ATLANTA — Thursday was all about the Braves. And the team didn't disappoint them -- as shortstop Orlando Arcia lined the game-winning single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth for some late-inning heroics.
Fans packed Truist Park for the home opener, with many saying the best word to describe it was electric.
“This is a big deal,” said longtime fan David Hull.
He was among the over 42,000 people to pack Truist Park for the Braves home opener again the San Diego Padres. According to Hull and his friend, he might just be the team’s secret weapon.
“A friend of mine who I worked with at CNN in the sports department years ago, swears that I’m good luck because the only other time I came to opening day was two years ago and the Braves won the World Series," he said. "So he’s invited me back because I’m good luck.
Hull, isn’t the only fans with a special reason for attending Thursday tonight game.
“My son is 8 and he just started playing baseball so this is our first major league game and I wanted to bring him out to see the Braves, said Antoine Hardy.
And when we asked Hardy’s son what he’s most exited about, he responded
seeing "a home run”. Well, he got to see that. From guess who? The Braves hero seemingly all night long -- Arcia.
And then, there were those who just came to watch a good game.
“I go to school in Tennessee so I had to come back and see opening day,” Peyton said.
But whatever the reason for attended the game, getting to the ballpark wasn’t a walk in the park. Fans had to endure lots of traffic on the highway and by the stadium, but for the true Brave fans, they said it was all worth it.
“Definitely a lot of traffic, parking was not too bad -- it took us 10 minutes to get over here but traffic was a little bad," Peyton added.
Fans were also excited about the new array of food and ballpark experiences and will get to experience those new amenities all season long.