CHAPTER 1 FROM NEW GUYS TO CHAMPS The scene before the 2018 MLS Cup kicked off was hard to believe Because just two years earlier the game wouldn't have even been possible In 2016 the stadium that would host the game was under construction and the home team didn't even exist Atlanta United FC was playing just its second season in Major League Soccer MLS In its first year Atlanta became just the fourth first year expansion team to make the playoffs A year later it was hosting the Portland Timbers for the league championship More than 73,000 roaring fans packed into Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium It was the biggest crowd in MLS history And almost all of them were wearing Atlanta's Atlanta United supporters came out in force for the 2018 MLS Cup 4
red black and gold United may have been a new team But their BIG CROWDS fans looked like they had been The record setting MLS Cup crowd preparing for this match for years was just one of many huge crowds Some of them had waited 12 hours Atlanta drew in 2018. United to secure a spot at the front of a averaged 53,002 fans per game the supporters section for the during the season That was an all time MLS record The old record championship match also belonged to United They Just before kickoff the Atlanta averaged 48,200 per game in 2017 their first year in existence fans unveiled a huge banner called a tifo It depicted a freight train in honor of Atlanta's history as a railroad town Atop the train was a message MLS 3.0 It signified this was a new era of MLS Other teams ruled the first two eras of the 23 year old league But Atlanta United was determined to rule the third EARLY CHANCES TAKEN The match kicked off under thunderous noise The retractable roof at Mercedes Benz Stadium can be opened in good weather But cold temperatures and freezing rain that December night made it an easy decision to keep it closed The roof trapped the sound of the roaring fans making it even 6
Josef Martinez chips the ball past Portland keeper Jeff Attinella for the game's first goal louder than usual The noise increased in the 14th minute when Atlanta's star striker Josef Martínez was taken down in the 18 yard box Fans wanted a penalty kick But the referee told the teams to play on Martínez would have another chance United dominated possession of the ball and in the 39th minute it finally paid off Atlanta defender Michael Parkhurst made a tackle that deflected the ball back toward the Timbers goal Martínez who set the league's single season pals record that year was right there to pick it up The only Timbers player in the 7
