When The 12th writes about football, we try to do so through the lens of it being The People's Game. This sometimes requires a shift in focus. The sport has come a long way from its roots as a tool of conflict resolution in the English working class. Today, much of the infrastructure for professional soccer is dominated by the super wealthy, and much of the media coverage centers on business and on-field tactics.
But for most of the sport's lifespan, everyday people have understood it to be a universal language; more akin to music or mathematics than business. Football, in this telling, is just another lens through which to live life, build community, and imagine a new way of being. At its best, the game teaches us that it's possible to both shine as an individual and to place the interests of the many over the few.
In our stories following The People's Game, you can expect portraits of the people who make up this community - immigrants, families, and grassroots efforts to grow new clubs; all the people who make Atlanta's soccer scene such a vibrant place to be.
Read the latest in our series on The People's Game below.
'Can't even describe how I feel': a journey through the game with my son Dylan
by Timothy Pratt
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Amateur Soccer Steps Up in ATL
Promotion/relegation adds to growing scene.
by Paul Glaze