Trae Young had a pretty nice angle of Giorgos Giakoumakis's second goal of the season.
It happened in the seventh minute against New York Red Bulls. The striker pounced on a rebound right in front of goal, slamming it home to send the 43,511 supporters at Mercedes-Benz Stadium into a frenzy. Although it arrived early, the goal ended up being the game-winner and was the difference in Atlanta United securing their first-ever regular season win over the Red Bulls.
Young, point guard for the neighboring Atlanta Hawks, was in attendance for the Atlanta United match against Red Bulls on Saturday, April 1. And his seat for the match was right behind the goal where Giakoumakis scored.
But Young wasn't just a passionate supporter Saturday. Young was also the Golden Spike hitter before the match. The cool point guard climbed up to the capo stand welcomed by cheers from fellow Atlantans in attendance who no doubt know his name. After he hit the Spike, the Hawks point guard waved his arms and pumped up the crowd just like he does on game days at State Farm Arena.
"It's a really good crowd," Young said. "It's always a great crowd. I mean, they show a lot of love and support to the city. I mean, you see that it's a lot of love to them. So, it's great to see."
Saturday marked the second time Young hit the Golden Spike for an Atlanta United match, the last time being his rookie season. The moment brought together two of Atlanta's major professional sports teams. For Young, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks fifth overall then traded to the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA Draft, he knows what it means to play a big part of the culture of Atlanta, especially as we celebrate 404 Day.
"Sports is all about culture," Young said. "Atlanta embraces every sport. We're fortunate to have a lot of sports in our city. Not every city gets that opportunity. So, I think the city really embraces that and accepts that it's big part of our culture, for sure."
Although he has a deep appreciation for soccer, and was really dialed into the match, his focus remains squarely on basketball. On the court, Young is trying to lead the Hawks to a postseason run. The Atlanta Hawks are currently slated to be in the play-in tournament. So with the NBA Playoffs looming, the All-NBA third team member will continue to watch and appreciate Atlanta United's season while he works to give Atlanta basketball fans something to cheer about this summer.
"I've got a lot friends who are good at it [soccer]," he said. "I've been to a few games overseas and just became a big fan of it. I've never been really good at it, so it's hard for me to love something I'm not good at. And I'm just a fan of some of these guys that are really good at it."
