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The Atlanta Braves clinched the National League East division title last night when the Mets defeated the Phillies by a score of 3-2. This marks the 14th consecutive title for the Braves, which is the longest divisional championship run by any team in all of sports. That's a pretty amazing feat, especially considering how quickly a sport's landscape can change due to free agency, injuries, etc. These days, a team can go from contender to pretender in the same season. Just look at the Baltimore Orioles. They started the season off with a bang and led their division in June. But since then, they have suffered a catastrophic collapse that resulted in the firing of manager Lee Mazzilli. That didn't really seem to help matters, as the Orioles are a dismal 11-36 in their last 47 games. This puts the Braves' string of championships into perspective for me.

As amazing as the Braves' championships are, I think the whole situation in Atlanta must still be bittersweet for the fans. Because through all those years of winning, even with all the Cy Young candidates and winners the Braves have had on their pitching staff, with all those MVP candidates, they have brought home the World Series trophy only once. Just once in the previous 13 years. It happened way back in 1995 when they defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-2. They have made it to the World Series 5 times, the last one coming in 1999 when they were swept by the New York Yankees in 4 games. That was actually the second time in four years that the Braves lost to the Yankees in the World Series.

I come from Chicago, which means that I am used to rooting for pro sports teams that lose much more often than they win. Without the incredible championship decade that the Bulls treated us to in the 1990s, we would barely remember what winning feels like. In fact, our teams are usually so bad that we know by mid-season that we will again have to wait until next year. But that actually makes it a bit easier to be a sports fan around here. We don't have to suffer through the ups and downs of huge victories and devastating losses. Our teams lose all the time, so we're used to it.

But being an Atlanta Braves fan means that you have come tantalizingly close to the World Series every year for more than a decade. You've had your hopes raised up time and again, only to have them dashed to pieces time and again. Somehow, it seems that winning the World Series just once in 13 postseason appearances would be much more frustrating and heart-wrenching than not making it to the playoffs at all during that same stretch of time.

So while most Braves fans are probably celebrating this latest divisional title to the fullest, I'm sure there are a few who are holding back and waiting to see how the postseason unfolds. If the Braves can win another world championship, then we'll see some real celebrating!