D.C. United is appropriately named as it is uniting fan support from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia around one soccer team. Minnesota United FC is likewise uniting fan support from both of the Twin Cities around a single soccer team. Atlanta on the other hand is a single metro area, with a single center city, in a single state, and their team is replacing an existing soccer club from the North American Soccer League. There is nothing "united" about Atlanta's story (even ignoring that they are copying the colors of the existing "United" in Major League Soccer), they couldn't agree on a name so they punted. If MLS didn't want "too many United's" they should've nipped it in the bud & not allowed Atlanta to use that name.

There are a half dozen metros in the US & Canada that could justify being called United, Atlanta is not one of them by any definition. As a Chicago Fire fan, I call on Don Garber & Major League Soccer to either let MNUFC keep their moniker or make ATLUFC change theirs as well. Minneapolis St. Paul are united in their support for many existing professional sports teams. Atlanta can reference myriad examples of history & lore to find something better than co-opting a branding that better fits multiple existing soccer franchises.