A crisp and sunny Saturday afternoon in the deep south is typically the stage for college football. But for one brief moment in February, Birmingham, Alabama resembled a community striving to become a soccer city.



On that day that now seems a lifetime ago, the USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion hosted Atlanta United. Hundreds of fans made the two-and-a-half hour drive from Atlanta to help pack BBVA Field, the Legion’s home field. On a small plot behind the stadium, a group of kids of all ages played pick-up as a record-crowd of 6,722 witnessed the Legion lose a well-contested match against one of Major League Soccer’s richest clubs.



While they didn’t consistently trouble Atlanta United’s back line in the first 45 minutes, the Legion were physical in midfield and direct in possession. After a tough tackle early in the first half, Legion defensive midfielder Anderson Asiedu and Atlanta United attacker Ezequiel Barco had to be...