division rival Charlotte Hornets before defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers to earn the number eight seed in the final playoff bracket, and they can very well find themselves back in the final tournament this year. Nonetheless, it has still been a season of great moments for the team, and a miracle playoff run, one much like their road to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021, can very well be in the works.
The youngest of Atlanta's four major teams, Atlanta United have been no stranger to success. A year after their inaugural season in 2017, they became the quickest expansion franchise to win the MLS Cup. Ever since the departure of fan favorite Josef Martinez just before the current campaign started, the team has been one of the strongest in the Eastern Conference, let alone the entire MLS. They currently sit at 2nd in the conference with a 4-1-1 record and 13 points, just 1 behind 1st place. At the forefront of the team's success is Thiago Almada, who in December became the first-ever active MLS player to win the World Cup, doing so with Lionel Messi and Argentina. In their season opener against San Jose, he scored twice in second-half stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win, one of them winning Goal of the Matchday honors, and in their matchday four competition against Portland, he scored two goals en route to a 5-1 win, once again winning Goal of the Matchday honors, as well as Player of the Week honors. New signing Giorgos Giakoumakis, previously with Scottish club Celtic, has also made an immediate impact, scoring two goals across four matches. The team has been utterly surprising with their outstanding performances so far, and can definitely be a favorite to advance to a late round in the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The future is very bright for Atlanta's sports teams. Each of these four squads are some of the most exciting teams to watch in their respective sports, and are loaded with talent that will continue to produce and dazzle for the next few years to come. The Braves are easily the best team in the National League, the Falcons can very well win the NFC South, the Hawks can make a push for a late postseason round, and Atlanta United can make it all the way to the Eastern Conference final. By the end of 2023, there will almost certainly be another accomplishment, or even another title, added to the list of sports honors in the Dirty South.