 Today I spent a better portion of the day walking through the streets of downtown Atlanta and taking some pictures. I haven't had the chance to explore downtown in quite a while, so this was a welcome opportunity. I ended up taking exactly four hundred shots from my stroll, so I'll be posting some images over the next few days. I even managed to get a few HDRs captured, so stay tuned for those as well. The highlight of the day, however, was going to Game 6 of the NBA Playoffs game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. After the Hawks got blown out in the first two games in Boston (final scores were 104-81 in Game 1 and 96-77 in Game 2), most predicted that this would be an easy sweep for the mighty Celtics, who won 66 games this season. Comparatively, the young Atlanta Hawks managed to get into the playoffs with 37 wins. They also had 45 losses, which means the Hawks made the playoffs with a losing record. Actually, most pundits and analysts predicted an easy sweep for the Celtics before the series even began (and had their thoughts reaffirmed after the first two Atlanta losses). But then the Hawks won the third game of the series at home with a final score of Hawks 103, Celtics 92. Game 4 was exciting to watch as well, where Joe Johnson and Josh Smith had 35 and 28 points, respectively, in the 97-92 Hawks victory. So the series was tied up at 2-2. After the series shifted back to Boston, the Celtics had another overpowering win over the Hawks. Final score in Game 5 was Boston Celtics 110, Atlanta Hawks 85. But Game 6 would shift back to Atlanta, and boy, was it exciting. In fact, I think it might be the best game - of any sport - that I ever attended. And I've been to some great games. I went to the New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game on August 18, 2006, which ended up being the longest nine inning game in baseball history (that game lasted for four hours, forty five minutes; the Yankees beat the Red Sox with a final score of 14-11, and you can read the recap of the game here). Of course, the opening day game for the Atlanta Braves this year was incredible as well, and I wrote about it in my earlier entry here. Why was this game so incredible? First, the Atlanta Hawks were giving away free t-shirts and mostly everyone in the arena was dressed in white. Everyone was also given towels with the Atlanta Hawks logo. Second, the atmosphere was absolutely electric. Every time the Hawks scored a basket, grabbed a rebound, made a defensive stop, got fouled - the crowd was on its feet and cheering. I think I lost my voice by the end of the second quarter. The Hawks trailed for most of the game, and it looked like the season would come to the end for the Hawks at the end of the third quarter. When Paul Pierce of the Celtics fouled out in the fourth quarter, the fans went in a dizzying frenzy. The game was tight all through the fourth quarter, especially since the Hawks ended up missing a few key free throw shots. But all in all, the Hawks made an incredible fourth quarter run, and managed to hold on for a 103-100 victory over the Boston Celtics. For this game, Philips Arena saw its largest crowd ever for a sporting event: 20,425 filled every nook and cranny inside. When the final buzzer sounded, the Arena erupted into a frenzy, confetti dropped from the ceiling, great balls of fire were aflame (see it in the picture?), and the crowd started chanting 'Seven! Seven! Seven!' The image seen in today's entry was captured just a few seconds after the final buzzer sounded, and one can see the final score of Atlanta Hawks 103, Boston Celtics 100 on the scoreboard. Coming out of the game, fans were giving each other high-fives, singing praises, and honking their car horns. If you didn't know any better, you might have thought the Hawks just won the NBA championship. Even though there is still Game 7 to be played, the Hawks made this city come alive. They made everyone believe that when you play with heart, you can give the best a run for their money. In essence, the Hawks have shocked the world. And I - sitting in the last row of the upper deck (I wouldn't have it any other way) - was there to experience it. |
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