DetroitShock.com's photographic tour of Atlanta
Photos from Atlanta, part 2
The Shock have D.J. Earl. The Dream have “Arson,” a.ka. Arthur Vaughn, who gets the fans fired up as soon as they walk through the doors. He keeps the music playing until 15 minutes after tip-off. Since Philips Arena is downtown and adjacent to CNN Center, there’s not much room for an outdoor setup like The Palace has with Shockfest, but the Dream found a spot for the shoe-shaped inflatable hoop next to Arson. |
The Atlanta Dream dancers join the fans right in front of Arson’s table, turning their section of the concourse into a dance floor. |
The Shock are all over the floor for their pregame stretching routine. Once the game started, they were all over the boards, too. Detroit beat the Dream to every missed shot, holding Atlanta to a single offensive rebound in the first half. No wonder the Shock were leading by 17 at halftime. |
It turns out the Shock have quite a following in Gainesville, Ga., hometown of rookie forward Tasha Humphrey. The leader of this fan club is Jack Waldrip (in the blue shirt holding the sign). He has followed Humphrey’s basketball career since her days at Gainesville High and says “she’s the real deal.” As you can see, Jack's a little disappointed that the Dream didn’t take her with the No. 8 pick. He feels like the Dream missed an opportunity to draft a local celebrity. “She’s been in the papers here for 4 or 5 years,” he said. Jack waved his sign to the crowd after every big Humphrey basket - and she had several of them. She finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Forward Tamera Young, whom the Dream selected over Humphrey, had eight points and 11 rebounds. |
