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Behind the Stripes

The Bartelski Family

By Atlanta United FC

April 27^th, 2017

“We felt that we weren’t just buying tickets to see a soccer team, but we felt we were making an investment in something bigger for this city.”

Atlanta United Founding Members from day one, Chris and Allie Bartleski reside in Cumming, Georgia with their two children, Hank (6 yr.) and Charlie (4 yr.). The passion the four share for the sport didn’t just start with the MLS expansion into Atlanta. For the Bartelskis, soccer has always been a family affair.

Chris is originally from Holland (The Netherlands), a country where the sport of soccer has thrived and embedded itself into the European culture for over 100 years. It’s a treasure, it runs in his veins his blood, and it provides a bridge for him to connect with people all over the globe.

“The beautiful thing about the beautiful game is that as a soccer fan, and especially a Dutch soccer fan, you are never without a friend anywhere in the world,” said Chris. “Soccer is another language, if you can play it or know about it, you can make a friend anywhere.”

Allie didn’t grow up following soccer, but that all changed when she encountered Chris’s undying affinity for the sport and its culture. She joined him at a pub to view a EUFA Euro 2004 quarterfinal match featuring his beloved ‘Oranje’ (Netherlands National Team), along with many other avid fans. On that day she realized there were no strangers in the game of soccer.

It’s a unifying sport, and it’s one that will never escape their hearts. Their magnetism to soccer has spread to their children as both their boys are massive supporters and also play on local teams in Cumming.

“The argument rages on in our house whether or not the boys will play for the USMNT or the Oranje,” says Allie, who watches them play on fields packed with kids and families every weekend. “It’s amazing to see the amount of interest in the sport, and for us, it was no surprise to see how successful Atlanta United has been.”

Chris can pinpoint exactly when he heard about Atlanta receiving an MLS franchise.

“My friends and I had been wishing for it for a long time before the announcement,” said Chris. “So of course neither of us missed going downtown in 2014 near Centennial Olympic Park to see Arthur Blank fly in on a helicopter and take a picture with the MLS Cup.”

As soon as they could sign up to be a Founding Member, Chris put down four deposits for his family without hesitation.

“We know there is no sport that can unify like soccer, and we want that for our home.”

Chris and Allie attended the Atlanta United launch party in the summer of 2015, and they constantly reminisce on being under the club’s first tifo that revealed the brand’s logo.

“The launch party was unreal, I believe it was 3000 people in that tiny space,” said Chris. “The energy was incredible, and it was another example how the front office just got it right from the start. It really wasn’t a surprise when the name Atlanta United was announced, as every effort from the front office towards the fans has always been to make us part of the process…uniting us.”

Even before the full roster was formed, Allie attended the FIFA World Cup Qualifying match in Florida between USA and Trinidad & Tobago who was captained by none other than Atlanta United’s Kenwyne Jones. As the striker walked through the tunnel, Allie draped her five-striped Founding Member flag over the wall. She caught Jones’s attention immediately, and he stopped to say hi and appreciate her effort.

“I remember him smiling so big when he saw it like he was so proud to be a part of it all,” stated Allie, “and that made me proud to be a founding member!”

The Bartelski’s have been there every step of the way, from the brand launch, to preseason, all the way through the Inaugural match.

“I will never forget being surprised how out of my mind happy and excited I was seeing the team walk on the field in Chattanooga for the first preseason game,” said Chris, “and multiply that many times over the first time they walked on the field in Atlanta.”

The excitement, the hype, the hysteria surrounding the club they say is no less than contagious. After tailgating for the inaugural match, their numbers tripled in size for the next game against Chicago. It’s a club rooting itself in the hearts of Atlantans everywhere.

“Even on the ride down to Bobby Dodd on game days, sitting at the traffic light here in Cumming, you see the five stripes through the car window in the car next to you, and you wave and honk. It feels like the secret that is soccer and the wonderful culture around it is finally out.”

On their property in Cumming, the Bartelskis own a few chickens named after their favorite USMNT and Netherlands national team players. However, a batch of the newly born chicks carry the names of Miggy, Tye, and Martinez in reference to ATL UTD players. For the Bartelski family, Atlanta United is more than a soccer team, and it’s safe to say they have a club they can truly call their own.