North Atlanta is known for being an extremely successful academic school, yet success in athletics and school spirit is something that has been largely left up to our OTP counterparts. In recent times, however, Warrior athletes have been putting in work to challenge this reputation around our athletics and school spirit. With our boys soccer team reaching the final four in their historic season last spring, and with our football team starting off the season with a red hot 4-0 record, there is a changing narrative about school spirit in the warrzone. 

Rising school spirit can largely be attributed to the buzz that began around school when North Atlanta’s football team made the playoffs for the first time this century in 2019, but the growth in spirit has been anything but linear. Following a first round exit and the arrival of the pandemic, the momentum of this school spirit declined. “My sophomore year the excitement of the playoffs was something that caused great excitement around the school,” said senior Sebastain Marx, “After the tough loss and the pandemic’s effects though, spirit for the school took a hit.”

School spirit was also greatly hindered by covid restrictions that APS placed on fans at sporting events, a measure that many OTP schools avoided taking. This led to football games and games for a greatly successful volleyball team, that in normal years would’ve offered a massive boost to our school spirit, being held without fans. Thankfully, this all changed when COVID numbers improved, however, and APS loosened their restrictions. Our elite boys soccer team’s Final Four run last spring was supported by passionate Dubs fans, creating excitement around school sports and the larger North Atlanta community. “Being a massive part in this run was an experience that I’ll never forget,” said junior Brent Shannon, “We could feel the support and school spirit every time we stepped on the pitch and this was immensely important in our success.”

The momentum and excitement of last spring have carried over to this fall, supporting the Football Dubs. With an immensely important homecoming game against a solid Dunwoody team in late September, the dubs showed out, filling the stadium up to the brim, all decked out in the black out theme. The Dubs got the job done, stomping Dunwoody 42-16 to continue their win streak, and boosting school spirit even further. “Going to the game, the student section was as loud and rowdy as I have ever seen it” said junior Gage Harbolt, “You can really feel school spirit improving as our athletics continue to improve.”

North Atlanta might not be historically known for athletics or school spirit, but when the Dubs are successful, our spirit is something to behold. While we may not yet match the school spirit of some of our OTP counterparts, North Atlanta students and athletes are well on their way to changing how people think about the school, its athletics, and its spirit.