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Measures of misery

It’s happened again...

By Hunt Archbold

It’s happened again. Some news group with an opinion to express on a somewhat tiring subject has come out and tossed Atlanta under our own poorly managed MARTA bus and slapped the “loser sports city” tag on us again. This time it’s Forbes.com, which has called out Atlanta for being the most miserable sports city in America. Now, apathetic, indifferent and phlegmatic I can see making a case for, but miserable? I’ve followed Atlanta’s sports franchises all my life, and never did their failures ever leave me miserable, although I was pretty bummed how the whole Eugene Robinson Super Bowl went down. And the Jack Morris-Lonnie Smith Game 7 at the Metrodome was a downer, too, I guess.

So Forbes basically cited Atlanta teams’ prolonged futility and also threw in the heartbreak factor, noting that six times Atlanta has reached the championship game of a professional sport (Braves five occasions, Falcons once), with just one ring to show for it. In 142 cumulative seasons, Atlanta has only the Braves’ 1995 world title. Since the Braves and Falcons began play here in 1966, and then later the Hawks, Flames and Thrashers, the ATL has produced 56 playoff teams, of which only 15 moved on to at least the final four of their postseasons. Yes, that’s not a good record. We know, already. But talk about miserable—how do you think the hoops fans in Seattle feel these days knowing the Sonics, sooner or later, will be dribbling out of the Puget Sound region (where also only one world title has been won)?

What about Boston? The Red Sox, once loveable because of their inability to win it all, have now done so two of the past three seasons. Yet because of their bandwagoneer national fan base, Red Sox fans have become almost intolerable, although I personally have no problem with them. The Celtics had the best regular season record this year and the Bruins were in the playoffs. And of course the Patriots went 19-0 last season and—oh, never mind, they didn’t. Still, Beantown’s teams are winning, but do you really want to live in Boston, with its outrageous taxes and miserable weather 10 months a year? By the number of Bostonians transplanted here, I think I know the answer. If you’re a millionaire or a college student, Boston’s a good place to be. For all others, elsewhere is better.

What about Nashville? The vibe was far from miserable at Game 4 of the Red Wings-Predators Stanley Cup Series last week. After the Preds’ riveting one-goal victory that evened the best of seven series, I was among the fans who spilled out of the Sommet Center arena onto Broadway, where dozens of clubs were alive with music. I’m talking the World Famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge was less than 150 yards from where we exited the building. Atlanta doesn’t have the kind of game experience near its venues, and the Bullpen sports bar near Turner Field just isn’t cutting it.

Despite that, sporting days in Atlanta are far from miserable of late, with the Hawks finally in the playoffs, the Braves only a few weeks into a new year, a new pro women’s hoops team to tip off next month, a stop along the PGA Tour and, of course, all the participant sports we Atlanta’s enjoy (how many kickball teams are there, anyway?).

And life these days is far from miserable for third generation Atlanta Gordon Beckham III. The University of Georgia junior shortstop, who was a star quarterback-defensive back at the Westminster Schools, is leading the surprising Bulldogs (ranked nationally as high as 7th and matching the best SEC start in school history after 15 games) with his bat and glove. After 37 games, the National Player of the Year candidate was batting .430 with 17 home runs and 43 RBI. At the time, he was leading the country in homers, total bases (129) and runs scored (54). If he doesn’t have a major drop-off in the second half of the season, he’s projected to be a mid-first round pick in the June Major League Baseball amateur draft.

“I’m enjoying this and it has been fun,’’ Beckham told me by phone last week from Athens, not long after a three-hit night and scoring the winning run in the ninth on a two-out wild pitch to cap Georgia’s 9-8 comeback win over East Tennessee State. The next night, he walloped a three-run walk-off homer to beat Georgia State 7-5. “But at the same time, I take this game seriously and have really focused on being a better player. But you can’t miss out on the fun of it, too.’’

Gordon’s family has had some fun times on the field over the years. His grandfather, the first Gordon Beckham, was a standout athlete at Northside High School—a real Buckhead Boy, as James Dickey would say—who went on to play football at Georgia. His father, Gordon Beckham Sr., quarterbacked Westminster to its most recent state championship 30 years ago this fall, He then went on to play for the University of South Carolina, where his most notable moment came in 1981 when he completed 16-of-17 passes for 195 yards and score in helping the Cocks beat unbeaten and third-ranked North Carolina 31-13 in Chapel Hill. Beckham’s mother, Sully, was a fair tennis player herself from Spartanburg, S.C., who went on to cheer at South Carolina before marrying the school’s quarterback.

The Beckham family of five, including Gordon’s two younger sisters, is an attractive, rather levelheaded and humble bunch and the family’s star shortstop is no different. And mom doesn’t expect her son to change much in those regards, even if he does sign a seven-figure signing bonus and turn pro this summer.

“Gordon does a good job of keeping things in perspective,’’ Sully Beckham says. “He’s always been that way. It’s a win-win situation with the draft. If it’s not the right time, he’ll come back for his final year at Georgia. If it’s time for him to move on, then he will.’’

Sounds like a decision that’s not so miserable.

Happy times … and happy Earth Day, too.