The 1968 Atlanta Chiefs.
The 1995 Atlanta Braves.
The 2017 Georgia Swarm?
The city’s conspicuously uncrowded trophy case may receive a new champ this month when the National Lacrosse League’s Swarm take on the Saskatchewan Rush in the best-of-three NLL finals. It’s a tall order; the Rush has won the past two NLL Champion’s Cups.
But the Swarm has the home-field advantage, defeated the Rush 18-10 in the season opener and, hey, the city is due.
The Swarm hosts Game 1 at 5 p.m. Sunday at Infinite Energy Arena (formerly Gwinnett Arena). Game 2 will be played in the Sask Tel Centre in Saskatoon on June 10, and Game 3, if necessary, returns to Infinite Energy Arena on June 18.
“Are we surprised we’re seeing Saskatchewan? No,” Swarm coach Ed Comeau told the team’s website. “Over the last three or four years, they have been one of the top teams in the league and a two-time defending champion. It’s a group that’s been built to win championships and they’ve done a great job. … We know they know what it takes to win. We’re going to have to be at our best to take them down.”
Atlanta’s paucity of professional sports championship has been a national punchline for decades. Forty-nine years ago, the Chiefs brought home the NASL title and also beat legendary Manchester United twice in exhibitions. The Braves’ World Series triumph over Cleveland remains the high-water mark in the city’s sports heritage. But that’s it.
The Atlanta Knights won the International League’s Turner Cup in 1994. The Atlanta Crackers won the Dixie Series (Southern League vs. Texas League) in 1938 and 1954. But those were minor league conquests. No soap.
The Champion’s Cup features the league’s two top offenses. Saskatchewan (14-6) averages 12.8 goals per game while the Swarm (15-5) set a NLL record with 266 goals (14.8 per game). The team also set another league record when seven players reached the 50-point mark.
The Swarm’s Lyle Thompson, a league MVP candidate, led the NLL with 116 points (45 goals, 71 assists).
“Saskatchewan has a lot of talent there,” Comeau said. “We want to stick with what works for us. We move the ball, we move our feet. When we do that, we’re hard to defend.”
Sunday’s game also will feature a halftime concert by local rapper star Ludacris, who has more titles (three Grammies) than all his city’s pro teams have in a half-century of trying.
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