The Atlanta Braves refer to themselves as “America’s Team,” but they might have to rethink that after a mishap during their home opener Tuesday night.
In a pregame ceremony dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run, the Braves featured a pyrotechnics display on the top of the Turner Field jumbotron for the first time. Unfortunately, that caused the American flag on top of the screen to catch fire.
Braves spokesperson Beth Marshall told 11Alive News in Atlanta that the flag is made of a flame retardant material, so it was able to go out on its own. However, that didn’t stop the flames from leaving giant holes in the flag for the duration of the game.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Braves also lost 4-0 to the New York Mets. Ouch.
Marshall said the flag would be replaced Wednesday and that the team no longer would put pyrotechnics on the jumbotron.
Check out the unfortunate incident below.
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