ATLANTA — Any Atlanta sports fan has seen their share of disappointments over the last couple decades, but the Braves World Series win Tuesday night shattered that narrative.
“It’s a curse, but was broken!” said Braves fan Aaron Tarnoff.
Another fan at the Battery picking up championship gear also said the win “helps (the) psyche of the city too, especially with what happened to the Falcons.” Many remember what happened in Houston to the Falcons after going up 28-3 in the Super Bowl.
“If part of being an Atlanta fan is, ‘we always get so close, but never quite make it,’ ... but when you finally make it, that’s going to change at least a little bit how you identify with this fandom that you have,” said professor Daniel Wan of Murray State University.
Wan studied fandom and researches the psychology of sports fans, and says after a World Series win for the Cubs, one in four of their fans reported less interest in the team. That team spent more than a century between championships.
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Wan also warns of psychological effects after the celebrating is over.
“There can often be a letdown, ‘That was really great, but not as great as I thought it would be? And now they won, so now what do I do?,’” he said.
But Braves fans said they think this is just the start of good things to come for all of Georgia’s teams.
“If you’re a true Atlanta sports fan, there’s no letdown after this,” said Tracie Chilton.
Tarnoff also said his Braves fandom won’t change.
“They’re going to get the support they’ve always had, and say we don’t have a curse on us anymore, and can just play baseball and win championships.”
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