Atlanta Silverbacks: The Spirit of the Game Is Alive and Well

Like many others living in the southeastern United States, I've often bemoaned the fact that MLS has expanded into seemingly every other part of the country outside of this one. Yes, Tampa Bay and Miami were once MLS markets before the Mutiny and the Fusion were contracted following the 2001 season, but as people in Alabama, Georgia and even the panhandle of Florida would be quick to tell you, the Florida Peninsula doesn't necessarily equate the Southeast in and of itself.

While it would be easy for many people in Georgia and eastern Alabama (where I reside) to be resigned to a perceived fate of not having a quality soccer team in the region to support, whether from a distance or live and in person, such assumptions would indeed be quite faulty in nature and rather myopic. For those in this part of the country so longing for a more accessible soccer experience, and indeed a club to support that is not hundreds or thousands of miles away, the collective gaze needs to go no further than Atlanta.

Before I wax too poetically, I should, in the interest of full disclosure, admit that I've not been one of the die-hard fans who has been with the club from the early days back in the 1990s. Sure, I would keep up with the Silverbacks' results from time to time, but until a few weeks ago, my interaction with the Silverbacks didn't go beyond that at all. On the occasions when I would entertain the idea of finally driving an hour and a half up to Atlanta to see them in the flesh, my burgeoning plans to do so would ultimately be derailed by either a lack of time, money, or a schedule that saw them playing on the road instead of at home when everything on my end was in place.

Thankfully, if not finally, the planets recently aligned as I decided to make the pilgrimage up from Auburn a few weeks ago to see the Silverbacks host the then table-topping Carolina Railhawks. Much like when I saw Blackburn take on Manchester United in my first trip to Ewood Park back in 2004, I didn't necessarily have the highest expectations for a home win against a team that has done well over the years and has several former MLS players at its disposal, but I held out hopes for a decent showing regardless.

In making this first trip up to Silverbacks Park, which lies on the very northern reaches of the Atlanta metropolitan area, I have to admit that I readily had no idea of what to expect from my first venture into this new territory. I had seen pictures of the stadium over the years, and of course I knew all about Eric Wynalda's involvement with the club, which began last summer, and a couple of players with previous MLS experience, but that was just about the extent of my knowledge about the club before that Carolina game, and I dare not act like I knew any more than that.

What I encountered in the midst of my naivety was somewhat surprising and quite pleasing in seemingly every aspect imaginable. Silverbacks Park, tucked away in the woods just off of Exit 96 on I-85 and seating around 5,000 fans, provides an ambiance that is scarcely seen with many modern stadiums, as the geography truly leaves one feeling, especially once the sun goes down, that the world is hardly any bigger than the stadium itself. On the night of the Carolina game, the atmosphere was made even that much better by the 4,000 or so people in attendance and the perpetual singing and drumming emanating over the course of ninety minutes from the Atlanta Ultras.

Though the Silverbacks and their devoted fans (who know how to tailgate, I might add) do a fantastic job of providing a matchday experience that rivals what one would see in larger venues and bigger leagues, I would be remiss to not speak of how pleasantly surprised I was by the on-field product that this edition of the Silverbacks has to offer. As many in the US soccer scene know, the Silverbacks haven't exactly been synonymous with success over their history, but one gets the feeling that the longevity of that previous legacy is surely in question. The players brought over from Eric Wynalda's giant-killing Cal FC, not least of which the highly creative Danny Barerra (who must be on some MLS radars by now), have brought an influx of young talent that is certainly at the very heart of Atlanta's upturn in fortunes over the last calendar year, and more grizzled veterans like Martyn Lancaster, blessed with grit and experience at this level, have done their part to transform a leaky defense into a rather airtight unit in recent weeks. It also has to be said that Brian Haynes' preference for a more attacking style has the Silverbacks playing a brand of soccer that is both easy on the eye and even somewhat surprising to those who might have previously ignored the lower leagues in this country.

Will the Silverbacks continue this rich vein of form that has them topping the table beyond the halfway point of the NASL's spring season? Soccer is a tricky old game, and with the chasing pack still within a mere point or two, one can't definitively say that some elusive silverware is on the horizon. Yet, based solely upon the naked eye test that I've subjected the Silverbacks to in recent home games against Carolina and San Antonio and the grueling extra time loss at Real Salt Lake in the US Open Cup, there can be little doubt that this is a club headed in the right direction.

Beyond the matters on the field or on the business side of smaller clubs that we could gather around and talk about for hours on end, there is something far more telling to be gathered from my recent, long-awaited experiences with the Atlanta Silverbacks: the spirit of the game is indeed alive and well in this country in corners, nooks and crannies that often go unexplored by many. While it is indeed so very easy for all of us to be captivated by the bright lights of MLS, the Premier League, and the rest of the world's biggest leagues, clubs and superstars, it would be a disservice to both us and the game itself in this country to not lend at least a bit of attention to what is going on away from the spotlight.

While your local NASL, USL or PDL club may not be stocked with players you would recognize to even the slightest degree, there is still so much to take away from a night out of watching these guys in action. Massive contracts are nowhere to be seen, and many of these players may be living two or three to an apartment to make ends meet as they chase a dream that many of us can only see in our sleep. Yet, even as they aren't living the most glamorous of lives and capturing headlines around the world, they are embodying as much, if not more, passion than one may see on more exotic stages.

Atlanta will be in action at home against FC Edmonton tomorrow night, and as I have done for their last two home games, I will again be in attendance to see how another chapter of this Silverbacks season unfolds. Given the dizzying heights that the Silverbacks find themselves in at this point in the season, something tells me that a crowd of 5,000 could be joining me there as well. Regardless of where you are and which league your local club plays in, I can only hope that they will be enjoying such support as well. They deserve it.