The Fire’s return to the city can be a major moment for Chicago soccer. But, to Waguespack, there’s some things the team must do to maximize the impact.
In some ways, he sounds like a typical Fire fan.
He has questions about the deployment of Bastian Schweinsteiger and wonders why goalkeeper David Ousted isn’t playing. He even has the club’s #cf97 hashtag on his Twitter profile, looks back fondly on the franchise’s prior successes, and is frustrated by the dips from those bygone trophy-winning days.
However, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd ward) isn’t like all Fire supporters.
Unlike most other fans, Waguespack is an elected official who can get the ear of the mayor’s office. He said he’s talked to Lori Lightfoot’s staff about the stadium issue if and when the team goes back to Chicago, and the development of Fire community and grassroots programs.
“We’re working hard to help them on the community, to build up the community support in the city again,” Waguespack said, “which will go a long way to creating new players, just being good community partners.”
Serving as the chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee, Waguespack could eventually play a role in future developments surrounding a permanent home for the Fire, though he said he’s not heavily involved in the planning portion of any potential shift from Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium. He said he’s been in contact with the team about building soccer pitches in neighborhoods, and knows the Fire are trying to partner with the city.
It goes without saying that Waguespack, whose lives in Bucktown, favors a move back to Soldier Field where the Fire spent most of their existence from 1998-2006.
“I look back to the days when we played at Soldier Field, we used to bike down there and go there after work,” Waguespack said. “A lot of people did, so I think a lot of us are kind of looking forward to using public transportation again to go to either Soldier Field or wherever the next spot’s going to be.”
The Fire’s return to the city can be a major moment for Chicago soccer. But, to Waguespack, there’s some things the team must do to maximize the impact.
He wants them to reach out to the “different communities that were part of it” in the late 90s. There must also be a commitment to the tradition of winning, and a tribute to fans who have gone through a decade of poor results.
“We’re working in each one of our schools to see what kind of buildup we can do with the Fire to get new fans into the realm of the Fire, so I think that’s going to help,” he said. “You’ve got a bigger population in the city to do that.
“But if you don’t come in and you kind of change those ways to, it’s not that the management’s not interested in winning, but what steps are they going to take to just commit to the fans that they’re ready to sign the right kind of players and really focus on building around a young team that maybe will be competitive for five or 10 years to go.”
