Wednesday, May 25, 2016

THIS poor bastard

Another week, another my-life-behind-someone-else's-vehicle post.

The other day I found myself looking at the back of this truck:
In case you don't follow sports, the logo on the left side of the tailgate is the Buffalo Bills of the NFL and the one on the right belongs to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. The cities those teams play in are about 700 miles apart but still share a common thread. While both teams are kind of mediocre now, but beginning in the '90s and continuing into the '00s, it was The Best Of Times and it was The Worst Of Times.

  • 1990 - Buffalo Bills win division, beaten in Super Bowl 20-19 by the New York Giants.
  • 1991 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Minnesota Twins in World Series, four games to three.
  • 1991 - Buffalo Bills win division, beaten in Super Bowl 37-24 by the Washington Redskins.
  • 1992 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Toronto Blue Jays in World Series, four games to two.
  • 1992 - Buffalo Bills qualify for playoffs as a wildcard team, beaten in Super Bowl 52-17 by the Dallas Cowboys.
  • 1993 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Philadelphia Phillies in League Championship (one round prior to the World Series), four games to two.
  • 1993 - Buffalo Bills win division, beaten in Super Bowl 30-13 by the Dallas Cowboys.
  • 1995 - Atlanta Braves win division, beat the Cleveland Indians in World Series, four games to two.
  • 1995 - Buffalo Bills win division, beaten in playoffs 40-21 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  • 1996 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the New York Yankees in World Series, four games to two.
  • 1996 - Buffalo Bills qualify for playoffs as a wildcard team, beaten in playoffs 30-27 by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
  • 1997 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Florida Marlins in League Championship (one round prior to the World Series), four games to two.
  • 1998 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the San Diego Padres in League Championship (one round prior to the World Series), four games to two.
  • 1998 - Buffalo Bills qualify for playoffs as a wildcard team, beaten in playoffs 24-17 by the Miami Dolphins.
  • 1999 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the New York Yankees in World Series, four games to none.
  • 1999 - Buffalo Bills qualify for playoffs as a wildcard team, beaten in playoffs 22-16 by the Tennessee Titans.
  • 2000 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten in playoffs by the St. Louis Cardinals, three games to none.
  • 2001 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Arizona Diamondbacks in League Championship (one round prior to the World Series), four games to one.
  • 2002 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the San Francisco Giants in playoffs, three games to two.
  • 2003 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Chicago Cubs in playoffs, three games to two.
  • 2004 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Houston Astros in playoffs, three games to two.
  • 2005 - Atlanta Braves win division, beaten by the Houston Astros in playoffs, three games to one.
You might look at that and say, "Wow, that's a lot of winning!" and you'd be right. But you might also look at that and say, "Wow, that's a lot of heartbreak!" and you'd be even more right. Because out of those 22 entries, only one yielded the ultimate prize of a championship.

1995 - Atlanta Braves win division, beat the Cleveland Indians in World Series, four games to two.
Lots and lots and lots of coming close, lots and lots and lots of not quite closing the deal.

Listen, part of being a sports fan is inevitable disappointment. We all know it and still sign up for it. Still, this guy was the victim of more "almost"s in 15 years than anybody should ever experience in a lifetime. So if you see this truck driving around, give the driver a hug or maybe buy him a drink because he's been through it.

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