When Al Horford came out of January 11^th’s game against the Indiana Pacers with what was initially perceived as a minor shoulder injury, no one thought too much of it. But when later reports of the All-Star center possibly missing 3-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle hit the news, fans were devastated.

The Hawks were starting out the season playing great team basketball, and fans began to develop a thinking that this just might be the year that the Hawks’ make a championship run. It appeared as if the only teams standing in the way of an eastern conference title were the Bulls and Heat, and the Hawks had already beat them both early on. What if I told you Atlanta could’ve beat both Chicago and Miami not once, but twice in one week? Well it should’ve happened. The Hawks blew a huge 2^nd half lead and ended up losing in the first matchup with the Bulls by one free throw. The night after that the Hawks seemed to be in route to a home win against an injury bugged Miami team. But once again, missed free throws gave the opponent a chance to tie it up, and Chris Bosh delivered with a three. The Heat stole that game in triple overtime, eliminating the Hawks’ chances to be the talk of the East for a few days. Even the media was about to hop on the Hawks bandwagon! The media?! Atlanta sports?! The media?! Cmon!

Despite the two disappointing losses the Hawks went right back to work having only lost one game since. They even got revenge over the Bulls in a convincing 109-94 thrashing of the currently top team in the East. But of course the entire media has decided to completely ignore the currently #4 ranked team in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks. They’ve acted as if the franchise doesn’t even exist. Al Horford’s injury, which seemingly came out of nowhere, did not help the Hawks’ cause. The positive mindsets of even the most dedicated Hawks fans quickly shifted gears. Horford’s loss means that the Hawks would lose the most consistent player on the team and the league leader in mid range field goal percentage the year before. He was just starting to come into his own as a dominant force. Even I believed that the Hawks couldn’t finish as a top 3 seed in the East without Horford. Once again my mindset has been altered.

During Horford’s absence the Hawks are 8-2. One of those wins includes an 18-point comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was a game many believed the Hawks would lose because Al Horford’s defensive presence was needed to help against Kevin Love, arguably the best power forward in the NBA right now.  Instead, this was the game where Joe Johnson continued to emerge from his secret cave. Johnson seemed to flip a switch in this game, becoming aggressive on the offensive end and displaying full confidence with the ball in his hands. As a team the Hawks weren’t flying, so Johnson put the team on his back and carried them to victory instead. Johnson finished the game with 25 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists. The game before that Johnson had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. He hasn’t stopped since, and neither Josh Smith.  Joe has posted at least 23 points in each of the 4 games since Horford’s been out, and Josh Smith has gone for a double-double in all but one of those games. Joe Johnson is beginning to pay an understood debt to the organization and it’s fans. We aren’t seeing any signs of the “I don’t owe these fans anything” attitude. It’s like seeing the Joe Johnson before Al Horford was drafted. Coincidence? I think not.

Al Horford’s absence has inflicted a very positive affect on Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. It has forced them to become more aggressive on the offensive end. There’s a reason why Johnson’s scoring numbers have considerably declined since Al Horford’s arrival in 2007, and it’s not the new jersey’s either. When the team got comfortable with Al Horford in the system, Johnson became less aggressive over time. When he became less aggressive he lost confidence in his shooting. Instead of using his skillset to create open shots for himself, he instead settled for end of the shot clock, contested pull up jumpers (Iso Joe). [CS5] It appeared to fans as if Johnson wasn’t trying hard enough. Jamal Crawford’s arrival took some of the pressure off of Joe but all it meant was Joe’s numbers would decline even more. Now that Crawford is in Portland and Horford is on injured reserved, Joe Johnson is forced to be more aggressive on offense. Johnson’s confidence is at an all time high. He’s got his mojo back. Hawks fans are excited to see the old Joe. The Joe that drains a pull up three from thirty feet to rub their opponents faces into the ground. Even Josh Smith has gotten the message. He’s playing like he’s mad at the All-Star voters from the past two years. Some may think that Josh is playing like the Hawks best player right now, and that may very well be true.

Whatever the Hawks are doing they need to keep doing it. Joe, Josh, and the Hawks need to come out with the same killer instinct night in and night out in order for this team to consistently win like this. And not just while Horford’s gone! When Horford returns it should be no different. I have a feeling that the Hawks will fully realize this concept. Of course there are still plenty of doubters out there. Among them, GAC’s own Justin Lewis, a sophomore that had this to say about the Hawks, “The Hawks won’t win in the playoffs just like every other Atlanta team. They don’t have that killer-instinct just like the Falcons don’t have.” Then there are some “fans” that are still going back and forth in their minds about whether or not they want to jump on the Hawks bandwagon this year. Junior Harrison Payne explains why he falls into that category, “I’m really close to jumping on the Hawks bandwagon but I’m afraid they are going to let me down just like the Braves and Falcons did. I mean they look really good but I don’t know right now.”

Are the Hawks for real this year, or are they just setting up Atlanta fans for another huge disappointment? I say Joe Johnson and Josh Smith will continue their aggressive play, leading to a lot of regular season wins for the Hawks. If Al Horford returns in the playoffs they will have no excuse not to play even better.

