Trae or Nique

[Spud2nique]

I was just wondering who captured the city of Atlanta fastest, hardest, etc.

Im asking because I didn’t live in Atlanta during the Nique years and there wasn’t as much media but obviously the city fell in love with Nique as they should.

Has Trae captured a bigger audience already? I mean I know the NBA fan base is like 100x as big now but percentage wise, Nique took over Atlanta faster or is Trae doing it faster?

[EazyRoc]

Not old enough to really remember Nique but Trae All Day

[JayBirdHawk]

7 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I was just wondering who captured the city of Atlanta fastest, hardest, etc.

Im asking because I didn’t live in Atlanta during the Nique years and there wasn’t as much media but obviously the city fell in love with Nique as they should.

Has Trae captured a bigger audience already? I mean I know the NBA fan base is like 100x as big now but percentage wise, Nique took over Atlanta faster or is Trae doing it faster?

I never saw Nique play live (you know my first Hawks game story )....The collective roar of State farm when Trae hit that huge 3 vs Orlando in the home opener (October 2019) in his second season was ear splitting.  Never heard that kind of crowd before for a regular season game.

 

[AtlHomer]

If the type of media were the same, I'd have to give the nod to Nique.  Remember, he went to uGA so that automatically brought a legion of fans that might not normally be interested in pro basketball.  His acrobatic and ferocious dunks early in his career were very exciting to watch.  As his skills evolved in developing a reliable jumpshot, he became the superstar and Hall of Famer that we came to love.

It is still early for Trae.  He has already done something that Nique did not accomplish, taking the team to the conference finals.  Trae has the potential to be an even bigger star, especially if the team can continue to play at this level and they win the Finals.

[Spud2nique]

12 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I never saw Nique play live (you know my first Hawks game story )....The collective roar of State farm when Trae hit that huge 3 vs Orlando in the home opener (October 2019) in his second season was ear splitting.  Never heard that kind of crowd before for a regular season game.

 

That’s awesome. Wish I was there. I mean I go to Hawk games but all road whether Warriors Clippers Lakers Kings, I wanna be the home team though and not just the enemy every time  

9 minutes ago, AtlHomer said:

Remember, he went to uGA

Good point local.

[Spud2nique]

10 minutes ago, AtlHomer said:

His acrobatic and ferocious dunks early in his career were very exciting to watch. 

That’s what drew me into the Hawks. I mean those majestic iconic raw dunks.. later I had the same passion I did for Nique for Barry Sanders. Those two guys were just made differently.

ps Lions fan for 31 years now. 

There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Hell, there’s no tunnel. Lol.

[Spud2nique]

Trae or Mike Vick?

[macdaddy]

I think it was Nique.  I was screaming to folks that Trae was the real deal when we drafted him but most people didn't know him and didn't care.   

Local news stations were sending cameras to Athens just to capture Nique dunks when he was at UGA.   UGA basketball in general wasn't even televised then.   When the Hawks got him folks were pumped.   

Vick?  If i remember right he had a season as a backup right?  behind Chandler?  maybe not.   I can't remember but i remember folks dying to see him too early on.  

[turnermx]

45 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

That’s what drew me into the Hawks. I mean those majestic iconic raw dunks.. later I had the same passion I did for Nique for Barry Sanders. Those two guys were just made differently.

ps Lions fan for 31 years now. 

There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Hell, there’s no tunnel. Lol.

I'll take it a step further - haven't even started digging that tunnel

 

Its not much if any better as a Falcons fan. Can you imagine if the Lions blew their shot like they did?

[frosgrim]

27 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I think it was Nique.  I was screaming to folks that Trae was the real deal when we drafted him but most people didn't know him and didn't care.   

Local news stations were sending cameras to Athens just to capture Nique dunks when he was at UGA.   UGA basketball in general wasn't even televised then.   When the Hawks got him folks were pumped.   

Vick?  If i remember right he had a season as a backup right?  behind Chandler?  maybe not.   I can't remember but i remember folks dying to see him too early on.  

