Atlanta United President Darren Eales on Wednesday said he’s been racking his brain on what to call the matches between the club and expansion-side Charlotte.
Some nicknames floated on social media include “I-85 Derby” and “Cola Wars” because of Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola and Charlotte is the home of Pepsi.
Eales threw out “Royal Rumble” because Charlotte calls itself the “Queen City” and Atlanta United has dubbed itself as the “Kings of the South.”
“We’re going to enjoy having that rivalry with Charlotte, and I think it’s good for the league that we’ve got clubs coming into that pushing the envelope, and I think it just sort of speaks to the excitement that there is for MLS and soccer in North America,” he said.
Atlanta United will host Charlotte on March 13 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will play at Bank of America Stadium on April 9.
Eales, as he sometimes does, took a good-natured swipe at the new club’s lack of Designated Player signings with the season starting in five weeks.
“Setting the bar finishing top four in the conference makes me a bit nervous about who they’re going to be signing in the coming weeks, but it’s good because that raises the bar for everyone,” he said. “So you know, we’re excited about that.”
Charlotte already has tried to stoke the embers with jabs at Atlanta United, much in the same way Eales did with the billboard in Orlando before those teams met for the first time in 2017.
Charlotte owner David Tepper reportedly shouted an expletive toward Atlanta and Atlanta United in 2020, after his expansion bid was approved and announced by MLS.
Others:
“For us to be targeting them, they’ve been a great organization,” Charlotte President Tom Glick said in 2020. “We’re going to have to knock them off of their perch. We’ll be aiming to do that.”
Charlotte already was circling its first home game against Atlanta United two years ago.
“I think one of the great sporting events of 2022 will be the first time Atlanta United comes into Bank of America Stadium and we lock horns with a sellout crowd,” Glick said. “That’ll be a special night, the first of many.”
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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule
Feb. 27 vs. Sporting KC, 3 p.m., FS1
March 5 at Colorado, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
March 13 vs. Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., FS1
March 19 vs. Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 2 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 9 at Charlotte, 3 p.m., ESPN
April 16 vs. Cincinnati, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 24 at Miami, 1 p.m., ESPN
April 30 at Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 7 vs. Chicago, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 15 vs. New England, 2 p.m., ESPN
May 21 at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. FOX
May 28 vs. Columbus Crew, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 19 vs Miami, 4 p.m., ESPN2
June 25 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 30 at New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 3 at NYCFC, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 9 vs. Austin, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 13 vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 17 vs. Orlando, 3 p.m., ABC
July 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 9:30 p.m., FS1
July 30 at Chicago, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
August 6 vs. Seattle, 3 p.m., ABC
August 13 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. BSSO/BSSE
August 17 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
August 21 at Columbus, 6 p.m., FS1
August 28 vs. D.C. United, 4 p.m., UNIV
August 31 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Portland, 5:30 p.m., FOX
Sept. 10 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 14 at Orlando, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept 17 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 1 at New England, 1 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 9 vs. NYCFC, TBD, BSSO/BSSE
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