ATLANTA — Dec. 8, 2018. It was the biggest day for a Georgia sports fan since, well uh... Dec. 1, 2018.
Four hours away from the metro area, Valdosta State was playing for another trip to the D2 National Championship, Atlanta United was playing for the MLS Cup, and most importantly, the Hawks were hosting the Denver Nuggets.
Over 70,000 fans paraded through cold and rainy weather into Mercedes-Benz Stadium while State Farm was empty as it has been all season during pregame shootaround.
Eventually, more faces showed up in the crowd, as John Collins, Vince Carter, DeAndre Bembry, Tyler Dorsey, Kevin Huerter and Alex Len led the Hawks to a rousing second-half comeback to take the lead.