When it finally happened, when Randall Leal’s historic goal arrived and GEODIS Park was able to erupt like never before, the Nashville SC players raced to the corner flag to savor and celebrate together with their elated fans.

Not midfielder Alex Muyl, however.

He grabbed the ball and brought it back to midfield, where he started to wave to both teams to hurry back and kick it back in the dying minutes of the game.

Only one thing was missing from that sunny, spectacular Sunday afternoon in Nashville sports history, and Muyl knew what it was.

A whole stadium too.

“Wonderful sidekick. Wonderful game,” said Nashville SC coach Gary Smith. “The only missing piece was a win.”

The goal:Check out Nashville SC’s first goal inside GEODIS Park in the team’s first game at the new stadium

The food:Geodis Park food vendors: Ranking, reaction to 6 concessions at new Nashville SC stadium

The parking:Don’t have a Nashville SC stadium parking pass? Here is where to park around GEODIS Park

Normally, it wouldn’t have been disappointing to draw 1-1 with the Philadelphia Union, one of the best teams in Major League Soccer. That day, however, it was.

Because today – GEODIS Park’s first day to host a football game – was so much more monumental than the game itself. Over 30,000 fans crammed into this beautiful new stadium, and they enjoyed it. They hung on every minute. They’ve officially started a new chapter in Nashville SC’s history, one with more support and more fans and gasped anticipation for what’s to come at the fairgrounds if those kind of passionate crowds keep showing up. .

“Having been in really good environments,” Smith said, “it was as good as anywhere I’ve been.”

As Muyl’s urgency indicated, the team’s response has been to provide the kind of relentless effort and emptying the tank you’ll rarely see in a Major League Soccer game early in the season.

“We weren’t happy with the tie,” Muyl said. And after Leal’s penalty equalizer, the final moments were an unsuccessful frenzy near goalkeeper Andre Blake’s goal. Philly held on, however, and at the final whistle many of the golden players fell to the ground, exhausted, as if they had just been knocked out of the World Cup. They had spent it all.

After:After the opening of Geodis Park, Nashville SC can finally breathe

Unless they win, Nashville SC players usually don’t stay on the field after games and shake hands and sing the team anthem – “Never Give Up On You” – with the fans. This time they did.

“I think if we had lost we would have done it,” Muyl said. “It was just to say thank you to them and kind of wrap up this wild moment. I’ve never experienced this before, and I don’t think a lot of people have.

He is right. Me niether.

I knew it would be fun to host a brand new stadium, although there would definitely be construction issues. At halftime, for example, Nashville SC’s announce team of Tony Husband and Jamie Watson found themselves accidentally locked out of their radio booth and had to be reinstated. Things like that will be ironed out.

But in the lobby, I noticed a strange phenomenon once the fans started arriving before the game, a phenomenon that I believe underlined the importance of all of this for Nashville SC.

Rather than queuing en masse for pizza or beer, they flocked to Nashville SC’s team stores, three of which are located in the corners of the stadium and another near midfield.

Nothing special about these stores, really. Just your typical assortment of jerseys, hats and t-shirts or something for the kids. If you need a Nashville SC onesie or bib or a small version of Team Tempo’s coyote mascot, this is where you’d go.

But man, I couldn’t believe those lines. A few minutes after the doors opened, they were well spread out in the hall. Just to walk through the door.

You won’t often see such intense demand for merchandise in Titans or Preds games, but there are good reasons. Fans have a lot of gear for these teams. They were buying Nashville SC clothes because they didn’t have enough and wanted more.

That’s what a new stadium does. This was just a small example of how the arrival of GEODIS Park is sure to expand Nashville SC’s fan base – and in some ways create a new one.

This club already had its irreducible. They are dedicated and passionate and certainly have been in those two MLS seasons at Nissan Stadium. If this club decided to play in a park, I have no doubt these people would be there, waving flags.

Leal’s goal on Sunday was in front of those supporters. I liked that. They would dig the most.

But all this was not necessarily for them. They didn’t need the lure of a gorgeous new stadium to pay attention to Nashville SC. Many others, however, needed it. I’m talking about those who love football but paid little attention to the pre-GEODIS era of this club.

Nashvillians aren’t always eager to get into the next hot thing, which Nashville SC is far more likely to become at GEODIS Park than it ever was when sharing Nissan Stadium with the Titans.

A victory would have made this wonderful day even better, but it was more than enough.

“It’s not a fairy tale,” Smith said, “but it was, I thought, an amazing atmosphere and a wonderful game.”

And only one of many to come to this stadium.

Contact Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.