ATLUTD v Orlando City July 21st, 2017. #ATLUTD #ATLUTD17 #UNITEANDCONQUER @atlutd

The Fan Perspective: At 11:48 PM on Thursday night, I finally caved and bought a ticket to the game in Orlando and decided to drive down on Friday.

Drive was easy and fast, highly encourage ATLUTD fans to make any game in Orlando the soccer version of GA v FL and fill their stadium with red! It’s an easy trip by road or plane.

I arrived about ten minutes before scheduled kickoff time, and first thing was that the parking was like the situation in the off-lot parking at the old Braves stadium. Which was fine. Not to be a pretentious fan who will be parking or Ubering to a 1.5 B dollar brand new stadium, but that felt a little minor league, TBH.

So I pull in, and as I get out of my car wearing my five stripes jersey, one of the parking assistance guys who got me into my space told me to be careful – apparently not long before I arrived, just one parking lot over, an ATLUTD fan got his nose bashed in by some redneck Orlando fans. I mean, I’m betting that said fivestriper was engaging in some RedNeckery as well that probably invited the animosity that led to his broken nose….

So with that warning, I walked to the stadium and first impression from the outside is that it is small. I sound like that pretentious ATLUTD fan again, but just first impression. In fairness, the cool factor of the new stadium isn’t revealed until you are inside.

So before getting on to the game, the positives and negatives of the fan experience in Orlando City FC stadium:

Pros:

(1) Awesome area for supporters section, and sound engineered so that 25,000 people were (almost) as loud as 50K at Bobby Dodd. Ok, not really, but the sound in the stadium definitely stays in and creates an effect that seems bigger than it is.

(2) Sun Club. Not nearly as expensive as the Suntrust Club will be – but nicely done. I sat right on the midfield line, front row, bought a resale ticket last minute that set me back 138 dollars. What I didn’t know is that that INCLUDED free hotdogs, beer, water, sodas. So not a high falutent buffet, but convenient. Except at half time.

Which brings me to the only con of City’s stadium:

The concourse is too small – too narrow, not enough food vendors, or bathrooms. I went outside the Sun Club at half time to use the restroom, and then was going to grab free soda and hotdog at halftime. It took me all of halftime plus two minutes into the second half to get in and out of the restroom and pick up a free hotdog….but hey, I guess you have to acknowledge it’s so busy because the stadium is full.

Line to get in:



So back to kick off. I managed to push through the lines to get in , get my Sun Club wristband and a beer and down to my seat before the SSB and kickoff. Of course, when I got there, I was a single red shirt in a sea of purple. On my best behavior of course, but prepared for the worst. To my pleasant surprise, all of the Purple Clad around me were really fun and frankly, gracious hosts when all was said and done. Maybe that was because I was sitting in premium seating…not sure if I'd been anywhere near "The Wall" that would have been the case…

My view and two of my new friends to the right. Loved the fire fighter helmet. She was actually a real Orlando City firefighter. Cool. Like a little kid, I wanted to ask her if I could wear her helmet. But I refrained as I didn't want to push their hospitality too far.

Next thing I noticed after realizing I wasn't going to get tarred and feathered by the Orlando fans around me was the entire section taken up by the ATLUTD supports group. Hilarious thing was – there were more security guards around our fan group than the entire rest of the stadium, it seemed like. Video during warmup, see ATL UTD supporter section upper left.



Ok, well if you watched that, that was a little Redneck of me, but I couldn't help making sure Julian heard at least one clear call for GRESSELMANIA tonight!!

Observations on the game:

(1) This guy. You can get the recap and videos elsewhere, but let me say being right at field level and being able to see how Guzan took command of the defense, and his RIDICULOUSLY fast reflexes, well, all I can say is yes – Man of the Match. But more importantly, clearly a leader on the field, one which it was clear that the defense welcomed. Loved watching him laugh at / with the Orlando fans in the wall trash talking him after the game. A class act, who knows that when he's on point, he's one of the best there is. For a league known for mediocre goaltending talent, we are now an extremely extremely lucky team to have the likes of Guzan and Kann. A truly world class team needs two top shelf keepers, period.

Next observation: Tito. No hack fan pics I got of Tito last night, but I will repeat what I screamed as I jumped up and down when I saw that tomahawk missle he launched from 25 yards – HOLY FUCKING SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I am pretty sure, to the embarrassment of my mother, that was exactly what I said as I jumped up and down like a fool in the 87th minute.

As an aside, I have to thank the Orlando fans around me for enduring 30 seconds of total obnoxious celebration with Tito's goal. They got it, and granted me my thirty seconds. I then calmly sat down and tried to look as small as I could for the last four minutes of the game….

My Main Take Aways from last nights game – MLS 3.0 is here.

MLS 3.0 is here and will disrupt and reinvent this league in the next five years. What do I mean – ok, the next observations truly are not meant to be condescending of Orlando's strategy and set up. In many ways, for a small market team, they've been smart as hell right-sizing their stadium, curating a great fan tradition, all good stuff. But in the aging of their designated players, the small stadium, Orlando is an MLS 2.0 enterprise. That's not criticism, that's a fact.

In comparison, I missed the overwhelming awesomeness of 50,000 rabid soccer fans in Bobby Dodd. And I can't wait to see if we can beat the Sounders' all time record for attendance some time in September. MLS 3.0 MUST think like Darren, Carlos and Tata – they all came from world class teams, why would they execute or accept resources for anything less. I'm convinced that winning an MLS cup is just a first goal on the path to greatness for the Five Stripes. So – size matters. Orlando's atmosphere was really really well done. But it doesn't match the madness of Bobby Dodd, and hopefully the Benz. MLS 3.0 teams need to have stadiums that are on par with the best in the world, because we aspire to be one of the most desired leagues to play in as we keep building. Can't do that with 25K attendance over the long haul.

Next, our designated player strategy and system-focused recruiting are a new model. League leading scoring from our trifecta of young Designated Players. New young players like Gressel , Anton Walkes and Brandon Vasquez making a real impact on the field. Absolutely brilliant. Youth, speed, potential, momentum. This is how you build a truly world class football side. In this game, you saw that, with Joseph out, and frankly, with Miggy seeming a little flat (when compared to his typical magical self), what I saw was the bench stepping up to ensure the brilliance of Tito's goal and Brad's saves resulted in victory.

So, great experience, net net a great stadium and fan experience – props to Orlando, but an interesting clash of MLS 2.0 and MLS 3.0, which I think will bear out not in just this game, but throughout the rest of the season.

Well, that's all I got. Oh , except the most important hack fan photo I snapped of the entire evening: mission accomplished.