Braves shock world and allow fans to bring their own food to games

The Atlanta Braves just knocked one out of the park, and the season hasn’t even started yet.

And I’m not talking about Grapefruit League home runs. I’m talking about the front office’s stunning bottom-of-the-ninth-inning decision to allow fans to bring outside food into brand-new SunTrust Park.

When the Braves organization announced it was moving to Cobb County, I realized my drive to see my favorite baseball team had just been extended by 15 miles – and at least an extra hour of waiting in traffic.

Bummer.

But the first thing I thought was this: I’ll no longer be able to sit in a major league ballpark and eat homemade peach pie or a rack of ribs I grilled myself.

And I’ll spend a fortune on inexpensive things like bottled water and peanuts.

For nearly 15 years, my family of six brought gigantic, sumptuous picnics to Turner field maybe a dozen times a season and saved thousands of dollars doing it.

Without fail, the person checking our bags at the turnstile would say, “Now where are you sitting? I’m coming up to eat with you!”

Bess and I started this tradition before we had children, when the Braves were playing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. That’s when she first started baking the peach pies.

When the Braves moved across the street to The Ted, the team announced that outside food would no longer be allowed at games. That’s when Ted Turner, the billionaire owner himself, announced that the concession prices were ridiculous.

Soon thereafter, the ban on outside food was lifted.

But here we are, 20 years later and in a new ballpark with new rules, and in a fancy new neighborhood. Did anybody really believe the Braves would pass on a chance to make a buck? I mean, would any organization do that these days?

I didn’t even bother to check. I figured the Braves had a better chance of winning the World Series this year than continuing to allow their fans to bring their own food and drink into the ballpark.

Sure enough, on Monday the Braves announced that outside food was a thing of the past, unless you were an infant or someone with dietary restrictions.

No surprise there. What bothered me was that they gave a reason: They were tightening security.

And this from the same organization that allowed me to bring an entire country ham and a pineapple-cheese casserole into the ballpark right after 9/11?

Yeah, they’re worried about security. Financial security.

But the next day they posted this on social media: “Over the past few days we have heard feedback from our fans expressing their desire to continue to bring food items into the ballpark on game days. We listened and have decided to amend our approach.”

Wow! The people have spoken.

Let’s face it. Around here, we love the Braves, but not nearly as much as we love college football. In Sanford Stadium – or Bryant-Denny or Jordan-Hare – we’ll pay whatever the hot dog or nacho or Coca-Cola guy tells us to pay so we can get back to our seat to watch somebody get his bell rung.

Around here, baseball is a pleasant way for us to spend a summer evening, especially in the presence of children and grandchildren. But with 81 home games in a season, we’ve got a lot of other options.

Which means we’ve got at least a bit of leverage with the Braves, who’ve got a fancy new stadium they’d like to fill 81 times.

Which means the Braves are letting us, the fans, bring one clear gallon bag filled with food and one sealed plastic bottle of water per person per game.

That’s cool. They don’t say how big a bottle, and you can fit an awful lot of hot wings or pulled pork or deviled eggs or whatever in a gallon bag.

So hey, thanks for listening.

And go Braves!

This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Braves shock world and allow fans to bring their own food to games."