Have you ever had a nightmare that seemed so real that it took every fiber of your being to regain consciousness, only to have the relief that it was just a dream wash over you? Then imagine what MLS commissioner Don Garber and the folks at MLS headquarters are experiencing right now. Except in their case, there’s no waking up from their worst-case MLS Cup playoff scenario.

Inter Miami and its group of stars – including Lionel Messi – were eliminated in the postseason by Atlanta United 3-2; their chances of a Supporters Shield and MLS Cup doubled in dust due to a heroic effort on all fronts from the Five Stripes.

In December there are no options to party in South Beach, Miami Beach or even Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The chances of attracting celebrities to the competition’s signature event have been greatly reduced now that the chances of Messi gracing the event are slim to none (although if Los Angeles ends up hosting the final, that will soften the sting a bit). And more importantly, viewership for the remainder of the playoffs on Apple TV will undoubtedly take a huge hit, given the crater-like hole Miami’s elimination has created.

When asked what Miami’s locker room looked like after the game, manager Tata Martino said: “Sad… as you should be when there are so many expectations and the team can’t live up to them. Adjusting in this last part of the year We are working on achieving the goals we set for ourselves, and we have failed to achieve the most important ones.”

But the credit goes to Atlanta. The Five Stripes deserved their victory and were in no way intimidated by their opponents. They are now playing with a truckload of house money.

Just how big was an “MLSCupset”? The fact that the Supporters Shield winners were ousted is not that unusual in the MLS postseason. Only four teams have managed a Shield/MLS Cup double in the last twenty years. Nuisance is also common. The Eastern Conference competition has been blown wide open this year, also eliminating second-seeded Columbus Crew and third-seeded FC Cincinnati.

That said, Atlanta’s triumph is by far the biggest upset in MLS postseason history. The Five Stripes brought over two of their biggest stars mid-season: Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis. They barely made it into the play-offs on the last day of the regular season thanks to a 2-1 win over Orlando – the opponent in the next round – in combination with losses to Philadelphia Union and DC United. This allowed Atlanta to finish ninth in the 15-team Eastern Conference, a whopping 34 points behind Messi. Atlanta then had to survive a penalty shootout in the play-in round against CF Montreal. They had virtually no chance to get past Miami, with its star-studded cast and home field advantage during the playoffs.

Everything seemed to go according to plan in Game 1, as Miami prevailed 2-1 at home. But Atlanta’s 2-1 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last Saturday, thanks to a late winner from Xande Silva, kept them alive and then they finished the job in Ft. Lauderdale thanks to a pair of goals from Jamal Thiaré, fantastic goalkeeping from Brad Guzan and a 76th minute winner from Bartosz Slisz.

All of this was accomplished under the leadership of interim manager Rob Valentino, who in post-match interviews projected an atmosphere similar to that of a young Bob Bradley, complete with a stony face and bald head. If Atlanta goes in a different direction for its long-time manager, Valentino needs to make sure his phone is on and fully charged. Given the way he has revived Atlanta’s season, some team will undoubtedly show interest.

As for Saturday’s festivities, how exactly did Atlanta pull this off?

“Grinding, believing, resilience. I don’t know,” Guzan told Apple TV. “There’s some fairy dust in our locker room, man. And I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”

Valentino added: “You can see the emotion in the players. We have ownership there, everyone. There have been difficult times in the club and I’m happy that everyone gets a little bit of joy. But I hope we’re not ready yet.”

Miami is done, and in some ways they have only themselves to blame. The team’s defense has been suspect all season; Only once in the last twenty years has a Supporters Shield winner conceded more goals than the 49 goals allowed by the Herons. (That was Seattle’s 50 in 2014.)

But Miami was usually able to bury teams with an avalanche of creativity, led by the likes of Messi and Luis Suárez. Not this time, despite Matías Rojas putting Miami ahead in the 17th minute, when Thiaré put Atlanta in the lead with a pair of goals in the space of two minutes, and Miami knew it was in for a battle.

There also appeared to be something deeper at work. After claiming an MLS record 74 points in the regular season, the Herons seemed to struggle to realize that this in itself was not enough to be crowned league champions. Instead, it had to endure the hard work of a postseason. Intuitive for someone from Europe? No. But in the MLS it is a reality. Miami seemed unable to accept this.

“This format seems a little unfair to me,” Miami defenseman Jordi Alba said. “Obviously it’s been done this way for years, but if you ask me, I think if it were up to me, I’d want the champion of one conference against the champion of the other. It’s so fair possible.”

On the pitch, Miami’s composure began to shake as Suarez continued to repeat his old black art antics. Even as Messi leveled the match at 2-2 with a header in the 65th minute, Leo Campana pushed goalkeeper Guzan into his own goal in the aftermath. Miami played on the edge, but Atlanta had no qualms about putting up a street fight.

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Atlanta scores 2 goals in 2 minutes to take the lead against Inter Miami

Atlanta’s Jamal Thiaré scores a pair of goals to give United the lead over Inter Miami.

The capper came on Slisz’s game winner. With Miami defenseman Tomás Avilés out with an apparent injury, the rest of the Miami players switched off, assuming that Atlanta or the referee would stop the game. — Martino said afterward that Miami had done just that during Game 2 in Atlanta — but that kind of professional courtesy, once common, is no longer a given today. The old adage of playing the whistle was ignored. Atlanta pressed on, as is their right, and with Miami’s defenders half-asleep, Slisz’s thumping header from Pedro Amador’s cross easily beat Drake Callender.

What bordered on ironic overload was the fact that two of the main architects of Atlanta’s win were a pair of lunch bucket guys, long-time MLS veterans in midfielder Dax McCarty and Guzan. McCarty, who recently announced he would retire at the end of the season, assisted on both of Thiaré’s goals and ran the show in midfield until fatigue set in in the 60th minute. In fact, Atlanta looked a little wobbly in the minutes after leaving the game. Guzan made seven saves, some of the spectacular variations that drove Suarez crazy. It’s a reminder that despite all the stars like Messi and Suarez in the league, winning an MLS Cup still requires some local knowledge.

Then Guzan hugged everyone he saw; McCarty settled for his two children. Martino and the Miami players had to rue a missed opportunity.

“The comparison of the last match of last season, in October, with today’s third match in the play-offs and the bitterness we all have because we did not succeed, it is clear that the club’s objectives have been adjusted and I I don’t think there’s any reason for it.” the club not to continue trying next year,” the Miami manager said. “What has happened this year, the bad and the good in general has been better than anything that happened last year and I would say the club has done that even from the beginning.”

That’s a generous reading of the situation, considering Miami fell short despite high expectations. There’s something else to think about: Messi only has one year left on his contract. While he could always extend his contract, the clock is ticking not only on Messi’s time in South Florida, but also on the league’s ability to capitalize on his presence.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s championship dreams are still very much alive.