when you wake up you will know what you have done

I would like to announce that I, too, have given up. It is my belief that the 2006 Atlanta Braves have no chance, none, of securing a wildcard slot in the playoffs. And even if they did, what would they do with it? I mean really.

To be sure, it saddens me a little that the string of pennants has ended. It sure has been a fun run. But for the last several years I've harbored a secret hope: "This will be The Year. This year the Braves won't win the pennant, and all the fair-weather fans will crawl back into their holes, and Braves fandom will begin to lose the subtle luster of shame it has picked up over the last 15 years." Not that I've ever been the slightest bit ashamed of being a Braves fan, but I could see how one might hate the Braves the way everybody hated the Cowboys back in the day.

I retain a little frustration, too, at the way they can still get my hopes up and then summarily dash them. This year it wasn't the usual come-from-behind pennant win followed by mediocre postseason play; instead it was be a losing team the first half of the season (which I was fine with, by the way) and then come out swinging after the All-Star break like we're still in this thing only to completely lose our head of steam after a couple of weeks.

Ah well. As it stands now, I'm really happy with the team itself, forgetting for a minute that nasty little habit of losing. The old-timers are venerable, and the excited young rookies are actually local boys; the personalities are all great, and I still watch some games on TV even though it doesn't matter anymore because the Braves are a nice team to spend an evening and a couple of beers with. I'm also still excited about the postseason with the way the Yankees are playing these days. But have lost all 2006-Braves-related hope, and it feels very much like the end of an era. I wonder what happens next.