Darren Eales is now a podcaster

Just what the world needed: another Atlanta United podcast! Except, instead of your cousin Brian and his friend from work who hated soccer until June 2018 starting one called Five Stripes Forever or some such, it’s Atlanta United themselves offering their own spin.

Club president Darren Eales put out his first teaser tweet in a while on Tuesday night filled with dolphins. Unlike most of his cryptic tweets, the internet soon deciphered the hint meant a “pod” was in our future.

A few hours later and “Spiked Up” was officially released onto the world. It’s a brand new podcast presented by the club. It is hosted by the man himself, Darren Eales, alongside the team’s Director of Digital Media, Matt Moore.

I rather enjoyed the first episode where Darren and Matt shed some light on what life is like for them during the COVID-19 pandemic. One interesting story that is told during the 33-minute first offering is how the team dealt with their trip to Mexico right in the middle of the coronavirus panic kicking off here in the United States.

While the first episode doesn’t feature a ton in news or revealing aspects of the club, it offers a glimpse of what is possible for this project. Both Darren and Matt are engaging to listen to. It’s also very helpful to hear how they both struggle with day-to-day decisions and tasks during this uncertain time just like us normal folks do, even if it’s under a different scope.

I’m looking forward to the possibilities that Spiked Up offers. Darren is one of the more personable people in the Atlanta United world and it will be great to hear from him on a weekly basis. Also, Matt seems like a nice guy and I look forward to getting to know him. In a world where everyone and their cousin has a podcast, it’ll be nice to have the chance to check in regularly on the team we love from as close of a source as possible.