By Robyn Saghini // @robynsaghini
Saturday, May 20: 4-1 Win
This weekend was SO. MUCH. FUN. The Atlanta United game on Saturday night was obviously a huge part of that, but the annual fundraising event I attended on Sunday is one of my favorite events to be a part of. More on that in a minute – first, the game!
The day started out well enough. I checked the weather report as soon as I woke up and saw 30-40% chance of rain in the afternoon, but it didn’t look serious….Until about 4pm when we saw some clouds rolling in. Still, no rain, so we assumed it was going to skirt by us. Until it didn’t. Fortunately for me, I jumped into the van I had rented to bring all the tailgate equipment in just seconds before the deluge.
Current status: sitting in the rental van waiting for this squall to pass… #ATLUTD #ATLvHOU @MLSFemale pic.twitter.com/DWmqAMhd51
— Robyn Saghini (@robynsaghini) May 20, 2017
The march to the match was already well on its way, though. Because of the lightning, the stadium gates were closed and everyone who wasn’t inside yet was sent to a parking deck to wait it out. The game ended up being delayed about an hour, but fortunately, once the storm passed, we didn’t have any more weather issues. Well, except for one minor malfunction during the national anthem. The hired singer’s microphone didn’t work, but the crowd realized it quickly and belted out the anthem for him and it was a beautiful thing:
Watch #ATLUTD fans sing national anthem after singer’s microphone malfunctions https://t.co/BhXF0XCP71
— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) May 21, 2017
And then…holy cow. After missing so many chances last week in Portland because he kept passing the ball, Miguel Almiron was asked by the coaches to take the shots this week. They didn’t have to tell him twice. Almiron is the second ATLUTD player to get a hat trick this season – and ATLUTD is the first expansion team to have two players with a hat trick in their first season.
I’ve had this song stuck in my head for two days now. You’re welcome for the ear worm.
MIGGY MIGGY MIGGY. CAN’T YOU SEE? SOMETIMES YOUR GOALS JUST HYPNOTIZE ME pic.twitter.com/B4YgJd957v
— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) May 21, 2017
Julian Gressel also got his second goal in a week. I watched this on replay a few times last night and it gets funnier each time. He gets the ball, loses the ball, gets mad that he lost the ball, and then “hey! There it is!” and into the back of the net it goes.
#GRESSELMANIA CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP pic.twitter.com/aUiUPgegdZ
— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) May 21, 2017
Almiron’s third goal was Atlanta’s very first penalty kick this season after Tito Villalba was taken down in the box.
A little earlier in the game, Villalba appeared to take a bit of a knock to the face in the box in the middle of the second half, but no foul was called. The Houston keeper kicked the ball out of bounds right at the ATL coach, Tata Martino, who kicked it right back on the field…maybe with a bit more enthusiasm than he should have…and the ref ran over and ejected him from the game. Chants of “we want Tata” were heard a couple of times after that.
We also witnessed the debut appearance of one of ATL’s homegrown players – and a huge fan favorite – Andrew Carleton. The 16-year-old came in for Almiron in the last few minutes of the game. He didn’t have a whole lot to do, but the crowd went absolutely INSANE when he stepped on the pitch.
This video doesn’t do justice how loud it was when he came on. What a moment for the young man. pic.twitter.com/bOt41IkMRI
— Dirty South Soccer (@DirtySouthSoc) May 21, 2017
The atmosphere at this game was incredible – it was very close to the same feeling we all had at the season opener, only better because we walked out of there with three points. I am hopeful that it will carry over to this Sunday’s game vs NYCFC – our second game against them in 4 weeks, but this time at home.
As I mentioned previously, this past Sunday was the major annual fundraiser for Soccer in the Streets, the local Atlanta charity that my supporters group has been working with for over three years. Every May, they host the ATL Champions League, where co-ed teams play 7v7 games in a round-robin tournament.
This year was the largest yet, with 16 teams (all named after actual European teams from EPL, La Liga and Serie A, except for the ATLUTD team). This year’s tournament was held at the ATLUTD training center. For the third year, Terminus Legion attended the tournament to support the ATLUTD team composed of front office staff – including club president Darren Eales and technical director Carlos Bocanegra. TL brings water, Gatorade, and orange slices (because you can’t have a soccer tournament without orange slices, right?!).
Orange slices are ready for #ATLCL2017! Hoping the weather cooperates today… 🤞🏻@ATLUTD @soccerstreets pic.twitter.com/d85iam1xm7
— Robyn Saghini (@robynsaghini) May 21, 2017
The ATLUTD team were defending the trophy they won in 2016 and went undefeated through the first round and semi-finals, but lost in the final game 1-0 vs the Manchester United team (who were wearing green jerseys because several of the Soccer in the Streets board members are Liverpool fans).
The total amount raised by the players and teams was over $130,000. Terminus Legion raised $1200 with raffles at watch parties and donation buckets at tailgates for the last two months, and a footgolf tournament.
We’ll be at it again in a couple of months to raise more money for the Black Tie Soccer Game, which is usually hilarious. People in gowns and tuxedos playing soccer (or Carlos Bocanegra in a kilt!), or like last year, when the event fell the weekend before Halloween and each team had a theme (Smurfs, the Addams Family – Darren Eales was Gomez).
It really was a great weekend. Looking forward to doing it again this weekend!
Featured image courtesy: atlutd.com
Follow and chat with me on twitter // @robynsaghini
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