Atlanta United at 10: Remember That Cat? Atlanta’s Cult Legends
- Jarrett Smith
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Ten years is a long time for damn near anything. In the sports world, doubly so. Teams will rise and fall, sometimes repeatedly, in that amount of time. But it also gives space for traditions, histories, heroes, and villains to develop. Rivalries will be born and grow, or sometimes die on the vine. Hell, sometimes they just hibernate until both parties are back on the straight and narrow.
One of the most fun developments for a young team is seeing how and when folk heroes emerge.
This is not a celebration of the long-term mainstays or the players we’ve written odes to over time. This is more of a fun “remember that cat?” moment, where everyone sits up and their eyes get wide as the memories come rushing back. They recount unique moments, memories that stick out for them, and maybe a few other people. Why those specific memories? That’s a question for them.
This would be the part where someone defines the term and waxes poetic about it. I am not going to do that.
We are going to just jump right in.
Yamil Asad
The son of Vélez Sarsfield legend Omar Asad, Yamil came to Atlanta on loan in 2017. It was absolutely taking a flyer on a guy who had yet to truly break into the first team in Argentina. Asad forced his way into the starting XI for the Five Stripes early on and logged seven goals in his time in Atlanta, including the first in club history.
Asad, Atlanta, and Vélez were never able to secure a permanent deal when it seemed like the most likely outcome, and he floated around at D.C. United and Cincinnati in MLS. He put up decent numbers in D.C., but nothing ever hit the same way it did in 2017.
Atlanta built a radioactive hydra of an offense that year. Asad was perhaps the least notable of those heads, but for some, he will always be one of the most fondly remembered, if for no other reason than because it only lasted one magical year.
Chris McCann
McCann came to Atlanta as a depth piece at defensive midfield, and for a long while it seemed like that was all he would be. A guy destined to play a handful of games a year while taking the load off veteran legs.
Then Greg Garza’s shoulder exploded in Minnesota in 2018.
Enter veteran midfielder Chris McCann, who just casually played the role of functional left back for roughly half the year.
Against all common sense, McCann served the role as well as could be asked, delivering 90-minute performance after 90-minute performance. Lest you forget, Atlanta dealt with a number of injuries in 2018, and Tata Martino and staff had to do a fair amount of juggling with the roster and the game day 18s.
McCann’s story is one of “it worked well until it didn’t.” The infamous late-night San Jose game being the point where the magic started to run out. But being a backline bandaid, and one half of the dad-joke duo with noted ginger hammer Jeff Larentowicz, is enough to earn him a slot here.
Franco Escobar
Playoff Franco.
What else did you want me to write here? Be so for real right now.
Escobar showed up and played a borderline unhinged right back role in 2018, picking up yellow cards at an admirable rate and dancing with a second yellow week after week. He fit into La Banda and solidified a spot that had been juggled the year before with Tyrone Mears and Anton Walkes (more on him in a bit).
It’s the playoffs where he truly shined.
In 16 career MLS Cup playoff games, Escobar tallied four goals and two assists, including the backbreaking second goal in MLS Cup 2018. You’re not supposed to get that production out of your right back, but here we are.
Justin Meram
Another from the “it worked well until the magic ran out” files. Justin Meram parlayed a really productive Columbus Crew career into a chance in Orlando before leaving after a short and disappointing stint.
Following the path of others like Mike Ambrose, Meram came to Atlanta and slotted into an offense that needed a little giddy up. It was perfect. He needed a new place to reset. Atlanta needed help on the left side.
What you got was a magical summer where the Iraqi national team member helped Atlanta turn the engine over, including assisting Pity Martínez in the U.S. Open Cup Final.
The gas tank eventually ran out for Meram, but throw this one in the basket marked: “Atlanta United’s in-league pickups have been damn good.”
Brandon Vazquez
The Open Cup legend himself.
Vazquez was part of the initial 2017 roster build and spent time in an eternal position battle with Romario Williams for backup striker. Vazquez put daylight between them in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup campaign with multiple goals, including a winner against Charleston behind closed doors, and playing in the mud and slop in Columbus.
Large, athletic, and explosive, Vazquez finally put it all together after being poached in the expansion draft by Cincinnati, to the chagrin of many in Atlanta who would turn back time and undo that draft if possible.
Since then, he’s moved on to Mexico and then back to MLS with Austin. But the crest doesn’t matter.
He will always be Open Cup Hero Brandon Vazquez.
Eric Remedi
Being a cult hero isn’t something we measure in time, or necessarily stats. Jimmy McGinty of the Washington Sentinels would say it’s about heart. Miles and miles of heart.
The Banfield Bulldog had heart. Lots of it.
A mid-season pickup from Argentina, Remedi filled gaps in the 2018 midfield that dealt with its share of injuries. He brought the necessary sandpaper to handle the grind of the season, but made his mark when he repeatedly put playmakers like Sebastián Blanco, Kaku, and Maxi Moralez in his pocket in the playoffs.
On top of that, he produced two emotionally liberating goals.
The first came in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, where Atlanta defeated Orlando in Orlando without Josef Martínez. The second was the deciding goal in the Eastern Conference Semifinal at the postage stamp that is Yankee Stadium. A sign of things to come in a magical 2018 season.
Anton Walkes
Walkes’ legacy is long and bittersweet, obviously.
A loaner from Spurs originally, Walkes played here and there for the Five Stripes in 2017 before snatching the right back spot from Tyrone Mears in the summer and making it his own, earning adoration along the way.
After his loan was up, he went back to England before returning to Atlanta in 2020 as a permanent player.
The 2020 season was mentally taxing for all, but Walkes became a name you could put in pen for the XI for the next two years, logging 50 appearances in the 2020 and 2021 seasons before he was poached in the expansion draft by Charlotte.
Tragically, Walkes lost his life just before the 2023 season at the age of 25.
As the first real tragedy the club ever had to face, Walkes is forever tied to the Atlanta-Charlotte relationship, the history of both clubs, and the heart of Atlanta United.
Bienvenue Kanakimana
Benny [redacted] Jets is your off-the-board sickos choice here, dear reader.
For those of you with the infinite wisdom to watch Atlanta United 2, you got to enjoy a magical summer of our favorite Burundian son logging seven goals for the 2s while running at Mach 3.
A test case in: “what if we just poured all of our EXP into straight-line speed and finishing and played them.”
Benny Jets has bounced around Europe and Asia since, but you’ll never unlodge him from my brain.
Now it’s your turn. These are a few of the names that live forever in that special corner of Atlanta United history, the guys who may not have been here the longest, but left something unforgettable behind. Cult heroes are personal, though, and every fan’s list is going to look a little different. So who did we miss? Who’s the player that still makes you smile when you hear their name? Drop your favorite Atlanta United cult heroes, and tell us what moment made them one for you.
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