The conclusion of Sunday night’s Super Bowl means the world will be without national football, meaning college football or the NFL, for 195 days. High school football starts in early August, but for the purposes of this column, enduring more than six months without the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles or the Kansas City Chiefs is a hard pill to swallow.

Don’t give me the United Football League.

Spring football leagues just do not work, for one reason or many others. So, what do we as sports fans do to occupy our attention until Florida State and Georgia Tech help kick off the college season on Aug. 24.

Well, if you are a baseball enthusiast, this is the time of the year to get excited. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to their respective training sites. It means baseball is just around the corner and so is spring, hopefully.

The end of football allows baseball to take center stage in this part of the country. The reigning National League East Division champion Atlanta Braves will once again be contending for a World Series title.

What this time of the year really does is provide hope to baseball teams and fans out there. There is no more waiting until next year because the time has arrived. Every organization enters the spring with an optimism that is unparalleled. They have endured the winter offseason ready to take the field with a hope that this is the year to find success.

Not all teams will discover that success, however. Braves fans can recall a time when baseball was so bad every year, there was not much to be hopeful about heading into a new season.

Who can forget the infamous late ’80s when the Braves lost at least 89 games six straight seasons and finished in sixth place in the division four times (there were only six teams in the division)? Who can forget the infamous rebuild from 2015-2017 when the Braves won just 67, 68 and 72 games?

Thankfully, those seasons are in the rearview mirror, as the Braves have paved their way to a new successful run. Six straight division titles should provide any team excitement and confidence heading into a new season. That is certainly the case for these Braves.

Outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason spending spree, the Braves had one of the better offseasons. They added a reliable postseason pitcher in Chris Sale, bolstered the outfield with the trade for youngster Jarred Kelenic and strengthened the bullpen by re-signing Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson.

Combine that with the star power up and down the lineup and at the front end of the starting rotation, and the Braves have every reason to be optimistic about the 2024 season. It’s almost time to “play ball.”