ATLANTA -- There was a time not so long ago when spectators without rooting interests would leave an MLS Cup played at a neutral site before the final whistle. It was a bad look for the league and part of the impetus in 2011 to switch to home-field advantage.
On Saturday, in a year-old starship that will stage the Super Bowl in eight weeks and Final Four in 16 months, MLS never looked better.
Standing from start to finish -- and then some in celebrating the city’s first major trophy since 1995 -- a championship-record crowd of 73,019 watched Atlanta United cap an extraordinary first two seasons in MLS with a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers.