My problem with sports talk radio

When I was in college I took a course in sports writing and one of the first lines I remember said that a sports writer starts as a fan.

 I have been a fan for over 30 years and have rooted primarily for the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and Hawks as well as the Georgia Bulldogs during that time.

During this time of my life I have found that rooting for teams in Atlanta can be a considered a challenge and at times has caused me to remember the old slogan used by the Navy in their recruiting ads "it's not a job, it's an adventure".

For example, the Hawks have made the NBA playoffs five years in a row but if they have one bad game it is a good bet that one of the two sports radio stations and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will spew venom that might be used to discuss politics or other issues.

This has been something that has had an effect on my being a sports fan.

During most of the recently concluded season, the morning hosts at 790 the Zone heavily criticized leading scorer Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, head coach Larry Drew, the Atlanta Spirit which owns the team and anybody else who played the sport of basketball.

They had theories of dismantling the team completely, moving the club to somewhere else or the contraction of the club completely.

In other words, they weren't the most complimentary gentlemen.

Here we are in the month of July and once again, the radio guys are off and running as the Braves have been up and down this season and have incurred their wrath.

They have decided to fire manager Fredi Gonzalez, general manager Frank Wren and team president Terry McGuirk as well as implore Liberty Media to sell the team to anybody.

While it is fine to have an opinion (everybody has one), there comes a point where they need to turn it down a notch or two.

I get mad at the Braves but I have tried to realize that it isn’t the end of the world if they lose a game and/or fail to make the playoffs.

In other words, there are other things to worry about and these guys need to keep it a little more positive at times but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Boy does my role in sports as a fan become a challenge.