Atlanta Hawks fans don’t have much to cheer about these days. Their team is not only awful, but also tanking to the point that Damion Lee and Isaiah Taylor form the starting backcourt, with guys like Tyler Dorsey and Deandre’ Bembry playing key minutes off the bench. Atlanta has the worst record in the Eastern Conference and thoroughly deserve it.
But with all that’s awful about the home franchise, Hawks fans have one thing to keep them going: the promise of free Chick-fil-A to everyone in attendance if an opponent missed back-to-back free throws on a single trip during the fourth quarter of a home game.
So when Udonis Haslem clanked his first free throw attempt with 17.4 seconds to play in the Heat’s blowout win over the Hawks on Wednesday night, the Phillips Arena crowd was pumped. And when Haslem nailed the second shot… well, he knew what he had just done.
Udonis Haslem says no Chick-fil-A for you ATL! 😂 #HEATCulture #NBA pic.twitter.com/HF0mTy5y7i
— SportsbyFry (@sportsbyfry) April 5, 2018
That’s cruel, UD. Haven’t these Hawks fans been through enough?
Haslem wasn’t just going about his business there. As one of the NBA’s longest tenured players, he knows the promotional deals at arenas in his division. He was trying to seize the chicken sandwiches from the fingers of Atlantans. That’s why he (and the Heat bench) delivered the most animated reaction you’ll ever see following a single free throw in the final seconds of a 114-85 game.
The Hawks now have only one more home game at which fans can get their Chick-fil-A: Tuesday at Philadelphia. Best of luck to all at Phillips Arena, because if you sit through a full game of Hawks basketball, you deserve much more than chicken.
