*MOD NOTE: Please, move if in wrong place.* Want to be the first person to say, I hate you Orlando and Miami In all seriousness, I am really excited to come into the league with some rivals with Orlando and Miami. Atlanta-Orlando, Orlando-Miami are geographically closer... but Atlanta-Miami might have the rivalry in terms of hot shot owners, Beckham versus Blank, (Future Headline: Beckham Blanked in Atlanta ) who are competing for who is number 22. Will this be called the Spot 22 Rivalry!? Orlando-Miami has a nice rivalry already given that they are battling for Florida. Also, Atlanta-Orlando has some potential in the same vein as UGA vs Florida. Orlando is more north and centrally located where I see it becoming the team of central Florida and north Florida, but I see some battles going on in south Georgia and the Florida panhandle. Finally, anyone with any ideas for the name of this rivalry... the Northwest has their Cascadia Cup, what will be the name of our rivalry? Although, I know it'd never fly, the Dixie Cup would be humorous if we all drank from Dixie plastic cups (and really, Orlando and Miami are not in Dixie). The Southern Cup? would be interesting because each could have a claim to being the most southern. Atlanta, culturally. Orlando as far as the end of the cultural south, and Miami as the most southern geographically franchise in the league.
I think Atlanta might struggle to have a real rivalry with either team. Orlando is 8 hours away, and it'll be much easier for Orlando-Miami to be a big thing. But I'm guessing it might also develop based on other things. The Falcons and Saints had all those years of seeing who sucked the most. DC in only 10 hours away and being near Virginia is in an area a little more Southern than southern Florida. But it's still not like Silverbacks v. Battery. Dixie Cup sounds good. Unless you go with Southeastern Cup (SEC again), it's pretty obvious for a name. Plus the obvious fun of winning a tiny paper cup.
Phil Rawlins was speaking at a Chamber of Commerce meeting a month ago and said MLS gave Orlando territorial rights for their academies up to the FL/GA boarder and the panhandle. So if they can get those residents and kids familiar with OCSC, the rivalry could be that much closer when thinking in terms of distance. How about the Fruit Cup? haha. You know with peaches in GA and citrus in FL.
I know that the big Atlanta and Miami SGs have seemed to like the Jenkins Ear Cup in reference to the War of Jenkins Ear that took part in parts of Georgia and Florida between the British and Spanaish in the 18th Century. I would like to avoid the use of Dixie and Dixie Cup would probably bring about a C&D letter from the Dixie Cup company if you ever tried to sell any merch with Dixie Cup on it.
Why? Those are not MLS markets, there is no rivalry to be had with lower tier teams. Meeting only in USOC when the MLS side is sending out scrub line-ups is hardly material for a rivalry.
The 'Backs owned you last year, don't see that changing. However, we're talking about the new MLS team here, not how badly the 'Backs will beat Minn United again this NASL season and the two seasons to follow before I can forget NASL even exists.
Just a guess, but when Atlanta does indeed join this week, I look to Minnesota to become magic #24th one.
Possible, they were on the short list. However, I've not heard much noise out of them recently. The biggest mover and shaker of those remaining has been San Antonio. If it is Minnesota, I hope they get a "promotion" type franchise as I really like what they have done with their re-branding up there.
Then you missed Garber most recently fawning all over MNN in his expansion interviews. And why shouldn't he be fawning? Where else do we have 3 billionaires fighting over MLS expansion rights?
Typical Southerner, never looking North. Columbus is a lot closer than Miami. (So is DC, for that matter.) I would also like to point out that William Tecumseh Sherman (who burned Atlanta more or less to the ground) grew up about 30 miles from Crew Stadium. That ought to count for something.
He was also the first president of LSU. Yet there isn't a plaque or a statute anywhere on campus... yup!
Links or it didn't happen. Too cold to look North, our eyeballs would freeze and that unruly drunk helped shape one of the top fan approved names (Phoenix/Firebirds) so, we'll just let him continue to rot in the ground with no ill will
Got nothing to do with it, the 'Backs are just the closest thing to MLS I have right now. I don't live in Atlanta and can only attend games sporadically so following them is not easy. Following ATL MLS is very easy and will be much more worth the couple hours it takes to get there. I've been a fan of MLS for years, well before NASL existed in this form, just haven't had a team. This changes that. The 'Backs have always been an insufficient intermediary. If I lived in ATL and could go whenever, then the 'Backs would have more meaning. They are a minor league team and you really have to be part of that local community to feel a connection (as I have with my Hometown Birmingham Barons in baseball). Atlanta is my MAJOR LEAGUE sports town.
With serious issues supporting pro sports. I hope for your sake people turn out in droves so you can point your finger at them.
This has proven to be false more times than I care to count (at least as far as the Braves and Falcons are concerned, I know nothing of the Basketball team because that sport is awful). Unless of course you want to talk about the hockey team. If you do wish to talk about the hockey team then there is nothing else to be said because you don't understand how irrelevant a winter sport is in a region that barely has what you can call winter.
I am under the impression the Falcons and Braves do average to above average attendance wise. On the other hand the Hawsks and Thrashers were below average. It's a two sport town.
Too lazy to look yourself? How about this one, scout? http://www.mls4mn.com/ And since its so hard, here are the 3 billionaires: Zilfs - owners of the Vikings Dr. Bruce McGuire - owner of the Minn United FC of NASL (former principal of United HealthCare) Pohlads - owners of the Minn Twins (MLB)
Falcons had 98.6 percent attendance last season with one crappy team. The Braves got an average of 35k with a team that hasn't won a postseason series since about 2003 and in a location so bad the team is literally moving. The Hawks ... Well, the Hawks are outdrawing Philly and Milwaukee. We're not gonna sugarcoat that one. Still, give us credit for the massive college football followings all over and the sold-out international friendly at the Dome.