on atlanta's selection as a bid city

This afternoon, Atlanta was named as one of the 18 cities that would be included in US Soccer's bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. As a current resident of Atlanta, and a lifelong Georgia resident, I'm obviously beyond thrilled that Atlanta was selected. There's obviously no guarantee that it'll be among the final 12 cities if we actually get the bid from FIFA, but the fact that it was among the 18 has me feeling quite proud to be an Atlantan, so I've decided to draft up a few reasons why I, as an Atlanta resident, think the city deserves the World Cup (this will, eventually, be followed up by a more negative post about MLS expansion, but that's for another day now):

1. We've proven we can host international matches. A friendly between Mexico and Venezuela this summer drew over 50,000 to the Georgia Dome. The AC Milan-Club America game, which I attended, also got over 50,000. I can't speak for the atmosphere at the Mexico game, though I'm sure it was amazing, but the Milan-Club America game was fantastic. Fans everywhere, cheering, singing, taking over the CNN Center food court before the game…it was awesome. Oh, and we hosted a little event called the 1996 Olympics, which you may have heard of.


2. We've got the support. Over 14,000 people signed the GoUSABid petition for Atlanta. The only city with more signatures? Seattle, with over 19,000 (and I've got a strong feeling the Sounders had a lot to do with that). The Georgia Youth Soccer Association made a strong push for people to sign the petition and make a donation to the GoUSABid committee. Did anyone else do that? Not that I know of. (though I just found out about Atlanta's donation today, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)


3. It's our time now. Atlanta has always gotten the short end of the stick for soccer. No MLS team, the Silverbacks sitting out the USL season in 2009 and then being dropped from the new NASL/USL second division, never hosting USMNT games, the Beat coming in as an expansion team and not automatically getting two USWNT players like the other teams did…it's time for Atlanta to finally step up and show why they shouldn't have been passed over all those other times. Shine on, Atlanta.

on being a crew fan in georgia

I guess I have to start this off by stating, for those of you who didn't know, that I'm a Columbus Crew fan. Through 2007, I just sorta casually followed MLS, watched whatever game was on, not really cheering for anyone in particular because I didn't have a team within 9 hours of me, so there really wasn't much of a reason to. At the beginning of the 2008 season, however, I decided that I was going to really get into the league and pick a team and stick with them. It was a couple of weeks into the season when I settled on Columbus- they had US National Team players I liked (Frankie Hejduk, and to some extent Robbie Rogers), they had players I knew I would like (a crafty Argentinian midfielder, a Scotsman who scored a rocket of a goal, a keeper who looked like Ricky Bobby, a goofy blonde kid who looked like a Cabbage Patch doll, to name a few), they played a nice passing game which I respected, and, just as importantly as the other reasons, they wore yellow, one of my favorite colors. So I started following the Crew, and either I'm good at picking winners or I was actually their lucky charm; regardless, the Crew won the Supporter's Shield and MLS Cup and I was a content fan. In 2009 I was still a Crew fan. They only won the Supporter's Shield this season, but at least that's something.

I'd become really attached to the team, which I suppose is a good thing, but being a fan of a team nine hours away from you can pose some problems. For one, I've never met another Crew fan. Actually, I can broaden that by saying I've never met a fan of any MLS team outside of my family, who I've pretty much forced it on, but that's a whole different story. So other than a couple people on Twitter and, if I dared, Big Soccer, I don't really have anyone to talk to about anything specifically Crew-related. (My mom will listen to me rant and ramble, but I doubt she takes most of it in.) Another downside is that I can't just decide I want to go to a game and then go. I'd have to get a plane ticket and a rental car and a hotel room and find someone to go with and as much as I'd love to go to games all the time, it's just not feasible.

I had a nice long paragraph here about not being able to find Crew merchandise, but it just sounded really whiny so I scratched it all. I only have one piece of Crew merchandise, and it's the MLS Cup Champions t-shirt. It's also a mens large, since that's all they had in stock, so I can't wear it out anywhere. I plan on getting a jersey when the new ones come out in February, but I have nothing now. Recently, however, I took up knitting, and I bought yellow and black yarn and knitted myself a Crew scarf.

It's my first project, so it's not at all perfect, the stripes are different sizes and the stitches are loose in some places, but it's something at least. Of course, everyone is going to assume it's just a Georgia Tech scarf, but they don't know any better.

really, someone else should be writing about cold weather. but i'll take a whack at it.

One of FIFA president Sepp Blatter's favorite topics is how the MLS should switch to a European schedule, playing from August to May like the leagues there do. Obviously, Sepp Blatter has never been to the US during the winter. I've never left the southeast, so I can only speak for the rest of the country on hearsay, but it was in the 20s and teens yesterday in Atlanta, so I can imagine how cold it is in places that actually get "real winter". Which would cover 11 of the 16 MLS teams.

I've sat out at Georgia Tech football games in almost-freezing weather. It was bearable, only because we were jumping around like crazy in 6 layers of clothing. I can't imagine being out in anything colder, so props to everyone who does. Over the weekend I watched an FA Cup match where Middlesbrough hosted Manchester City. The stadium was practically empty, with temperatures in the 20s and snow falling. I'd bet that the lack of attendance had a lot more to do with the weather than fans not caring about the FA Cup.

If the MLS were to switch to the "European Schedule" as Blatter wants, the league's attendance would really suffer. I'm sure the hardcore fans would still go out to a game if it was around ten degrees outside, but the casual fans most likely wouldn't. In a world where if you aren't Seattle, your attendance is mocked, dropping attendance is the last thing anyone wants to see. From a purely personal point of view, I like that the league plays through the summer because it gives me something to watch. I feel like I have more to say, but really, all I have is that I don't like the idea of the league switching to the European schedule. Let the Europeans keep their schedule, we'll do things our own way.