Written by AlaQuest
Sideline Soapbox submissions don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of Scarves and Spikes staff. You can submit your own pieces here.
It’s the 7th of March, 2026, and I’m sat here at 9:52pm, a few minutes after the Home Opener. I’ve read dozens of comments on Match Threads and I’m left pondering why I don’t feel the general sentiment that I’ve seen: That the season is over and Atlanta United’s 2026 has no hope. After thinking about it for a while, I think I know why.
1. After numerous managers from numerous countries and numerous styles, philosophies, and signings, we have a manager at the top who has already shown why his way is THE way. He’s brought in 3 guys that align with his principle of signing young South American talent. All three of them (Jacob, Baez, and Galarza) already look to be great signings. While the keeper may not be a hit, the other three show that Tata’s judgment is REALLY good to put it frankly.
2. The team looks entertaining again. I am fully understanding that it’s been one “good” game at home, but I haven’t felt this excited to watch an Atlanta United game since the home opener of last year. I recall mentioning that the only way to watch games last year was through chatting in match threads because the product on the field was atrocious and couldn’t keep my full attention. Today, I didn’t send a single comment in the Scarves and Spikes Match Thread. Not one! The team was playing fluid, attacking, and high risk football. Do you know what that is? It’s TATA ball. The only problem is that we don’t have the quality in the back like we had in 2018. I’m sure if we give Tata another transfer window however, he can bring in another LGP. With that, tonight’s performance could have been a 2-0 rather than a 3-2.
3. The DP’s (excluding one) looked good. It’s a well known fact that in MLS, teams usually need all three DP’s to be performing at a high level to be a competitive team. I would say that Miguel and Miranchuk were performing at more than a high level. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Almiron really did look like 2018 Almiron. Miranchuk showed the class that we all knew he had and silenced all the doubters (for now). Now, we’ll need to get the striker situation sorted out, because I’m not sure 2026 has much a future without a striker who can hit at least 15 goals. We’ll see if ELL can improve.
Well, that’s my 2 cents. I feel excited about the future of 2026 and the club, especially if we let Tata cook for a few years. Also to my fellow fans, no matter how bad things get, let’s stick together, and keep this train chugging no matter how bad things get.
I applaud your courage to write this and your optimism. We fans definitely need to stick together.
We actually have a decent chance of being decent for once in what seems like a million years.
I’m with you.