That unfamiliar sense of lightness — is that hope that Atlanta United fans are feeling?
And that strange sensation within their chests — those aren’t hearts pounding with anticipation, are they?
And the flurry of digital activity overtaking servers in parts unknown — might that be Five Stripes supporters purchasing tickets and ramping up demand?
Is it possible that after a franchise makeover, begun a little more than two years ago and accelerated in the offseason, Atlanta United has assembled a team that has a legitimate chance to reclaim the club’s past championship glories?
Ask Tommy Moos, a diehard Atlanta United fan and a co-host of a podcast that follows the team.
“This is the most excited I think the fan base and myself have been in years,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The atmosphere within the club’s headquarters matches the fervor held beyond its walls.
“We’re all excited,” Atlanta United president and CEO Garth Lagerwey told The AJC.
Lagerwey spoke of a meeting held Tuesday with him, new sporting director Chris Henderson and new manager Ronny Deila.
“We kind of looked around the room and said, ‘How are you feeling?’” Lagerwey said. “’Pretty good.’ ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘Pretty good.’”
Hired in November 2022, Lagerwey has put together the pieces like a Lego set. New sporting director, new manager, new striker (Ivory Coast forward Emmanuel Latte Lath, received from English club Middlesbrough with an MLS-record $22 million transfer fee), returned club legend (the beloved Miguel Almirón, back after six years with another English club, Newcastle United) and an array of new club executives, staff and coaches. Lagerwey virtually remade the organization.
On Saturday night, the club opens the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Montreal.
“We get to see what we’ve built now and, as we’ve reassembled everything, did we get it right?” Lagerwey said. “But hopefully we have.”
It was only in September that Moos, the podcaster, assessed fan sentiment as “depressed” and “just kind of dead inside.” The club was on its way to finishing ninth in the MLS’ 15-team Eastern Conference, its fifth consecutive season outside of a top-four finish.
After selling stars Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis for a reported combined sum of $31 million, the club did not make a purchase of similar impact in the summer transfer window.
The aggravation of Five Stripes supporters, whose loyalty and passion have formed much of the club’s identity since its founding, seemed to have reached a boiling point. While owner Arthur Blank had spent aggressively, many could no longer tolerate the club’s continued inconsistency, spiritless play and substandard results.
In July, they staged an in-game cheering boycott earlier in the season over a hike in season-ticket prices. Many chose not to renew for the 2025 season.
Moos recalled flying in from his home in Cleveland for a midweek game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It was like a church, it was just so quiet in there,” he said. “It was just like, this almost looks like a minor-league attendance here.”
Funny what hiring a sporting director (soccer-ese for general manager) with two MLS Cups and many other championships to his credit, a coach who has lifted six trophies in three different countries (including the MLS Cup) and importing two dynamic goal scorers (one who helped Atlanta United win the MLS Cup in 2018) will do.
Latte Lath and Almirón’s speed and finishing ability offer the promise of the wide-open attack that has gone missing since the club’s overwhelming initial three-year run (2017-19). Atlanta United did have playmakers in Almada and Giakoumakis (now at clubs in France and Mexico, respectively), but Latte Lath and Almirón bring something different, Lagerwey will tell you.
“I think these guys really want to be here,” Lagerwey said. “And they want to win for Atlanta United. ‘Miggy’ coming back home, I don’t think you’re going to get a (designated player) that’s more committed to this team, and so that’s great. And Latte Lath, he could have gone anywhere in the world. He had suitors all over Europe, and he chose to come to Atlanta and MLS.”
Moos said he has spoken with fans who had given up their season tickets after last season who now want back in. He recalled the apathy of last season, when fans who were trying to unload their tickets could find no takers.
But a crowd of 60,000-plus is expected for Saturday’s season opener. Moos said that tickets for seats near the one he bought for $30 are going for about $90 on resale markets.
“It’s going to be crazy on Saturday, I think,” he said.
Hope and excitement have returned to a fan base whose support — leading MLS in attendance all eight seasons of the club’s existence — has merited both. While spending big on talent, bringing home fan favorites and amassing impressive résumés is a formula that doesn’t always work out as planned, there certainly is reason to believe. And it could summon perhaps the best sporting environment to be found anywhere in the state.
“I’ve been to a lot of Falcons games over the years, and nothing compares to what it’s like at a sold-out Atlanta United game when that team’s rolling,” Moos said. “It’s just a different experience.”
If it can return this season, it sure would be something.
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