Atlanta United FC (2-1-0) have, of late, begun to look like the juggernaut from their inaugural year. The loyal fan base, though, is capturing headlines.
The 5 Stripesentered this second season with a fevered expectation to pick up where they left off. Having raised eyebrows across the MLS universe last year, with record attendance and a rare expansion team playoff berth, there was no reason to think they would fall off. They haven’t. After three gamesAtlanta United FCsit at4th in the standingsand have won in dominant fashion these last couple of games. And while that’s surely impressive, their following is garnering national attention.
You know that old axiom that “Atlanta is a bad sports town”? Have you heard that crap very much in the last two years? Probably not.
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There are a couple of reasons for that. None more important than the fan following andTerminus Legionof the ATL UTD cloth. What has happened in the City of Atlanta was not only unpredicted, it remains a mystery to most in the industry.
I refer you tothis article. The USA Today, basically the one-stop-shop, fast food bucket of daily national news wrote an entire article on this dynamic detonation of public support.
If you’ve been to a match, then you know. In fact, if you haven’t you probably already know. If you like your personal space that is quiet, don’t go see those dudes play. That spot isn’t for you.
Atlanta United FC, and their fans, set attendance records all of last year. Then, after a very brutal and disconcerting facelift in the opening match of this year at the hands of Houston at their place, The 5 Stripes came home to anotherrecord setting crowd that topped 70,000. 70,000 freaking people at a soccer match.
The March 17th match against Vancouver was a sell out at 45,000. The numbers are staggering.
To put this into perspective, the next team in average attendance is Seattle. They averaged right at 5K fewer folks per match in 2017, and are already lagging this year.
There are reasons for this, surely. The demographic makeup of Atlanta is an international one, with folks from all walks and backgrounds. Even before the 1996 Olympics transformed our city, soccer was still a big youth sport.
But no one would have, or could have, predicted this. The sheer number of folks who are invested is staggering and there is no indication that it will level off.
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Couple the aforementioned cultural inclinations to this game, with the quality andexciting productthat Arthur Blank, Tata Martino, and company continue to put on the field, and there is every reason to think this fan fervor will last.
Tell me again that Atlanta is a bad sports town. This time really mean it.
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