Atlanta doesn’t have a team in Major League Soccer, but it already has at least one group that has dedicated itself to supporting the team and the sport: Terminus Legion.
Terminus Legion was co-founded in January by Matt Stigall, a Georgia Tech grad and recent convert to the sport.
Stigall and some of the more than 180 members of the Legion will be among the more than 60,000 attendees at Wednesday’s international game between Mexico and Nigeria at the Georgia Dome trying to recruit new members and supporting the sport they love. That game is one of several in Atlanta in the past few years as professional soccer continues to establish a foothold in the city and is one of the reasons that Terminus Legion was founded.
“We want to connect all the passionate supporters of Atlanta soccer,” he said.
They are pieces that Stigall hopes may soon lead to an MLS team.
With an effort led by Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Atlanta is considered to be one of the leaders to land an expansion franchise in the league. MLS officials and Blank have acknowledged that the two sides are in “deep discussions” but neither has divulged more information. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday that the two sides are close, but there’s no rush because the new stadium, which presumably will house the team, won’t open until 2017.
“We are excited about Atlanta,” Garber said. “It’s a market that needs a professional team at the highest level.”
Stigall began the grassroots “ATLwantsMLS” campaign in 2011 after a series of exhibitions involving New England, Houston and Columbus at Kennesaw State. Stigall said his efforts have resulted in a petition featuring thousands of signatures.
Stigall said games such as last month’s between the U.S. women’s national team and Russia, and Wednesday’s between two teams that will appear in the World Cup this summer, are more evidence that Atlanta wants and will support an MLS team.
“Our goal is when that team comes, at that first game we have thousands of people in the stands,” he said.
Groups supporting teams are common in the world of soccer. Stigall said Terminus Legion is patterned after the Sons of Ben, a group that was founded before the Philadelphia Union began playing in MLS.
“We want a supporter culture that the city can be proud of,” he said.
Dan Courtemanche, executive vice president of Major League Soccer, said each of the 19 teams in the league have at least one supporter’s group. Some, like the Sons of Ben, are extremely influential. The architects of the Union’s stadium consulted with the Sons on certain aspects of the building.
“It’s a significant point of differentiation from other traditional sports leagues,” Courtemanche said. “It doesn’t mean they don’t have passionate fans, but we have organized groups who get together for the good of the game.”
Stigall’s passion belies his experience with the sport. He didn’t become a soccer fan until five years ago. Like some people, he assumed the sport’s low scores implied that it was boring.
And then he began watching games … and the fans.
“I saw how passionate the fans were,” he said. “If all the fans are this passionate, there is something wrong with me.”
He chose to follow Tottenham Hotspur in England’s Premier League and has since been to a few games at their stadium, White Hart Lane. He began to envision trying to create the same type of fan culture in Atlanta that he experienced in England.
He chose his group’s name because Terminus was one of Atlanta’s early names.
“Nothing in Atlanta focuses on its history,” he said. “Let’s plant the flag. We have a city that we are proud of.”
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