El Bravos

As the weather warms and we catch little hints of spring, I can think of one thing: BRAVES BASEBALL!!! I could sit here and talk to you about our newest additions to the team, or some of our vets who I'm excited to see take the field once again. I'm not going to do that. You see, this year is the last year that the Brave of all Braves, "The Skipper", Bobby Cox will be singing his swan song. I've been going to see the Braves since before I can remember, so this blog will not be about stats & records, it's going to be a "brain dump" of all of my Braves memories.



It started when I was little, my Papaw used to take us to games all the time. We'd arrive at Fulton Co Stadium for batting practice and stay until the last out was thrown. All the while enjoying snacks from Papaw's bowling ball bag (that's right, no cooler, bowling ball bag). I could shell peanuts at 4 years old faster than most adults, and I sang take me out to the ball game at the top of my little lungs. These were the highlights of these games since the Braves were terrible at the time.



My next memories of the Braves come from my elementary school years. Sitting on the screen porch with my dad, listening to Skip Caray call the game on the radio, the smell of a cigar lingering in the air, and crickets in the background. This was an exciting time in Braves franchise history because this team just could not miss. We were on fire and the feeling in the Stadium is one I'll never forget. I remember one game was "Braves beach towel night" by the end of the game the whole stadium was holding them up and chanting the Tomahawk Chop. When I was 10 I chased down the great Dale Murphy on the Berkley Hills Country Club golf course in our neighborhood. He was playing a charity tournement, and I wanted and autograph. I still have the ball and picture I took with him. He's giant.



Then there's 1995...... when all the majic happened. My parents and I went to a friends house to watch the game and it's one of the first times I remember seeing adults have "more than enough" to drink. People were setting off fireworks, and we got to stay up WAY past our bedtime. That world series win will live in infamy for me. I can't wait for the day we get another one of those!!



A few years ago Ernie and I went to a game with a couple of friends an sat on the 3rd base side in foul territory, past the dugout. Andruw Jones came up to bat and tipped the ball off the end. It landed in the stands about 10 rows up from us and bounced high back up in the air. There I was, sitting, beer in hand, chicken fingers in my lap. Ernie and my friend Corey (also over 6 ft. tall) both stood up over me going for the ball. As they went up, I simply stuck my hand straight out. CATCH!!! Needless to say, the boys were in disbelief!



Spring training trips, Friday night fireworks, birthday parties, big beers, Hebrew National hotdogs, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Apache homerun dance, people watching, a little bit of heckling, lots of cheering, hometown heros, international super stars, still hating the Twins, always hating the Yankees, farm system all stars, date nights, family outings, and a million more memories that will never leave me. Bobby Cox is the only person who has been at EVERY game I've been to (except when he'd been ejected). I'm so sad to see him go but he will always be a baseball legend and a big part of my life story. GO BRAVES!