72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: #52 the crowd makeup

by hawksdawgs on Sep 9, 2009 4:21 PM EDT

Slideshow_1041600_hawks

via alt.coxnewsweb.com

Go to a Hawks game and your going to see young people and old guys. Families and twenty something singles. Just about every ethnicity and race. I am not going to make this into some kind of big deal. Race, ethnicity, etc. always seems to be just that. This is not. It is just nice. In fact, maybe it is nice because it is not a big deal. Hawks crowds are a mix and match, a cross section of what makes Atlanta so great. I have had tickets for standing room only and three rows from the court, and it does not matter. You go to a Hawks game. You sit with Atlanta. All of Atlanta. And there are not many other places in the city you can say that about.

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The atmosphere may suck again

They have tentatively axed the Spirit Squad (the people who instruct the Atl fans on when to cheer and throw t shirts and etc.) This could be disastrous!!!! Atlanta is great, but a huge number of the fans are just there because its the place to be on any given night. They NEED instructions about cheering or else they’re content sitting on their asses looking cute. I hope they come to their senses and bring back the Spirit Squad. We need them.

by Co Co on Sep 9, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Thats not just basketball

That’s every sport in Atlanta. Atlanta has one of the worst fan bases for being such a big city. It makes me mad, but I am not gonna abandon my Hawks just because nobody shows up unless it’s a big game. That is why I like going to the games vs. the Nuggets or some random team… only the true fans are there.

Note: That is every sport in Atlanta EXCEPT Georgia Bulldawg football ….. which isn’t technically in Atlanta, but its close enough. ;-)

by happyplayer23 on Sep 10, 2009 1:20 AM EDT up reply actions

i am a huge uga fan

and those games against Tennessee Tech are pretty subdued.

i think atlanta just doesnt like to waste their fandom. They are not going to cheer and probably not show up against the Grizz. But they have shown the ability/desire to be really good NBA fans when it matters.

Certainly have a long way to go and atlanta probably will never be an intense place to play on a random tuesday night, but i think they know when to cheer. they might actually know a little too well….

by hawksdawgs on Sep 10, 2009 7:21 AM EDT up reply actions

No

Athens is most definitely NOT close enough. North Ave is where it’s at. Tech is right in the thick of the city.

"This is America, if we can’t self-righteously look down on others and blame them for our faults, the commies win."-----Cormican on Bleeding Green Nation w/r/t fans overreacting to the Eagles signing of Michael Vick

by Jesse28 on Sep 10, 2009 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions

i knew you were not going to let that Athens is Atlanta comment slide. i agree. college football is a different beast. although if I ever have a kid, i plan to indoctrinate him or her in the Hawks with that college football passion.

by hawksdawgs on Sep 10, 2009 7:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Same here

What’s funny though, is right now, for whatever reason I have yet to determine, both of my older sons always want to pick whoever the opponent is. My oldest will ask me which one is my team. I’ll say the Hawks, the ones in red and blue. He’ll then proceed to say he want the other team to win. I’m like, “Son, you can’t want Miami to win, they suck. We don’t like them, ya know, mortal enemies and all that.” He just laughs at me and says they are gonna win anyways. Then I get mad because he has a knack for calling games.

No, seriously. During last years Kentucky Derby, the boy called the first five races on TV that morning. I don’t gamble or bet money on anything, but I do buy an occasional scratch off just for kicks. I’m thinking I should let him pick the next few out, lol.

He is only 5 though, the other being 2, so there is still time to infect them with everything Atlanta, which you can bet will be done. Pick the Mets and out the door they go! Or the Bucs. Or omg, if they come home with a Celtics hat on, I might just lose it, haha.

by Jesse28 on Sep 10, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions

that is hilarious

you may need to scare them straight, like ground them when the hawks lose.

by hawksdawgs on Sep 10, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Well

Needless to say, that was the first game we lost to Miami in round one, so I stopped asking him after that. I think he just does it to get a rise out of me.

by Jesse28 on Sep 10, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

True... but

when was the last time tech even sold out a game other than when they play UGA at home? Not even tonight’s ACC showdown on ESPN is sold out. I just tried to buy 2 of the best available and it gave me section 228. I bet the student section wont even be full… and I know because I am a student and it never is (except for the UGA game)!

That is why I have to consider Athens to be the only exception…

by happyplayer23 on Sep 10, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

That has nothing to do with proximity

Athen is not ATL, in ATL, near ATL, or even part of the greater metropolitan area. Seeling out has nothing to do with it. The Hawks do not sell out, so if anything, you could say that the two are more similar than UGA and the Hawks.

And Drew is right, even at UGA games, it’s not always 100% hoppin. Take last years game against GT for example. In the first half the crowd was roaring, but in the second half two people on opposite sides of teh stadium could have had a conversation, unless they were GT fans of course, because we were too busy still cheering our team, while the Dawg fans were getting ready to go home early.

But, I will agree that college football does, as a whole, have a much more enthusiastic fan base than most every other sport, with the exception of footie.
Plus…oh nevermind. I’ll keep it Hawks related.

by Jesse28 on Sep 10, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions