What Atlanta United Means to Me
How a Premier League snob was won over by an upstart MLS Team
I hated the MLS.
I did not watch any of the inaugural season, thought the names of the teams (Rapids, Fire, Wizards, Earthquakes, whew) were corny, and felt blessed when Fox Sports World debuted during the Fall of 97.
I could finally get my proper futbol fix.
No one could get me to take on an MLS team. I wasn’t about to become a MetroStars supporter and them becoming the Red Bulls changed nothing.
Whenever I decided to glance at a match, I was reminded why: errant passes, hapless defense, and the over reliance on the signing of older, “name,” players — -the practice that got them known as the retirement league.
But I made a deal.
I wanted my older brother to be into the sport as I discussed here. So our deal was he take on a Premier League team and if Atlanta got an MLS team, I agreed to follow them.
It was a great decision.
I’m a Broncos fan and was in Denver when they won their last Super Bowl, a Yankees fan in New York when they won their last World Series, and neither of those measure up to Atlanta United’s MLS Cup win.
I’m almost at a lost for words — -almost. As you’ll see, I have quite a few.
I was excited.
Atlanta was getting a team. I couldn’t back down on my deal. Plus, my older brother, Ade, had attended every home match (I missed em, I was in Colorado). He told me about the sold-out crowds. He told me about the tailgate. He had joined a Supporters Group, Footie Mob. I was excited.
I was excited when I came to Atlanta in June of 2017 and Ade took me to the Atlantic Station store. Like I said, I was coming to Atlanta from Colorado and nowhere in Denver is there a store dedicated to the Colorado Rapids. Hell, even if you go to Dick’s you can’t find a SECTION dedicated to the team and Dick’s is the namesake for the Rapids’ stadium. So I was excited.
I was excited when Ade bought me a home kit for my birthday. So excited that I yanked off my 2010 World Cup Germany jawn and threw that Atlanta United kit on straightaway. I was excited.
I was excited when I attended my first match 17 June at Bobby Dodd. It was Atlanta v Columbus. My two oldest children were rolling as was one of my nephews. It was the first match for all of us.
Ade took us to Wal Mart. He insisted that we needed panchos. Good thing. We got hit with a classical Georgia torrential downpour. That was my first tailgate. By the time we got ready to march into the stadium, the rain stopped.
The march was like something out of Europe — but not, interspersed in between chants heard in stadiums in Germany or England were ones that are intrinsic to Atlanta — “We Ready” and “Power Football Atlanta United,” which got the attention of passerbys as the Supporters approached Bobby Dodd, adding on the curious and the late-comers.
And I was excited as we entered the stadium…
We were early.
It wasn’t packed. Were the crowds thinning out and becoming like the typical MLS team? Did the rain put a damper on the Five Stripe party? Ade rolled up to the very front of the Supporter’s Section (he would be leading chants) so we didn’t notice the place filling up. And fill up it did. Every seat. Although the seats weren’t utilized. Everyone stood.
And with good reason. Atlanta played futbol like no MLS team that I had ever seen. They kept the ball on the ground, quick passes, had me looking at the match program learning who was who. Atlanta sliced through the midfield with one and two passes.
That possession based play left them open for the counter, however, and within five minutes, Columbus forced a save. But ten minutes later, after a strong tackle, Villalba was through on goal and he tucked the ball in the back of the net.
The place went wild.
Suddenly it was raining again…beer. My children were not pleased but I was sold. Every hand in reach was high fived. We were falling all over each other, people from two rows back found themselves up with us. Columbus equalizing didn’t stop the party — not for us nor for the Five Stripes. They kept on the front foot.
The game went into halftime 1–1.
Atlanta jumped ahead in a way that would become quite familiar to me. LGP took down Wil Trapp right outside of the box with a cracking tackle, quickly recovered, eased a weighted pass between two defenders to Almiron who exploded towards goal, once inside the box, he fired off a shot that ‘megged Josh Williams and nestled into the lower right corner of the goal. Martinez goal in the 87th minute was icing on the case and the way to end a match.
After that…it was official. I was a fan.
I’ve written before how I wasn’t 100% sold on the Benz at first. I loved the atmosphere of Bobby Dodd, but more importantly I loved how the stadium was nestled in the city. The marches were huge and the exposure to would-be fans was great. I didn’t know if that would translate at the 70,000 plus seater, not to mention, I was skeptical about the tailgates in the Gulch.
Ade, however, never lost sight of the vision. What Arthur Blank, Darren Eales, and team have always had their sights set on was making a world class team. That vision was put front in center with the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground (The 33-acre site includes six playing fields and a 30,000-square-foot facility), and it was cemented with the opening of the Mercedes Benz Stadium, which, and you can look if you want, can go head to head with any stadium in any league.
That first march, started in the Gulch, picked up steam as it went through the parking lot, and, by the time it made it to the Benz was hundreds deep.
Awe is an understatement. Everyone was blown away by the scale, the polish, and the great detail of the Benz. I sat in one of the 200 sections (it was all we could get) surrounded by folks who had never got soaked (or baked) at Bobby Dodd…and they were not a fan of my standing ways.
Atlanta went out and put a spanking on Dallas, 3–0.
Although we crashed out in our first playoff match, I was confident that the next year (2018) would be our season…and it was.
Being in Footie Mob (or, I’m sure, any Supporters Group), helping set-up tailgates, attending nearly every home match, and various events (ie Soccer in the Street, Training Ground open house, All-Star Parties, etc), reading every article (domestic and international), and doing a lil video taping, have all contributed to me forming a bond — not just with the team and its style of play, but with the club and all that it represents.
All one has to do is look around at other MLS clubs to see, Atlanta United sets the standard. Whether it’s facilities, front office, team, style of play or supporters, nothing compares. In Atlanta, you can see that the outreach that the club is making with the community is paying off — from Decatur to Douglasville, team flags fly outside of homes and all over the city you’ll spy Atlanta United magnets on cars.
It’s something to be proud of.
When I look around at our tailgates, we have a (rapping) Santa, a Reverend, an Elvis, a Pope, a mascot alien, we’ve got pyro, we’ve got something for the children, we’ve got it all — that’s what visiting fans say, that’s what the media says, and it’s something to experience.
Ade became a season ticket holder for the second season and while there is a few musical chair sections, by and large, the 201 section has become like my extended, futbol family.
All my life I looked across the pond with envious eyes at the futbol culture of La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Premier League. I read stories of the comraderie of the supporters and it was something I longed for (Don’t get me started on watching BT Sports docs).
Being an Arsenal fan, sure, it was cool going to watch parties, but it wasn’t the same. But I can promise you this, ain’t no Arsenal supporter group partying under a tent in rainy, thirty degree weather, dancing to “Knuck if You Buck.”
You won’t find that kinda culture anywhere else.
Because it’s Atlanta. The way the club embraces local acts is Atlanta. The victory parade was Atlanta (and the Monday night celebration was sho nuff Atlanta). Not only are we “rowdy and proud,” “we ready” for what comes next — CONCACAF Champions League, repeat titles, more records — all of that. We just need a nickname for us supporters.
Hit them clapping hands, share, and Remember…hyperlinks are your friends.
