If you walk to the back of the Ink & Dagger tattoo parlor in Roswell – past the red and black car parked outside and past the various oddities lining the studio’s walls – you’ll find Eddie Stacey and his one-of-a-kind machine. Matching the Atlanta United flag on the wall and the kit on his back, Eddie’s custom red, black and gold tattoo gun is his tool of choice.
“It took us about four tries to get the colors exactly right,” Eddie says. “I’ve had tattooers ask if they can buy it from me."
"There’s only one in the world like that and it’s just never going to leave my tool chest.”
As his attire may suggest, Eddie is a Founding Member who locked down his spot in the inaugural season years before the first kick. But his love of soccer ignited well before that.
“The first thing I can remember was hearing about Pele in the 70’s,” he says. “I was young at the time and when he came to the U.S., he did the Tonight Show and stuff like that so there was a little bit of a fervor about him.”
What began with a spark turned into a life-long love, even as college recruiters pulled him to other sports.
“I went to college to play baseball but my heart stayed on the pitch. You fall in love with the sport before you can even realize why, it just feels right."
"It’s the game that was most like life; a lot of preparation and work for one goal, and sometimes that goal would not even be achieved. To me it was way more epic than a barrage of scoring.”
In a way, Eddie’s story isn’t unique in Atlanta. He loved the beautiful game – with the European powerhouses keeping him hooked as a fan – but wanted a team to call his own. Then Atlanta United went from rumor to reality.
“I liked other teams before Atlanta United existed but I didn’t fully understand that fandom until I had a hometown club."
"I remember my wife called to tell me about the club’s announcement. It may sound crazy but that was one of the best phone calls of my life, on the level of when I found out we were having another kid. From that point on, we’ve been true partners in this. She’s just as diehard as I am.”
Since the first match, Eddie’s been a mainstay in the record-breaking sea of red, black and gold at Atlanta United matches. He says the team is changing what it feels like to be a sports fan in the capital of the South.
“This is a religion to us. A lot of sports will say that, but to us it’s a religion in a way that we congregate together, and we enjoy this together."
"I’ve been to many baseball or football games and it’s kind of autonomous. When you’re at a United game, we’re in it together. You can feel that energy that you only get when a large group of people are like-minded.”
Now Eddie’s trying to combine his two loves: ink and the Five Stripes.
“I’ve only done one Atlanta United tattoo, hopefully there’s a lot more. I did a tattoo on Anton Walkes, which I think by proxy is a United tattoo. But there are a lot of designs that I’d like to do, so I’m hoping that as this progresses that I can do a lot more of that.”
Eddie knows there’s still plenty of time to grow his Atlanta United tattoo collection. Because as unforgettable as the team’s inaugural season was, it’s just the beginning of something special.
“What the club has with the fans right now, I don’t think that’s shakeable. You look at the people in our stands, these are not fly-by-night people, these are people who have been waiting decades for this. The club’s done so many things right, and things that were outside of what most of us predicted."
"So at this point, I don’t know where we’re headed, but I trust I’m going to love it when we get there.”
© 2026 Atlanta United FC
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