ABOUT US
Fans For Life
Bravest ATL was founded by brothers Marty and Chris Buccafusco, two lifelong fans who grew up in Augusta, Georgia loving Atlanta’s baseball team. We were there for the down years of the powder blue uniforms through the team’s amazing run in the 1990s. And like hundreds of thousands of other fans, we were doing the chop to cheer on Greg, Chipper, Andruw, and the rest of the guys.
Over time, we began to understand that the chop and the team’s branding and identity were disrespectful to many people in the Native American community. We learned how negative stereotypes can harm Native American youth. And as we began recruiting the next generation of our family into Atlanta baseball fandom, we became less comfortable encouraging them to chop and chant.
We love Atlanta baseball but you can’t truly and fully love something while knowing it hurts someone else. Love and harm don’t belong together. So let’s change the brand, and keep the love!
The Bravest idea grew out of a conversation with Paul Lukas, formerly of Uni Watch, about how to reinterpret the team’s existing imagery to represent a less divisive concept and carry it into the future. Chris and Marty are joined by Dr. Natalie Welch, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and an expert on Native American athletes and Cherokee stickball. And we have recently partnered with the 11th Hour Project and Running Strong for American Indian Youth to offer a new opportunity for Atlanta baseball fans!