New York City Football Club host Atlanta United on Saturday.
For this edition of 'The Away End' presented by Berkeley College & Rennert International, we spoke to Glenn Peison, a member of the Five Takes On The Five Stripes podcast.
Hi Glenn, thanks for speaking with us. How long have you been covering Atlanta United?
Our show started in 2020 (perfect timing). We just added another host this year meaning it’s myself, Cristen, and Jennifer. We also cover our unified team, and we will be covering the She Believes Cup. We also have a side show called 5Aside where we cover five topics apart from the most recent Atlanta United match and those topics can and often are unrelated to the footie.
What has been your highlight in that time?
It’s hard to pick but I’ll say doing our supporter group shows where we highlighted our supporter group culture and the history of supporter groups and culture in general.
What were your thoughts on the 2023 season?
It was a get-right season. We had a lot of bad contracts that we needed to get off the books. After the summer window, we started to see the vision for this team going forward but there was a lot of pain along the way.
What are your hopes for the 2024 season?
A top-four finish and making it to a semi-final or Conference Final in at least one of the three competitions.
What do you think will be the deciding factor in Saturday's game?
We just need to replicate what we do at home on the road. We’re out of excuses for our lack of road results. In truth, it’s not a home game for either team (kidding) so we need to come out hot and set the tone early and utilize our strength on the wings even though there’s not as much space to exploit.
And for any fans that might be in Atlanta for a game soon are there any spots you'd suggest they check out?
Well, the stadium is world class so you’ll have a great experience there with fan-friendly prices too. We’ve got great breweries to check out all across the city.
Wild Leap which is right by the Benz is a great spot. Hit up EAV and or take a stroll on the BeltLine for even more great eats, drinks, and art. The Battery is also pretty dope, even if you’re not a baseball fan - although it is a little more difficult to get to since we still don’t have a rail line that goes up that way.
