It's official ladies and gentlemen; Braves fans have reached the level of Yankees fans when it comes to living in the past. The problem is, Braves fans are just cheap Yankee fan knock offs when it comes to living in the past.

As many of us fellow Mets fans know, the fans of the New York Yankees are notorious for living in the past. No matter how much better we are in the standings then them, or how many times the Yankees get swept by the Rockies, Yankee fans will come back with the same proverbial excuse: 26.

Well fear not fellow Mets fans, because now our other favorite team to hate, the Atlanta Braves are pulling the same garbage. How, you might ask, can the Braves, a team that has won a mere three World Series titles in its 125 plus year existence pull of a stunt like this? Well my fiddle/steel player in my country band is a Braves fan, and he owns a shirt that just irks me to no end. Apparently the Braves now make shirts that brag about how they won 14 straight division titles. Now don’t get me wrong, 14 straight division titles is highly impressive, but is it something you shouldn’t be bragging about when you only have one World Series to show for it. At least Yankee fans are bragging about winning the World Series, at least they have some validity, but Braves fans are bragging about winning a measly division title. Not just any division title though, but the National League East. Let’s face it, save for the Mets and Marlins being good a couple of years, the NL East was a cakewalk. Look at the Braves playoff statistics over the years of their division run:

1991: Lost to Twins in WS
1992: Lost to Blue Jays in WS
1993: Lost to Phillies in NLCS
1994: Strike
1995: Won World Series over Indians
1996: Lost to Yankees in WS
1997: Lost to Marlins in NLCS
1998: Lost to Padres in NLCS
1999: Lost to Yankees in WS
2000: Lost to Cardinals in NLDS
2001: Lost to Diamondbacks in NLCS
2002: Lost to Giants in NLDS
2003: Lost to Cubs in NLDS
2004: Lost to Astros in NLDS
2005: Lost to Astros in NLDS
2006: Bitchsmacked by the Mets in regular season

In the glory years of Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine, and Avery the Braves were a force to be reckoned with. But in this decade, the Braves division titles were basically a waste of a playoff spot. Yet, Braves fans (who don’t even attend their teams playoff games) have this need to rub the number fourteen in my face. Well I always give them this stat back. Since the Mets existence, we have won more World Series titles than the Braves, only one less pennant, and we have each beaten each other once in the NLCS. I think those stats line up very well in the Mets favor over all, and it basically renders the Braves obsession with the number 14 useless.

JD