Soccer legends praise Atlanta's support for the sport

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - It only took one season for Atlanta United to become the most talked-about soccer team in the United States.  And two of the biggest names in American soccer history say the city’s reaction to having its own soccer team has been both surprising – and extremely special.

Good Day Atlanta’s Paul Milliken traveled to Los Angeles earlier this year, where he caught up with American soccer legends Landon Donovan and Alexi Lalas.  Both men will be part of FOX’s World Cup coverage, broadcasting from Russia in June and July.  But once the athletes learned Paul was from Atlanta, they both wanted to talk about the incredible phenomenon of Atlanta United, which set new attendance records during its first season last year and is already doing the same thing this year. 

Says Donovan, "To watch what they've done has been incredibly impressive and it's almost reshaped the way we think about what soccer's gonna look like going forward. We, for many years, thought a 20,000 and 25,000-seat stadium is sufficient. Thank God they're playing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and had enough room to put all those people in.” 

Lalas agrees, saying of the fans, “They scream and yell at me, they're passionate, they're discerning, they know good soccer from bad soccer.”  Asked why there’s been such a passionate reaction to Atlanta’s team, Lalas simply says, "I think it's the power of soccer.”

Next up, Atlanta United will take on the Vancouver Whitecaps at home on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.  And don’t miss FOX’s World Cup Coverage this summer!