ATLANTA – The horns blare and the television camera zooms out for a moment, to capture a special scene. Mercedes-Benz Stadium: over 60,000 standing fans wrap around the turf. The atmosphere manifested on match-day is a snapshot but far from the whole picture, far from the full explanation as to why a city that was labeled fair-weather for most of its sports is setting the standard in MLS.
In traveling down to the Peach City for the worldwide soccer circus on July 7, I took in more than a match. I witnessed a city that has fallen for its soccer team.