            Here in Atlanta, there are three main sports franchises. The Falcons, the Braves, and the Hawks. There was a fourth franchise (Thrashers), but due to lack of fan support and team success, the franchise moved to Winnipeg. The Thrashers were up and down franchise with a weak fan base. Granted there were a few dedicated fans but they were not enough to save the franchise. Some fans blame the ownership for the incident, and they did have an impact on the move but if the Thrashers’ fan base was more attentive and dedicated then they may have been able to stop the move.

            Ever since the Braves dominated in the 1990s and won the World Series in 1995, Braves’ fans have been dedicated to the franchise through thick and thin. In the 1990s the Braves under manager Bobby Cox dominated and probably should have won more titles than they did. Lately the Braves haven’t had the same success that former Braves teams had. The Braves made the playoffs last year, but failed to make it this year after a monstrous end of the year collapse. Braves fans across the globe were sickened by such a disappointing collapse and many are still bitter about the collapse today. If the Braves are too get out of the funk they are in right now, they need their fans to stick by them through this rough time. Braves fans can not give up now and must continue to support the team that once was the top team in baseball

            The Hawks are in a similar situation that the Braves are in. The Hawks have made the playoffs the past few years and have improved greatly. But last season the Hawks did not win as many games as they did in the previous years. The Hawks did however beat the Orlando Magic in the first round and advance on. Due to miscues and lack of execution at key times, the Hawks lost in the second round playoff series to Bulls. The Hawks are a solid team; they just need to take the next step. The fans need to help the Hawks do that by not letting Phillips Arena echo with the chants of opposing fans. The empty seats in Phillips Arena must be filled and the chants of “Lets go Boston!” or “Go Knicks!”  Must end now. The Hawks need to look at themselves to improve but also need fan support to become a dominant team in the NBA.

            Right now the Falcons are a mystery team. They won 13 games last season but had a pitiful 3-8 stretch that went from the past 11 games including the preseason and the playoff loss to the Packers. Luckily, the Falcons have won several games in a row and are back on track. The Falcons have a key game against the Saints on Sunday. If the Falcons win, they will gain the lead in the division. Falcons’ fans are “Rising Up” and have been very supportive of their team. Right now Falcons’ fans need their team to continue to play well. The 3-8 stretch that the Falcons went on can not happen again, especially with all of the talent this team has.

            Fan bases are also important in High School. At GAC we have enjoyed constant success in almost every sport and activity. I have been at GAC for 5 years and I have seen fan support grow each year. We need to continue this growth and not get complacent. Without fan support, teams and players are not as motivated as they would be with fan support. Fans are important to the continued success and progress of teams and are definitely need, especially in high school. On Friday, the Spartans Varsity Football team takes on the Buford Wolves and the game is at Buford. Some people believe that the Spartans can not win, but as a fan base we Spartans must go out and support our team.  No matter how bad things can get, as fans we have a duty to support our team and believe in our team. This message doesn’t just apply to one sport either. Every team needs fans. It is impossible to have a successful team without great fans. Teams need to give us fans something to cheer for, but teams also need fans to be something they can play for.

The Freeman Aquatic center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides the swim team a true home arena where fans and parents can catch the exciting action that goes on during a swim meets and practices. “It gives us a huge advantage… we don’t have to rush through practices, we can get more yards in, and we don’t have to practice really early in the morning or really late at night,” Bufton, on the advantages of having the Freeman Aquatic center.

Though the Freeman Aquatic Center is important towards preparation, the swim team had to make many changes after many swimmers on the team graduated last year. “I think our main difference is just really stepping it up… we are practicing more, and being more of a team. We are learning to rely to each other and our program here at GACS rather than just rely on our swimmers who swim at Swim Atlanta.”

The six captains for the Varsity swim team this year is: Kelly Lord, Sarah Becker, Tyler Martin, Tin Lazar and Chris McCarter. Along with the six captains, Coach Bufton looks forward to coaching all members of the team. Juniors to watch for during swim meets are Drew Hayes, Kayla Puzas and Max Musser. Freshman Taylor Wright, Dylan Kearney, Landon Keller and Hunter Dye are players to look out for as well.

Along with all the great swimmers on the team and the competition, being swim coach is a very fulfilling position for Coach Bufton. “I absolutely love the sport, but mostly I love the relationships I get to have with my swimmers. It’s different from teaching them in the class. I get to push them through hard practices, but also have a ton of fun with them playing water polo, sharks in minnows, or going out to eat after meets. My favorite part is also watching them succeed- there is really nothing better.”

The team will face good opponents this year and Bufton is excited for the challenge. “I’m really excited about swimming some of the teams GACS has swam for years (Duluth, St. Pius) but I also am excited about swimming teams that I swam in high school like Wesleyan, Northview, and Alpharetta.” Come out and support the GAC swimmers towards a promising year. Best of luck to our swimmers this season!