After winning the #ATLUTDFM social media contest, Atlanta United Founding Member, Larry Luk (Left), and his friend, Michael DiCristina(Right), traveled to Jacksonville, Florida to attend the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Trinidad & Tobago.
Originally from Texas, Larry moved to Atlanta in 1999, and as a sports fanatic, Larry adopted all the Atlanta teams as his own. He attends Hawks, Braves, and Falcons games quite frequently, but when the opportunity arose to be part of a professional sports franchise from the ground level, he didn’t hesitate. Becoming a Founding Member of Atlanta United was the top priority.
Larry was also present at the club's brand reveal event where Atlanta United released both its name and logo. There, he found himself under the very first Atlanta United tifo and said it was an absolutely incredible experience.
The #ATLUTDFM contest began last month, when all Atlanta United Founding Members received special Founding Member flags and were asked to share an image with their flag on social using the hashtag to enter the contest. Finalists were then randomly chosen, and the picture with the most votes (shares on Facebook and retweets on Twitter) would ultimately win tickets to the match.
Larry won the contest with his picture above.
“I do social media as part of my job, so I told myself: if I’m going to do this, I better win. So I hit up all my friends and family to retweet and share, and it worked out! I’ve never really won anything, so I was so pumped!”
In Jacksonville, some of our Atlanta United staff met up with Larry and his guest to supply them with gear to represent the club in Jacksonville:
When asked about predictions for the game, Larry mentioned that he would love to see a 2-1 USA win with the opposing goal being scored by Atlanta United’s own Kenwyne Jones.
“I went to the USA vs Jamaica Gold Cup match last year with the American Outlaws and it was a crazy atmosphere, but unfortunately we didn’t win. So I didn’t get to feel what that feels like.”
“I’ve never been to the World Cup, and I don’t know that I will anytime soon. So this is the closest experience I can get to that. It’s cool to think about it in that way, knowing that this is a meaningful match that will lead to something bigger.”
Larry also noted two particular reasons why he loved his seats at the match:
“It’s the closest I’ve ever sat to see team USA, we were so close to the players it was unreal!”
“That’s pretty much where my seats are going to be in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, so it was so cool to get that perspective. I was totally picturing what it’s going to look like and feel like in the new stadium next year!”
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