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BEHIND THE STRIPES

Dax McCarty

By Atlanta United FC

May 16^th, 2024

Dax McCarty knows what it’s like to play in an MLS Rivalry match.

The Atlanta United midfielder has played for several clubs since being selected No. 6 overall by FC Dallas in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. McCarty made his MLS debut nearly 20 years ago against Chivas USA. Since then, he’s appeared for six different MLS clubs.

So when it comes to MLS rivalries, McCarty knows the stakes.

“The more rivalries that you have, the better off the league will be,” he says. “But you don't want it to be inauthentic. You want it to be organic. You want it to be real. You don't want it to be manufactured. That happens on the field. When rivalries happen on the field, and you can feel that tension and you can feel that hatred, that’s the best.”

Atlanta United kicks off its slate of 2024 rivalry matches against one of McCarty’s former clubs: Nashville SC. The 36-year-old played for Nashville from 2020-2023. It’s the most recent club he played for before signing with Atlanta United in January 2024.

McCarty was a member of the inaugural roster for Nashville SC, which began MLS play in 2020. Heading into Nashville’s debut match, McCarty remembers feeling excitement. The team had a real test against another former expansion club, one that skyrocketed to success and became what he called one of the most important clubs in MLS: Atlanta United.

“It’s hard to admit this but when you're in Nashville, a team that you can look up to and aspire to try to accomplish the success that Atlanta had had tasted already,” he says. “It's funny because the dichotomy between both teams is on the total opposite end of the spectrum in terms of how the teams were built and the hype surrounding the arrival of both teams. That fueled the rivalry even more.”

Both Nashville SC and Atlanta United were MLS expansion teams, but the two Southeast clubs had very different identities. Nashville SC, as McCarty describes, was more blue-collar. The inaugural roster contained mostly American and experienced MLS players. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s first roster in 2017 consisted of Tito Villalba, Miguel Almirón, Leandro González Pírez, Josef Martínez – young, foreign players who’d never played before in MLS but came into the league and lit it on fire.

“I know in Nashville, we took it personally,” McCarty says. “We wanted to prove that there were different ways that you could be successful as an expansion team because the narrative surrounding Nashville was that this team’s going to stink. This team's not going to be competitive in the beginning. As opposed to Atlanta who was absolutely fantastic and a darling of the league the first couple of years in MLS.”

Both Atlanta United and Nashville SC began their journeys playing at different stadiums before their permanent venue was ready. Atlanta United’s first few matches were held at Bobby Dodd Stadium on the campus at Georgia Tech. Before their soccer-specific venue GEODIS Park was built, Nashville SC began MLS play at Nissan Stadium, which is where that first meeting in 2020 took place.

While Atlanta United kicked off its history loud and rowdy, expectations in Nashville were a little more tepid. People weren’t quite sure what to expect with this new soccer team. While Nashville has plenty of sports in the city, the Tennessee Titans in the NFL and the Nashville Predators in hockey, it’s not considered predominantly a sports town. Nashville might be better known as the home of country music and the destination for many bachelorette parties. As McCarty says, “everything in Nashville is a party vibe.”

But the people of Nashville got an immediate taste of what soccer in the South was like, thanks to Atlanta United’s passionate supporters. They showed up to Nissan Stadium on February 29, 2020, loud and rowdy, cheering on their 5-Stripes and showing not just Nashville but the entire country the staunch loyalty and fervent passion of the 17s.

“I have to give credit to the 17s and to the Atlanta fans because I do remember in that game, there were periods where the Atlanta fans made their voice heard,” McCarty remembers. “The Atlanta fans were loud, and they were boisterous. There were significantly less Atlanta fans there, but they were proud, and they made sure that that was known.”

"Playing in front of the 17s makes you want to fight and run and win."

Whatever party vibes Nashville had going into that first match were squashed by Atlanta United. On the pitch, the favor gradually shifted toward the experienced side. Atlanta United came out on top at Nissan Stadium, spoiling the storybook MLS debut for Nashville. Goals from Emerson Hyndman and Ezequiel Barco led the 5-Stripes to a 2-1 road victory.

And so started the Southeast rivalry. Heading into 2024, the series record is split evenly between the two clubs stationed just short of a four-hour drive apart. The series includes some historic moments, including in 2023 when Atlanta United handed Nashville SC their worst loss in club history with a resounding 4-0 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Now a member of Atlanta United, McCarty enters the rivalry with a whole different perspective. Not only is he wearing new colors, which he and his family modeled in our Resurgens collection photo shoot, in 2024 he’ll be lining up with the group he used to want to prove something to. There’s some personal motivation for the 36-year-old as well, a desire to prove his former team wrong, but also a sense of gratitude for that chapter in his career.

“It’s a whole host of emotions and a whole mix of emotions,” he says. “But I think the one overriding theme is that you want to get a leg up and you want to get one up on the team that you were previously on. So, it's more competitive than anything else.”

There’s also a major difference for McCarty this time around. Those boisterous supporters who were cheering against him in 2020 are now the ones that rally behind him.

“They give you that extra boost and give you that confidence to go and be able to play free,” McCarty says. “As an opposing player, it's nerve-wracking. You feel butterflies. You get intimidated. Maybe you don't play as well as you normally would because you're afraid to make a mistake. Then, you come here and you're a player on Atlanta United and it lifts you. It makes you want to fight, run and win. It’s the ultimate compliment I can give to Atlanta United supporters.”

"The dichotomy between both teams is on the total opposite end of the spectrum. That fueled the rivalry even more."

McCarty’s knowledge of sports rivalries goes back even further than his own playing career. Growing up in Orlando, Florida he followed matchups between the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat in the NBA. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and experienced firsthand one of the most storied rivalries in collegiate athletics, Duke-UNC. Even before arriving to MLS, he followed European soccer. As a Manchester United fan during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, there was a high stakes derby to watch on TV every couple of months.

“It’s a huge part of every fan’s life, regardless of what sport you support,” he says. “You always get a little more excited and a little juiced up. There’s always more on the line when it's a rivalry game. That's just a fact. And everyone would agree with that statement.”

“The fact that 500 games have come and gone, it feels like it’s happened in the blink of an eye."

Most recently, McCarty hit a mark reached by very few. In Atlanta United’s match on April 27 against Chicago Fire, another one of his former clubs, McCarty made his 500th appearance in MLS. Only one other field player in MLS history has more appearances than McCarty, which places him right near the apex of MLS history-makers.

Although he never planned to reach such an incredible milestone, the fact that it happened as a member of the 5-Stripes was rewarding. McCarty called the move to Atlanta a “very deliberate and methodical decision,” in his career. He wanted to play for a team where the pressure to win is still high. And now, he’s adding a veteran presence to a group looking to gain an edge in their first rivalry match of the year:

“The fact that 500 games have come and gone, it feels like it's happened in the blink of an eye. It's been 19 years, but it feels like it's been three weeks. That just speaks to how much I've tried to enjoy it and how much fun I've had along the way. That’s not to say there haven't been plenty of downs and frustrations, plenty of tears and sadness, but there's been so much overwhelming happiness, joy, emotion and life experiences that I'll never forget from all these 500 appearances that quite frankly, I wish I could remember more of them. It’s just humility and gratitude and being able to take it one day at a time.”