Atlanta is finally checking the World Cup off its list

Just over five months ago, Indiana fans invaded downtown Atlanta and took over our stadium en route to their College Football Playoff championship. The Hoosiers faithful amazed locals. Who knew a nontraditional Big Ten program could overtake the South’s premier venue?

What’s occurring here now, though, is one of the few entities that makes our beloved college football still feel like child’s play.

Atlanta is two matches into its role as a World Cup host. What an honor for our city to be part of this worldwide phenomenon. What a privilege for our crown-jewel stadium to welcome folks from around the globe and act as an advertisement for Atlanta and our country.

And what a treat for us to watch competitive football here. It’s refreshing considering the (American) football we usually witness in this venue.

Atlanta’s second match lacked the storylines of its first, when debutant Cape Verde played heavily favored Spain to a scoreless draw. The circumstances invoked emotion as some rooted for history while others were distraught by Spain’s start.

There wasn’t the same energy Thursday when Czechia and South Africa played to a 1-1 draw, but the venue still packed plenty of passion.

Czechia celebrated early with a goal in the sixth minute — credit Michal Sadílek with the first World Cup goal in Atlanta’s history — and South Africa erupted when Teboho Mokoena scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute.

The South Africa crowd was the dominant presence among the 67,442 fans, roaring with every missed opportunity. The sound explosion upon Mokoena’s goal might’ve been the most emphatic outburst here since Indiana began that playoff game with a pick six.

As one glances into these crowds, sees the signage and enthusiasm surrounding this event all throughout the area, it’s a nice reminder just how significant the coming weeks are for our city. Locals should be proud, including those who are indifferent or even dismissive about soccer.

Atlanta hadn’t yet transformed into the international hub it is today when the United States last hosted the World Cup in 1994. The host sites then were Pasadena, California; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Chicago; Orlando, Florida; Pontiac, Michigan; Dallas; Stanford, California; Foxborough, Massachusetts; and Washington D.C.

This time, only East Rutherford, Foxborough, Dallas and the Los Angeles area repeated as hosts. Atlanta would be an easy decision to add to the mix. Let that be a microcosm of the city’s growth on an international scale. It’s representative of how much Atlanta has evolved over the past three decades, and particularly after hosting the 1996 Olympics.

This was one of the few major sporting events we hadn’t dabbled in until now. We’ve hosted three Super Bowls, including one at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We’ve hosted World Series games at all three of our major league stadiums. We’ve hosted March Madness — the men’s Final Four returns here in 2031 — and numerous College Football Playoff games and championships.

We’ve hosted all the stars you can imagine, from Muhammad Ali to Michael Jordan to Lionel Messi to Tom Brady to Shohei Ohtani. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is considered the standard in a country full of fancy football stadiums. Truist Park and The Battery are viewed as a blueprint as other teams from around the world are trying to emulate what the Braves have built.