The End Is Near
It may look like doomsday, but that's just baseball.
I'll preface this entry by saying this: My photography is about life, this is not a sports blog...it just looks like one so far. I photograph what's relevant to me at the moment, and tell the stories that relate. In this case, there happens to be 2 in a row about baseball. But if you look at them in context, it's not really about baseball, it's about the human condition, just like all the rest of my work. Baseball evokes a certain passion in people that I love to capture, the good and the bad. Earlier this week, I extolled the virtues of being a Cubs fan. Tonight, I'll share the challenge of loving the Atlanta Braves.
As the 2 cinderella stories of the major leagues face off in the 2016 World Series, a look in the rear view mirror reveals a completely different challenge of fan loyalty. As the regular season came to an end, The Atlanta Braves bid farewell to their home, Turner Field. The Ted. A stadium that's stood proudly before the Atlanta Skyline for what seems like a lifetime...to kids unable to purchase alcohol or vote in the upcoming presidential election. After just 20 years, the team is packing their bags and moving to Cobb County. There will be no 100 year legacy, no neighborhood named Tedville, no fans singing victory songs in the streets. Bad seasons happen, no doubt, but this year the organization quite literally threw the season, openly referring to it as a "rebuilding" year, staffing the team with inexperienced talend incapable of competing at a major league level. It was like watching the plot of Major League become a reality, the owners sabotaged the team to drive down attendance and justify leaving the city for a new ballpark in a new location. A move that may make perfect business sense, but the fans were left in the lurch.
As time blurs our memories, the final days of Turner Field are epitomized by a prophetic cardboard sign warning of a simple fact. The End is Near. The team finished 2016 dead last in the major leagues, 25 games below .500. Three days after this photo was taken, the club said farewell to Turner Field. Home plate was ceremoniously transferred to Suntrust Park where $400 million dollars of taxpayer money will attempt to fill a void left by creating the worst team in baseball and pulling them away from their home town.
This photo was recently features in the #weloveatl 2016 year in review gallery show. Prints are available in my gallery, click the photo above for pricing.