Atlanta United FC: City And Team Proved They Belong

Atlanta United FC broke records and almost made history in their inaugural season. It’s time to reflect with a smile.

Heartbreak is not lost on the City of Atlanta and her sports teams. Atlanta sports fans have dealt with it in perpetuity. It is unfair that the debacle from February would cast shadows on other sports, but nothing happens in a vacuum. Yes, the playoff loss Atlanta United FC took last Thursday was rough, and another in a long line of disappointments. The season, however, was a brilliant success, and it’s time we look back and pause with pride at what our beloved 5 Stripes accomplished.

I’m not going to go into all of the numbers. There are others far more versed than I in the intricacies and minutia of how grand this year really was for ATL UTD. But you don’t even have to get past the surface to just stop and admire.

Any team in its first year of existence that makes the playoffs is something special. Could they have gone further? Sure. But it was crazy to even believe that they would be there at season’s end. United was the first team since 2009 to make the playoffs in the 1st year. It’s an accomplishment in professional sport that is rare and dignified.

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The manner in which they got to that spot also commands appreciation. This was a team that was supposed to play a majority of the season in the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Because of construction complications, they spent the majority of the year playing in a college football stadium.

That was when they were playing at home. At one point, early in the season, Atlanta United played 7 out of 10 games on the road. That’s almost unheard of in MLS. Yet, this upstart neophytic team marshaled on to a top 4 placement in the playoffs. Again, in their first year of existence.

For this writer, though, this team, and its fans, including the now famous and infamous Terminus Legion, did something far bigger than just making the playoffs. ATL UTD dispelled the long-held notion that Atlanta is a bad sports town. That ignominious moniker has also chapped me. People say that without impunity, but with certainty. And it’s simply false. Anyone who maintains that axiom today either is unaware of our beloved Atlanta United, and the attendance records broken this year, or are just outright obdurate fools.

Next: Atlanta Falcons Quiet The Storm In A Massive New York Storm

So, let’s pause and ponder on a great first year for Atlanta United FC. Was it the perfect ending? No. But, the good thing is it was just the beginning. We are united, and we will conquer.

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