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BEHIND THE STRIPES

Manuel "Papa" Rosas

By Atlanta United FC

September 24^th, 2026

Manuel Rosas goes by another name at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“It’s funny, they know me as Papa Rosas.”

A nickname he originally got when carpooling his kids and their friends home from school has bled over from his paternal responsibilities into his fandom. Whether he’s at a tailgate or in The Gulch supporting the 5-Stripes, Papa Rosas is hard not to find. He’s everywhere at Supporters events, and he’s all about making people feel at home.

“My culture has always been embracing, has always been welcoming people,” Rosas said. “… Being Mexican and being called that, it's meant to be, because I like to welcome people. I like to make people feel that they belong, and when people don't know what to do, we’re always there to just to show them and make sure that they have a good time.”

Rosas is an all-around Supporter himself, involving himself in any way and bringing a signature welcoming attitude. It’s his defining characteristic, radiating from him in every interaction.

The Tijuana-native Atlanta United Supporter reconnected with his childhood love for soccer through family and through a move to Atlanta that changed his life.

Born in Mexico, Rosas grew up playing and loving soccer like so many others. He lived in Tijuana for the first 34 years of his life before moving to Atlanta.

His family worked in the restaurant industry, and Rosas described literally living in a restaurant during his childhood years.

“I came from school, being in the back rooms of the restaurant doing my homework, having dinner at the restaurant, sleeping in the back rooms in the restaurant, then going home,” Rosas said. “That's what I learned: hospitality, being nice to people, embracing people, welcoming them.”

What was supposed to be a temporary stop in Georgia for two years quickly became two decades. He’s 58 now, and he hasn’t left.

His new version of football fandom started in and around Bobby Dodd Stadium. The tailgating and matchday experience for Atlanta United’s inaugural home match in 2017 hooked Rosas. The stop at The Varsity. The march to the stadium. The noise in the stands that doesn’t stop at the final whistle.

“Every time that you go to a tailgate or to a game, you meet people from everywhere,” Rosas said. “That's the beauty about Atlanta.”

His list of memories as a 5-Stripes Supporter is a lengthy one. Rosas doesn’t immediately gravitate, as many fans do, to the trophies. He actually first recalled a match on the way to a trophy. The Eastern Conference final second leg at Red Bull New York.

Atlanta United lost that match 1-0, though they advanced to the MLS Cup Final 3-1 on aggregate after winning the home leg. But why, of all the great moments in club history, does Rosas recall a loss first?

It’s the commitment to the cause that sticks with him. He and other supporters drove 18 hours nonstop to attend the match, braving freezing temperatures with shirts off, waving in the wind. It’s the connection to the club, as the supporters and the players danced together post-match, celebrating their trip to MLS Cup despite losing the match.

“We sing, we chant on the good ones and on the bad ones. Actually, that's when our team needs us the most,” Rosas said. “Players changes, coaches change, chants change, traditions change, but the only thing that I think will never change is going to be the Supporters. The Supporters will always be there for the team.”

He credits his twin children for bringing him back into football. They’ve been playing since they were four, and that proximity gave Rosas a natural path to dive into the sport once again.

“They had no option but to be football fans,” he said with a smile.

His unwavering support for the 5-Stripes comes from the environment he creates in his home. Through wins and losses, he uplifts and encourages them.

It's not just during their playing careers. Rosas wants to foster within them that love for football that won’t go away. He wants to be able pass down his fandom, so his sons can be going crazy in the stands long after he can’t anymore.

Rosas wears his heart on his sleeve. He admitted he was moved to tears in receiving the opportunity to speak about his heritage and his experience as a Supporter.

“It means a lot because we bring our culture,” Rosas said. “I grew up calling it football. Over here [in Atlanta], it became more than that. It became family … as a Latino community, everybody participates.”

Bringing people into the game has become a lifelong project for Papa Rosas. He knows the Latin American community isn’t short on passion.

“They're going to come at 120 percent, and that's what we bring,” Rosas said. “Mexicans, Argentinians, Colombians, Venezuelans, everybody that you see in the tailgates.”

Atlanta United’s Somos Atlanta match October 10 will be another installment of an annual tradition. Rosas will be there cheering like usual, and the club will mark the evening with special celebrations centered around the beautiful game.

“I would call it a sanctuary because I go to the game to relieve all my stress from my daily work, from my daily commute,” Rosas said. “I go to the game and say, ‘Okay, I feel at home.’ I don't know the person that is going to be next to me or in front of me, but it's so amazing to be there and know that you are in a place where everybody in the whole stadium, we are there for one reason. We are there for Atlanta United.”