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.

When asked how hard they practiced to create the sounds heard that day. Freshmen Kathryn Wilson replied, “A lot of hard work, this year we had two separate classes. Percussion had one class and symphonic band had another, so we had to put the two together a few days before the concert and make sure that everything sounded right in only one practice.” Percussion also had an exciting solo of their own, the sounds of drums and mallets pounding their instruments making harmonic music. The last song played was called Galop by Jaques Offenbach, arr. Bourgeous and as the musicians stood to bow they received a standing ovation from their friends and family. Their next concert is the Christmas concert and members of the band seem excited for it. “It’s going to be Christmas songs and its gonna be a lot of fun!” Freshman Shelby Head says. Others replied with the same kind of enthusiastic replies and they can’t wait for their next concert.

Band wasn’t the only concert to play this month; orchestra also took the stage and entertained the masses. The sound of their bows brushing over strings made the fast and steady paced sounds of Drifen. With their heads bowed and their concentration focused on the instrument the song goes on without a hitch. That particular song was 9^th grader Charissa Davis’s favorite song to play. “It was really fast, and even though it was complicated at first, it was so much fun to play once I got it.” She tells us. Freshman Victoria Cruz tells us about how much it took to put on the orchestra performance. “About two months worth.”  She says. “We didn’t practice for as long as we normally do, because this is new, we don’t normally have concerts this early.” Victoria says.  It looks like they’re hard work paid off and they too are looking forward to their next concert.

Greater Atlanta Christian schools instrument groups have once again put on an amazing performance. They rest again for only a couple months though, for their next concert is approaching fast on there heals. Everyone should begin to mark his or her calendars for the upcoming concerts that never seem to disappoint.

The game of baseball has changed. No longer will there be balls flying over the “touch em all” boundary, or long balls towering over the stadium. A change has come among baseball.

A new type of bat, called a BBCOR bat, does not stack up anywhere near where standard aluminum BESR bats did. This bat is required for all colligate levels of play and high school levels.

The way the BBCOR bat works can best be described with a simple analogy: Think of you as a ball and the floor as a bat. If you jump off of the floor, you use strength in your legs to get off of the ground. However, if you get on a trampoline you bounce higher.

This can be good and bad. The good news is the bat will still provide you with a little bit of pop. The bad news is, the pop is tainted because the BBBCOR bat gives more pop than the BESR bats, which will cause a great drop in distance in the ball.

The reason for this change is to give the game a more balanced feel. Although it will make more games tighter, it will be sad not to see as many balls soaring over the fence. Tests have proven a 10-15% decrease in bat performance, which means a much lower batting average as well. It also has been proven that 6 mph are also dropped from the overall speed. With baseball season coming quicker than many think, it is a good recommendation to start hitting the weight-room or else your stats will drop like the US economy. For example, in this years College World Series, players hit 7 home runs in 12 games. This is a puny amount compared to the enormous 32 home runs hit in 14 games last year. Some say the BBCOR bats have as much pop as a wood bat. This shocking change has hit baseball players nationwide. With the decrease in action in games, will this change be lasting? Or will the BESR bats resurrect and return once again? Only you can decide.

            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.