I've waited to see this day....

[Diesel]

I feel like the old man who waited at the temple to see the Messiah or something.

After years of losing and being disrespected (and let's not fool ourselves, we have been disrespected since NIQUE).

We are now considered one of the best teams in the game.

We are a top 5 team.

Commentators on the games talk about us like we're elite.

Even when a team beats us, it's a big deal. If Fans could rush the floor, a win over the Hawks would be floor rushing for most teams.

Finally, we are winning the close games and blowing out the teams we should beat.

I suffered through the Milwaukee Broadcast yesterday, and those guys talked about the Hawks being a big game for Coach Skiles. Coach Skiles said that they haven't had a defining game and Atlanta would be that. They talked about us, the way that people use to talk about the Pistons a few years back (when they had Chauncey). Not that the Pistons beat everybody.. but they could.

This is a good season and I don't know if it's mathematically possible, but I would like for this team to win 50.

Best of all, I have seen great growth in Josh Smith. He's not the best player on the team, but he's definitely the most improved.

[Gray Mule]

:thumbsupsmileyanim:

It's been a long time, hasn't it.

:line dance:

[drzachary]

Well-said, Diesel. Insightful!

[HawkItus]

Here here. For all their warts, this frog of a team seems to have finally become a prince.

[coachx]

Nice to see some positive posts for a change !

Totally agree D..........its been a long time coming.

[Wretch]

I've been thinking about this all year. I can't really be upset with this team. There are moments where I bang my head, which will never change no matter what team I'm following. But, we're one of the best teams in the league right now. It's been a long time since we had any respect and I'm enjoying it.

[hawkman]

I approve of this thread. :thumbsupsmileyanim:

[swolehawk2]

Yep, it feels great discussing how our bench isn't deep enough to reach the ECF; when just a few years ago, our current bench would have been our starters!

Feels great to be good again.

Edited March 1, 2010 by swolehawk2

[buckeye242424]

I've been thinking about this all year. I can't really be upset with this team. There are moments where I bang my head, which will never change no matter what team I'm following. But, we're one of the best teams in the league right now. It's been a long time since we had any respect and I'm enjoying it.

Great post Diesel. I love the positive vibes of the thread!

I can't get upset with the team either, and sure I still throw out profanities at the TV, but that's sports.

I got a dozen texts after the loss to the Mavs asking me "are you aight"...or "Wow, blew that one, you must be pissed"... All coming from people that know I love the Hawks, and that's few and far between in Ohio. Point being, no...I wasn't pissed. I was disappointed, but not upset. Geesh, from 1997 until the Boston series a few years back, we were the laughing stock....the Clips of the East if you will. This year has been amazing, two all-stars (should have been three!)....fighting for the division vs. a Finals team from a year ago...fighting for the 3 seed!

Seriously, if anyone is really "upset" with where we are now, they're either in wishful thinking mode that we should be 48-10 or just can't remember the team of 5 years ago.

[DJlaysitup]

You're the best D (wiping a tear from my eye)...I think I'll go bake some cookies.

[AHF]

I approve of this thread. :thumbsupsmileyanim:

Seconded. We need to enjoy the good times while they are here for sure!

[sillent]

It's about time I read a completely positive posts about the team we know and love!! :thumbsupsmileyanim: :thumbsupsmileyanim:

[TheNorthCydeRises]

This is how good we are.

The Hawks have had ONE 3+ game losing streak all year.

ONE

And that was the 4 game losing streak during the Christmas/New Year's holiday . . which included Nate Robinson going off on us and the refs and score clock operator cheating us in Cleveland. The 4 game losing streak was part of a 6 losses out of 8 game stretch we had.

That's it. That's really the only time this team looked to be remotely in trouble.

For me, this has easily been the least stressful season I've seen as a Hawk fan. Even in the 1993 - 94 season, the Dominique situation stressed the hell out of me, even though we were the #1 team in the East at the time.

But this season has been a breeze from Day 1. The bad losses this season don't stress me out one bit, because they've shown all year that they can bounce right back, and get it going again.

In 2 1/2 weeks, we're going to get an indication of how ready for the playoffs this team is:

Mar 21st vs San Antonio( ESPN )

Mar 24th vs Orlando

Mar 31st vs LA Lakers

Apr 2nd @ Cleveland ( ESPN )

That's the final test before the playoffs.

Edited March 4, 2010 by northcyde

[TheTruth]

^Good post. If we take care of business these next 11 games, that rough stretch at the end of the month into early April won't look so ominous. Cleveland owes us a win, and the other three are at home...so between those 3 at home, hopefully we take at least one and then try to seek revenge on the cheating refs in Cleveland.

[T21]

Great post!

Another thing... we're finaly getting where we are supposed to be, where we belong!

I consider myself somewhat an older fan... I fell in love with our Hawks long time ago (early 80's) and stuck with them through good and bad times, and that's why all of this is very satisfying for me!

I say we should all be more positive, relaxed and enjoy this ride! :beer:

[spotatl]

God its funny how quiet this board is when the team is playing well.

[swanlee]

We only have to go 11-11 the rest of the season to get 50 wins. That would be a great achievement for this team. however I really hope this latest win streak means we have straightened out the issues that were causing us to lose double digit leads in the 4qtr. We definitely have lost WAY to many games all season in which we had huge leads in.

That has really ticked me off about the team this year. We'd have the best record in the league if we won all the game we had lead in during the 4th qtr.

[HawkRock1123]

I like it!!! :friends1:

[Plainview1981]

I feel like the old man who waited at the temple to see the Messiah or something.

After years of losing and being disrespected (and let's not fool ourselves, we have been disrespected since NIQUE).

We are now considered one of the best teams in the game.

We are a top 5 team.

Commentators on the games talk about us like we're elite.

Even when a team beats us, it's a big deal. If Fans could rush the floor, a win over the Hawks would be floor rushing for most teams.

Finally, we are winning the close games and blowing out the teams we should beat.

I suffered through the Milwaukee Broadcast yesterday, and those guys talked about the Hawks being a big game for Coach Skiles. Coach Skiles said that they haven't had a defining game and Atlanta would be that. They talked about us, the way that people use to talk about the Pistons a few years back (when they had Chauncey). Not that the Pistons beat everybody.. but they could.

This is a good season and I don't know if it's mathematically possible, but I would like for this team to win 50.

Best of all, I have seen great growth in Josh Smith. He's not the best player on the team, but he's definitely the most improved.

The only elite teams are LA, Cleveland and Orlando. I'm even going to leave Denver out. The 3 teams listed have got to the finals and appear to once again be the 3 best teams in the league. Nobody else is getting to the finals in my mind. If you're not a finals threat, I can't call you an elite team.

[Diesel]

The only elite teams are LA, Cleveland and Orlando. I'm even going to leave Denver out. The 3 teams listed have got to the finals and appear to once again be the 3 best teams in the league. Nobody else is getting to the finals in my mind. If you're not a finals threat, I can't call you an elite team.

:magnifier:

I see a wet blanket being thrown.