I was like 14 when Nique made his Hawks debut, and there was some buzz but it wasn't huge.  As the Hawks got better with Nique that is when the buzz started, so maybe 1985 when they made the playoffs. Nique, unfortunately, was overwhelmed with Bird, Magic, Hakeem and Jordan, so he just didn't have the national attention.  In terms of Atlanta, I like what @macdaddy says, if there'd been internet, social media, etc. Nique would probably have taken the city faster than Trae.  

I agree with @Spud2nique NO ONE took ATL sports like Vick. Deion Sanders was probably the nearest, then a fall off to guys like Dale Murphy and Chipper Jones. 

That all said, Trae has the possibility of becoming the greatest Atlanta sports hero* if he can win a championship.  Ryan lost his chance and I'm not sure he'd ever be fully embraced by the fanbase. 

 

*Caveat here Hank Aaron is Mr. Brave, but since so much of his career was in Milwaukee I'm not sure how to represent his incredible and undeniable contributions to Atlanta sports and civil rights. 

[frosgrim]

4 minutes ago, turnermx said:

I'll take it a step further - haven't even started digging that tunnel

 

Its not much if any better as a Falcons fan. Can you imagine if the Lions blew their shot like they did?

The Falcons are a mess right now.  Can you imagine what sort of street buzz they would have if they'd taken Fields instead of the TE? I think the organization totally blew it this offseason. 

[macdaddy]

3 minutes ago, frosgrim said:

The Falcons are a mess right now.  Can you imagine what sort of street buzz they would have if they'd taken Fields instead of the TE? I think the organization totally blew it this offseason. 

 

[capstone21]

Nique!

[Dnice]

Probably Trae in the sign of the times. Nique would grow on fans, but unless you were a die hard NBA fan he or the Hawks may not have been on the radar in 82-84.

[swanlee]

Nique was and still is an ATL hero, he had a slight edge as he played college ball at UGA. Trae is in the same mix as Nique but it's to early for Trae to give a real answer.

Traes playoff performance this year might even eclipse Niques playoff performances.

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, macdaddy said:

I think it was Nique.  I was screaming to folks that Trae was the real deal when we drafted him but most people didn't know him and didn't care.   

Local news stations were sending cameras to Athens just to capture Nique dunks when he was at UGA.   UGA basketball in general wasn't even televised then.   When the Hawks got him folks were pumped.   

Vick?  If i remember right he had a season as a backup right?  behind Chandler?  maybe not.   I can't remember but i remember folks dying to see him too early on.  

Ya you were all Trae I remember that. You were one of the few, maybe only one at a certain point early on. Even I was skeptical about him because I didn’t know about the complete passing game because in college he just jacked up3’s.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, turnermx said:

I'll take it a step further - haven't even started digging that tunnel

 

Its not much if any better as a Falcons fan. Can you imagine if the Lions blew their shot like they did?

No you guys win. Broncos in 98 and Pats in 2017. We have never even made the championship game since I been a fan. Hardly made it to the playoffs let alone win.

All I have to look forward to is a thanksgiving day game every year. Often it’s the lions being roasted. Lol.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, frosgrim said:

Deion Sanders

Oh yessss. He must have. I remember him pulling double duty and flying around to get to the baseball game then football.  

[AHF]

Vick is #1 for grabbing the spotlight in Atlanta.  He was HUGE.  Trae will have more staying power, though.  Vick had started to collect a healthy group of doubters based on his limitations as a passer before he started into dog fighting and destroyed his rep.  

Trae has the ability to seize the spotlight and step up with big moments in a way that none of Nique, Chipper, Hank, etc. had.  Deion was the most similar in that regard but a single player doesn't impact the game nearly as much in football as he does in basketball.

I'm very excited to witness the Ice Trae era and bullish on what he can become in Atlanta and nationally.  

[EazyRoc]

8 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Trae or Mike Vick?

As of Today, Mike Vick.