Atlanta United has shocked the world.
In just its second season with an MLS franchise, Atlanta has pieced together a sensational season that has catapulted United to the MLS Cup final and attracted one of the most active fan bases in all of American professional sports.
United took down the New York Redbulls in the Eastern Conference final with a 3-1 aggregate advantage through two games in order to clinch a bid to the MLS Cup final. The MLS Playoff system features a home-and-away, aggregate-goal format for the conference semifinals and finals that requires the victor to outscore their opponent through two games. Atlanta took full advantage of its home contest against the New York Red Bulls, racking up three goals in front of an absolutely electric crowd of 70,016 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The massive showing was far from an anomaly. United faithful have come out in full-force since the team's inception, prompting Atlanta to set the MLS record for attendance at home games in its inaugural season before resetting that record with 53,002 spectators at home games in 2018. For reference, United's attendance numbers absolutely shattered the previous MLS record of 44,247, which was set by the Seattle Sounders in 2015.
But United fans found a way to dial it up from there. WhenUnited hosted Leg 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against New York City FC, Atlanta fans nearly filled Mercedes-Benz Stadium to capacity en route to setting the all-time MLS record for attendance at a playoff game with 70,526 spectators in attendance.
It's no surprise that United faithful have come out in droves to support their team. Atlanta clocked in just behind the Red Bulls in league standings with a 21-7-6 record on the season. United netted a league-high 70 goals thanks in large part to star forward Josef Martinez, who set the MLS single-season scoring record with 31 goals through 34 games and broke the league record for combined MLS regular season and playoffs goals in the team's home contest against the Red Bulls.
Martinez and the rest of Atlanta's high-octane offense will look to carry that momentum into the MLS Cup Final against the Portland Timbers December 8. They will enjoy an incredible advantage as Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts their championship matchup with the Portland Timbers December 8. United fans are primed to set yet another MLS attendance record and will their team to an incredibly impressive feat for an expansion team.
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