Top 10 Atlanta Sports Moments of 2019
- Mark Kirkley
- Dec 30, 2019
- 7 min read
So it has been a memorable 2019 sports year for me. Living in Atlanta there always seem to be many more heartbreaks than cheers, but in the end it’s all been worth it and I enjoy looking back on the good sports moments. I just always have the hope that this year will be the year for one of my teams. In this post I will list my top 10 sports moments of 2019.
10- Mercedes Benz Stadium was built and opened in 2017, but it wasn’t until August 2019 that I stepped foot in this beautiful stadium. My wife would probably will kill me for listing this as number 10, but I think she would understand that this really isn’t a sports moment, but just a great date night out with the love of my life. On Thursday, August 22 my wife and I graced the Mercedes Benz building as we watched the preseason game of the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Washington Redskins. The Redskins won the game 19-7, but it was the experience being at the game. The Falcons are not a team to put much stock in the preseason, though they may say otherwise. Preseason is more for evaluating rather than wins and losses. The stadium was nice, but to tell you the truth, I miss the old Fulton County Stadium and the Georgia Dome where it felt more like I was going to a game. Mercedes Benz Stadium was more entertainment to me and a big distraction for me actually watching the game.
9- The Atlanta Falcons turned their season around during the second half of the season going 6-2. The Falcons looked like a playoff contending team in the second half, the only problem was the first half where the team went 1-7. The Falcons couldn’t get out of their own way. All three phases of the game looked lost on offense, defense, and special teams. Head Coach Dan Quinn wanted to run the defense and call all the plays, but that didn’t work and deemed too much for him. The defense looked confused and seemed out of coverage all the time. Then the light bulb turned on and Quinn demoted himself as defensive coordinator to just being head coach. He promoted linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich to call defensive plays on first and second downs and also promoted Raheem Morris from wide receivers coach to then secondary coach to call the third down defensive plays. Morris has now been promoted to full time defensive coordinator for the 2020 season. With the changes the defense seemed to understand schemes better and looked like a playoff caliber defense. With the defense holding their own opened the offense up more to more explosive plays in which the offense had better field position on drives in the second half which led to more scoring. Going 90-yards for a touchdown is much harder than going 60-yards for a touchdown or even a field goal.
8- Atlanta Braves signing Josh Donaldson to play third base was a big deal. At first myself as well as every other sports media outlets figured this was a bad move. Donaldson signed with the Braves last November 2018 for a one-year $23 million deal, which I thought was way to high for an injury prone third baseman for one year. Wow, was I wrong!!! Donaldson stayed healthy the entire regular and postseason hitting .259 with 37 homeruns and 94 RBIs. He was sure handed at the hot corner and had his rocket arm back. Donaldson is a hot free agent right now where the Twins, Nationals, and Braves are in the market to sign him. It has been reported by many sports media outlets that Donaldson will be seeking a four-year, close to $100 million contract. Knowing the Braves organization, not sure they will put up that years and money for the 36 year old. Will wait and see what happens, but Donaldson was the surprise and comeback player of the year.
7- Founded in 2014, Falcons owner Arthur Black brought Major League Soccer to Atlanta as the Atlanta United began play in 2017. In only their second year of play, the United brought the MLS Cup Championship to Atlanta and broke the curse that many say has haunted Atlanta or Georgia sports teams in this state. In 2019 was just about the same. The dominance of the Atlanta United in only three years is unheard of. Though United didn’t win the MLS Cup, they did make it to the Conference Semifinals where they got knocked out by New York City FC. But United did claim the Concacaf Championship trophy as well as the U.S. Open Cup Championship trophy. It was still a great year for the United where they went 18-12 with four draws in 2019 MLS play. Atlanta United has a winning record in their three years of play. In the previous years the team went: 2017 15-9 with 10 draws, 2018 21-7 with 6 draws (MLS Cup Championship).
6- 3B/OF Austin Riley was the talk of the Atlanta Braves fan base as he was called up to the majors on May 15 and was plugged into the starting lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals. In his major league debut Riley hits a monstrous 438 foot home run to left center field to help lift the Braves to a 4-0 victory. Riley was on a tear and hit 14 homeruns in a matter of weeks but cooled off once opposing pitchers learned he couldn’t hit the slider. Once Riley figures out how to hit the slider, watch out, he will be the starting third baseman for the Braves for many, many years, may even retire a Brave. But until then he will platoon between third base and left field.
5- OF Charlie Culberson catch and throw out at the plate to secure win during the last game of the first half. The Braves were playing host to the Miami Marlins on the last game before the All-Star break. The bases were loaded of Marlins players in the top of the ninth and there were zero outs. The Braves were winning 4-3 but the momentum was shifting to Miami. Relief pitcher Luke Jackson was struggling but Culberson came to the rescue when the line drive was caught by Culberson as the runner at third base tagged for home. With a leap off the ground by Culberson and a push of the ball towards home plate with the echos of “You’re Out” by the home plate umpire was heard around SunTrust Park. The next batter popped out to CF Ronald Acuna and the Braves closed out the first half with the victory.
4- Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones goes to the house on the game winning catch for the Falcons first win of the 2019 campaign. With 2:10 left in the game and the Falcons were losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 17-20. It was 4th and 3 and this was the final hope for the home team. As QB Matt Ryan dropped back with the football, there was no other player he was looking at but Jones. With key blocks by LT Jake Matthews and WR Mohammad Sanu (now with Patriots), it was a catch by Jones and he took it to the endzone leaving the last Eagles player in the dust. Unfortunately that was the only win of the first half of the season for the Falcons, but still a great moment for the team and the fans.
3- Fan favorite catcher Brian McCann walk-off against the Philadelphia Phillies. I was at this game along with my brother and his two boys. The Braves were losing 2-7 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. By the time of the bottom of the ninth inning the Braves were only down by one run trailing 7-8. With two outs, the count 3-2 and Nick Markakis on third base and Austin Riley on second base, it happened. McCann drove the ball to left center field and both Markakis and Riley scored for the 9-8 win for the Braves.
2- Braves win the National League for the second year in a row. The Braves capped off the season by going 97-65 and winning the east over the Washington Nationals by four games. The Braves then lost in the divisional round to the St. Louis Cardinals one game to three games. The Nationals went on to win their first ever World Series over the Houston Astros. So beginning next season the Nationals will be favored to win the east not the Braves for the third time in a row. You might wonder why this isn’t one on my list? Well, it is because the Braves seem to flop in the postseason and just can’t get over the hump to put that dominant season together. When Braves make postseason play they are dominant during the regular season but tail off in the postseason.
1- Atlanta Falcons linebacker Deion Jones scores on a pick six. The Falcons 7-9 season was a disappointing season as the season ended yesterday. But the Falcons ended on a high note going 6-2 in the final eight games of the season. In the game, the Falcons only scored one offensive touchdown and the final touchdown came on the first play of overtime. The game was tied at 22 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose to receive the kickoff in overtime. Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston roared back and delivered his 30th interception of the season on the first play of overtime right in the arms of Jones as Jones jumped in front of the receiver and ran back 25 yards for the score and win 28-22. This will leave a good taste for the team and fans during the offseason in hoping to have a fast start for the 2020 season ahead.
Follow me on Twitter @makirkley for up-to-date tweets, and my views on what's going on in the world of sports.
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