Commentary by Nick Vernon, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
Considering it is such a large city, Atlanta is surprisingly known for having sub-par fans and average sports teams.
Currently, however, the people living in and around the Atlanta area are finding it increasingly hard to not take notice of the Atlanta Hawks.
They currently hold a franchise record with 17 straight wins and lead the NBA Eastern Conference with an astounding 38-8 record.
Many Berry students have taken notice, and making the trip to Phillips Arena in Atlanta has become a popular weekend activity.
Junior Christopher Wisener compared his experience of going to a Hawks game this month and going to one four years ago.
“I went to the Hawks game the night we got back from winter break,” Wisener said. “They beat the Wizards by about 30 points and the atmosphere was really intense. The last Hawks game I went to there was almost as many fans of the opposing team as there were Hawks fans.”
After beating the Oklahoma City Thunder – a powerhouse team boasting NBA MVP Kevin Durant – by 10 points on Jan. 23, even more people are christening themselves Hawks fans.
In his postgame interview, Durant noted that the Hawks fan support has risen significantly.
“I guess they’ve jumped on the bandwagon,” Durant said.
It would seem that the Hawks have finally made their fans believers.
The Hawks are currently sitting at the top of ESPN’s NBA power rankings, and they are showing no signs of letting up.
They are a team in every sense of the word. The starting lineup is about as balanced as it can be, with five players averaging between about 12 and 17 points per game.
The bench runs five or six players deep every game and all of them are true competitors.
It is inevitable that their winning streak will come to an end, however, and with over half of the NBA season remaining, there is still a lot of work to be done.
The next major test for the team comes on Feb. 6, when they will face the league-leading Golden State Warriors, ranked right behind the Hawks on ESPN’s power rankings.
The matchup will take place at Phillips Arena, and the tickets to the game have drastically increased in value – at least that’s what StubHub is claiming.
On Jan. 27, Atlanta news station 11 Alive interviewed the Murphys. The couple had purchased two tickets to the Warriors game at Phillips Arena from the ticket distributor for $21.75 in December.
StubHub sent them an email last week saying the transaction had been canceled because the tickets had been “mis-priced.”
The email explained that the seats they had paid for were now worth “well over $340.”
“It made zero sense to us,” Allison Murphy told 11 Alive. “Back in December when we bought the tickets, $21.75 was the fair going price.”
After several phone calls with StubHub, the Murphys now have a $450 credit to buy new seats to the game, but the dilemma itself is telling of the new and overwhelming support the Hawks are experiencing.
The rise of the Atlanta Hawks will certainly be something to monitor throughout the rest of the NBA season, and it is likely to provide many Berry students with something new to do on the weekends.