Atlanta Braves fans aren't known for getting rowdy like sports fans in Philadelphia.

So why is Bobby Collins missing a bunch of his teeth?

Collins, 52, of Macon came to Turner Field with his nephew and friend earlier this month to catch the team's second home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Collins rubbed some fans in front of him the wrong way, having the audacity to wear a Pirates hat.

The group jawed with Collins over his choice of headwear at the April 2 game, and Collins later got sucker-punched as fans filed out of the stadium. He told a friend who was at the game, Andy Coggins, that his attacker was in the same rowdy group that was sitting near them.

The blow knocked many of Collins' teeth out and broke his jaw and other bones in his face, according to an Atlanta police report. He is still healing, with his jaw wired shut.

"Bobby didn't say squat to those guys," Coggins said. "He didn't deserve what he got."

Collins, a maintenance man, is a huge Pirates fan and tries to go to at least one Braves-Pirates game each season, Coggins said.

During the third inning, a group of six young men sat down in the row in front of them, drinking lots of beer and getting more rowdy with each passing inning, Coggins said.

In the seventh or eighth inning, one of the men turned around and said something to Collins, Coggins said.

Collins didn't respond, but said to his friend: "Andy, we've got a problem."

Coggins said they decided to leave the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. But the stadium began emptying before they walked out.

Collins was walking behind Coggins when he saw a cigarette fly past him. He turned around and was hit by a member of the group of rowdy fans.

Atlanta police spokesman Eric Schwartz said he did not know whether any arrests have been made, but Coggins doesn't think it would be difficult to track down Collins' attacker. The boisterous group made an appearance on the stadium's big screen while dancing for a camera; police also seized a cell phone that was found under the seat of one of the suspects.