Football in the American South is Alive and Well

The passion for soccer in the American South is red hot, almost more so than the weather, and it was nowhere more apparent than at last night’s US Open Cup semifinal in Orlando.

Orlando City and Atlanta United was the semifinal draw made in heaven, as Orlando have yet to beat their southern neighbors and both sets of supporters claim their club as “soccer kings of the south”. Nowhere else will you see more unwavering support and passion from a group of supporters in the south than at these two clubs.

Orlando City has many groups that have been around to support the club from its inception in 2011 like the Ruckus and Iron Lion Firm, and never do they falter in their support. Even after their team concede, you can hear the purple wall get louder and louder, banging away at the drums and aluminum standing section chanting: “that’s the way we like it, Orlando where you go we’ll follow”. Even when the team is towards the bottom of the table, as it has been many a time since joining MLS, thousands can be seen marching down Church Street towards the stadium in full voice with purple smoke, flags, banners and flares alight.

Atlanta United on the other hand, has had massive attendances to every one of their matches since the inception of the newer club, often selling out the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium which is capped at 43,000 for the club’s matches. That being said, for bigger matches against bigger clubs and in the playoffs the maximum capacity is expanded with upper levels and the record attendance stands at an impressive 73,019 supporter turnout for the 2018 MLS Cup Final. So it is quite apparent that the fever for the game is rife across the North Georgian City. When we visited recently, there were flags, banners, decorations and shirts galore seen in all parts of the city, not even on a match day.

The match lived up to its month-long hype, with an open game for the entire 90 minutes, although Atlanta came away with a 0-2 win. Orlando seemed determined to claim their first win over their southern neighbors, coming out firing on all cylinders as Dom Dwyer delightfully chipped one over Brad Guzan after some delicious build up play in the first ten minutes. But the peach of a goal was deemed marginally offside, and they couldn’t seem to finish their chances from then on. This didn’t change the wall’s support though, as they kept chanting, jumping and singing, even as Atlanta took advantage of one of their first chances that saw Eric Remedi score. The game was finished off late with around ten minutes left as Bournemouth loanee Emerson Hyndman scored. Even after the Lions were condemned to an earlier than preferred exit from the cup, their fans could still be hear chanting “vamos, vamos Orlando, esta noche, temenos que ganar!” trying to push their squad towards a miracle. Orlando City had a magical run to get to their first open cup semifinal in club history, and it’s a crying shame their unbelievable support on the night weren’t rewarded. But Atlanta’s machine didn’t falter, and the 200 or so away supporters in the upper corner of the stand that made the 500 mile trip were rewarded for their long journey and loyal support.

American soccer and the desire for it is alive and well, and the weekday open cup matches exemplify this spirit year after year. The 105^th final of one of the oldest running football cup competitions in the world is on the 27th of this month, but we’re already looking forward to next year’s magic.