Atlanta United: 2018 MLS Champions
Congratulations to the 2018 MLS Champion – Atlanta United!
There’s nothing quite like a championship, other than the Championship Parade.
It’s Been Awhile Since Atlanta was a Champion
So the last Atlanta championship was in 1995 when the Atlanta Braves won the World Series.
It’s been 23 years since we last had a championship parade in Atlanta.
Think about what’s happened in that time…
- Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics
- Atlanta is on its 4th mayor and the United States is similarly on its 4th president.
- Atlanta was awarded, and lost, a NHL hockey team.
- The Atlanta Beltway was conceived and built, as was Atlantic Station.
- The College Football Hall of Fame made its home in Atlanta.
- The Georgia Dome was replaced by Mercedes Benz Stadium.
- The (metro) Atlanta population went from around 3.5 million to about 6 million people.
Yeah, I’d say it’s been awhile.
Some say that Atlanta sold its soul for the 1996 Olympics, seeing as we hadn’t brought home a Championship since then. But maybe we only leased it to the Devil for a few years.
Thanks Atlanta United for bringing home a championship!
Don’t Let the Media Fool You
Atlanta gets a bad rap some times about not supporting its teams. But you can’t say that Atlanta hasn’t supported the Atlanta United.
From the beginning, even when Atlanta United was playing in Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Atlanta fans came out to support this team. Now that they are playing at Mercedes Benz Stadium, also home of the Atlanta Falcons, the fans are setting MLS attendance records.
For the 2018 season, 901,033 fans saw Atlanta United in the REGULAR season. That is single season average 53,002 fans, another record.
And for the record… Atlanta has the 9 most attended MLS stand-alone matches. (At last check, Wikipedia hadn’t updated the attendance records from the 2018 MLS Playoffs)
Atlanta United Championship Parade
Just in case you were wondering…. Soccer can make it in Atlanta.
Here are some scenes from the 2018 Atlanta United Championship Parade, on a rainy Monday morning in Atlanta.
Now if only Uncle Arthur would decide he wanted a hockey team (probably the only way that Atlanta will ever get another NHL team here).