Atlanta is a champion city again. It may have taken about 25 years, but the ATL is title town once again. Atlanta United, the city’s 2-year-old pro soccer club, brought home the MLS World Cup after beating Portland 2-0.
The MLS Cup’s full name is the MLS Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, named after the billionaire philanthropist and major league soccer club owner. The MLS Cup has been named after Anschutz since 2008. Before that, it was named after Alan I. Rothenberg, a leading soccer sports executive largely responsible for the sport’s growth and popularity in the United States.
Magic City? 5 other Atlanta spots the MLS Cup needs to visit
With Atlanta United’s victory in just its second season of MLS play, the club brought a championship to the city for the first time since 1995 (the Atlanta Braves).
According to news reports and quite a bit of social media exposure, one of the MLS Cup’s last stops of the night was Magic City. But there are other places the mighty Cup may need to check out.
The Varsity
Why not bring the Cup to the Varsity in Midtown? Let the greasiest hands in the city touch and fondle the trophy that is a part of their heritage now that Atlanta United FC are the champs, If you really want to go there, smother the Cup with some of that chili reserved for those Varsity chili dogs everyone so loves.
Centennial Olympic Park
A walk in the park would be just the thing for the MLS Cup, which has given the city its first big sports moment this century. Centennial Olympic Park is the perfect ode to the city’s other shining achievement: Hosting the 1996 Olympic Games.
The Big Chicken
One icon should meet another. Marietta’s largest local landmark, the Big Chicken, should be formally introduced to the MLS Cup. The Cup can learn a thing or two about iconic-ness and being a rock for a city in need. The Big Chicken underwent a face-lift in 2017 but has been standing since 1963 outside a KFC restaurant.
Waffle House
Bring the Cup to Waffle House, any Waffle House in the metro area. The truth is that Atlanta’s restaurant of choice is a much of that victory as anything else. How do you think 70,000 fans sustained themselves before and after those soccer games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium?
SunTrust Park
Let the Cup travel to SunTrust Park, the Atlanta Braves’ new stadium in Cobb County. This would be the only true and proper link between the city’s two storied franchises that have won it all. Let the Cup’s entry into SunTrust Park also serve as a motivator for the Braves to bring one home next year. The Cup — and the city — are pulling for you!
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