The overwhelming crowd of people pushing through the brightly colored hallways might be a shock to new students at AHS. The glowing red and white theme of the walls doesn’t seem to faze students, as they push through hallways too narrow to contain the large student body. Some think that the students don’t feel school spirit when they have to maneuver through such a crowd of their fellow classmates each day. A school so overcrowded, with a mascot discussed only in science classes, must seem unappealing and lacking in school spirit.

As previously mentioned, this Atom pride is best seen at the start of the 2011-2012 AHS Atom football season. This year, the football team lost the season opener to Fairfax HS. The score line was 21-9. Though not a good way to start a season, this loss appears to have had the opposite effect on the spirit of the Atom’s. During the days leading up to the game, Facebook was filled with questions asking people if they were going to the game against TC Williams. Atom pride was obvious in the encouraging “Go Atoms!” messages that were commonly seen on Facebook or Twitter. The team has since lost 39-0 to Lake Braddock HS.

So why the Atom pride?  Many students seem to share their love of hanging out with friends and supporting their team at sporting events. “I’m in the marching band so for the pep rallies and a lot of games we have to play and that’s fun, but I really enjoy going to the games to cheer and have fun too.” junior Alexis Garretson said.