Atlanta United FC Thread (Manchester: bill, station, radio)

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

".......Why did the supporters opt for United? Eales wonders if it might have to do with the diversity in the city and the younger generation of transplants flowing into Atlanta with a forward, progressive outlook -- "This is a city that can unite behind this club," Eales said. "That's one of the things that seemed to emerge."

Atlanta's the exact opposite of "United".

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

".......Why did the supporters opt for United? Eales wonders if it might have to do with the diversity in the city and the younger generation of transplants flowing into Atlanta with a forward, progressive outlook -- "This is a city that can unite behind this club," Eales said. "That's one of the things that seemed to emerge."

Forward progressive??? Haaa ha ha ha ha lol he he he ho lol!

Crazy

[JoeTarheel]

I hate the "FC"...Orlando got it right with "SC" which I assume means soccer club. I just don't get copying other cultures with "football" when we already have football - and ours is SO much better. I mean, what could be worse than sitting through 90 minutes of turnovers and missed shots for a 0-0 tie? Human feet will never have the skill of human hands!

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by demonta4

Atlanta's the exact opposite of "United".

Especially when it comes to Cobb and Atlanta.

[skbl17]

I just hope our MLS team is successful, regardless of the name. I really want to see soccer become more popular in the USA, something that is thankfully happening.

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

I hate the "FC"...Orlando got it right with "SC" which I assume means soccer club. I just don't get copying other cultures with "football" when we already have football - and ours is SO much better. I mean, what could be worse than sitting through 90 minutes of turnovers and missed shots for a 0-0 tie? Human feet will never have the skill of human hands!

While I agree with you on the FC vs. SC thing, I don't think American football is inherently superior to soccer, especially considering the way TV treats American football games.

Yeah, I'll take my American football with ~30 minutes of action, 12 timeouts, and 2 hours' worth of commercials! At least in soccer, 90 minutes means 90 minutes, not 48 minutes means 3 hours. The clock does not stop for an injury, and there are no timeouts. A fan could run onto the pitch during the game, but the clock would not stop. Rain could hit and dampen the pitch, leading to slipping and sliding - the clock would not stop for a "rain delay". Don't whine to the ref about slippery pitch conditions; the clock will not stop. Replays, penalty kicks, and so on...the clock doesn't care.

Oh, and let's not forget the 30-60 seconds of planning time to get off a 5-8 second play. Truly a marvelous sporting event!

Soccer can be agonizing with the draws, yes, but I find American football to be just as agonizing for the horribly inflated length of games and the need for a commercial every few minutes.

Here's my question: if "nothing could be worse than sitting through 90 minutes of turnovers and missed shots for a 0-0 tie", then why is this sport enjoyed by billions of people around the world, not to mention by a growing contingent of people in the United States? Why is the FIFA World Cup, not the Olympics, the most watched sporting event in the world?

- skbl17

[Hokiehaven]

Not a soccer fan, but I prefer inspired, relatable names to the region. At least the DC United has a meaning to it that is somewhat unique even if it's a copy. Atlanta doesn't have any correlation to being a united, in name or otherwise, except that it's soccer/football. Poor name, obvious copy job.

Much prefer any inspiration to the city itself, i.e. Burn, Terminus, etc. Quit trying to copy and be original, people will have pride if it's original to the city, brings city pride, even if they don't like the name immediately.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by skbl17

Here's my question: if "nothing could be worse than sitting through 90 minutes of turnovers and missed shots for a 0-0 tie", then why is this sport enjoyed by billions of people around the world, not to mention by a growing contingent of people in the United States? Why is the FIFA World Cup, not the Olympics, the most watched sporting event in the world?

- skbl17

I have no idea, but popularity doesn't make it better. I don't like something just because other people like it. It seems that most of the excitement in soccer is in the stands with the fans - not on the field. Are you going to deny that a ball being kicked back and forth/up and down a field with MAYBE 5 seconds of real excitement during a 90 minute game isn't boring? It's mind-numbing...constant turnovers with no ball control and very little scoring, and when there is a score it's normally accidental. The fact that the clock DOESN'T stop makes it worse...and you know that time is added on at the end right?

I'm a big sports fan, but this is not fun to watch. I can't explain other people liking it...maybe they don't have the better choices we have here, I don't know. I assume I can have an opinion? You can like it just to be like the "rest of the world" but I prefer to think for myself and I'm certainly not embarrassed to do so.

[stillinthesouth]

Originally Posted by Hokiehaven

Not a soccer fan, but I prefer inspired, relatable names to the region. At least the DC United has a meaning to it that is somewhat unique even if it's a copy. Atlanta doesn't have any correlation to being a united, in name or otherwise, except that it's soccer/football. Poor name, obvious copy job.

Much prefer any inspiration to the city itself, i.e. Burn, Terminus, etc. Quit trying to copy and be original, people will have pride if it's original to the city, brings city pride, even if they don't like the name immediately.

Yes, exactly. Ideally a team name should have something to do with the city or region. My favorite ATL team name was "Thrashers," a cool sounding name for a hockey team and a tribute to the state bird.

I'm looking forward to Atlanta having a MLS team but another disappointment to me is that the stadium will have artificial turf instead of natural grass. In the women's World Cup there have been a lot of complaints by players who don't like playing on artificial turf. FIFA made the decision that the games would be played on turf, and it was a very unpopular decision. Some commentators called the decision "sexist" and claimed FIFA would never make the men's teams play on artificial turf... which makes me wonder if having artificial turf in the Atlanta stadium will remove Atlanta from contention for hosting World Cup or other big soccer tournaments.

[Fubarbundy]

Wondering if it's actually a typo, and should be Atlanta Untied FC.

Not sure what that would stand for, but we'll think of something!

[Teak]

In Europe some futbol clubs use 'SC' as in Sport Club because futbol is just one of several sports that the club sponsors.

I too am not a fan of the 'United' moniker. The Minnesota MLS franchise is using the NASL club's name Minnesota United FC. The owner, Bill McGuire, was the CEO for the UnitedHealth Group so maybe he liked the 'United' name for that reason. But, yeah, there is so little creativity in naming MLS clubs these days. DC United, Atlanta United, Minnesota United, blah blah blah. At least Philadelphia was outside the box with 'Union', which gives the same idea without being copycat.