JoeW
20 Dec 2003, 03:45 PM
There's a thread in the Chicago Fire Boards looking at the Fire's organization. I've copied a response from Peter Wilt to a post I had in that thread. I think Peter Wilt's comment in the body of his message about DC United is informative. And that Peter Wilt is so active on the Chicago Board's also says something as well.
quote:
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Originally posted by JoeW
...I think THE story of the Fire is how everyone contributes to form a real class organization. Very good fans and a kick-butt supporters group. Classy, prepared coaches (first Bradley, than Sarachan). Open GM who is knowledgable and operates with integrity (at least as much as possible within pro sports). Good infrastructure within the team itself. Players (first like Nowak who berates his teammates for not showing more love for the fans and leaves it all on the field every match, on and on to now Armas) who are more than just good players. It would be a mistake to say it's all due to Wilt. He's a big "difference maker" but the lesson about the Fire is how critical the entire organization is to success.
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Right on Joe. Couple comments...all this love is wonderful and all - and appreciated - but at the same time, we've only won one MLS Cup in six years and we're still middle of the pack in attendance even though we're in a major market. The successes we have had - regularly competing for championships, good branding of the team, good sponsorship revenue and TOTAL ticket revenue, good atmosphere at games, creating an emotional attachment with fans and the community, establishing integrity, honesty and pride as hallmarks and creating a successful charitable arm -are all directly attributable to hiring talented people, who work hard and have good character. That goes for the teams on and off the field. When we started, i did three smart things:
1) Visited every MLS team and every MLS League department and learned what worked and what didn't work. Most of the former was from D.C. United. Learning the latter may have been just as important, though.
2) Hired young, passionate, talented people with good character, most of whom already cared about soccer. People like Steve Pastorino, Dan Garnett, Ron Stern, Vince Formanek, Diana Lopez, and Trent Sheridan have been with the Fire since the beginning and continue to be tremendous leaders in their areas of responsibility. More than half of the Fire's original staff from 1997 remains - a remarkable accomplishment for a sports organization and one that i am particularly proud of. We hired young at the beginning and encouraged and demonstrated promotion from within. On the field, the seamless transition from Bob to Dave reflects positively on Denis, Daryl and Tommy, the team staff led by Ron Stern as well as Bob and Dave themselves.
3) Established key partnerships/relationships. Whether formal or not, we spent much of the latter half of 1997 knocking on doors, talking on the phone and meeting with key representatives who we knew we would rely on in the future: media, government, corporations, soccer associations, clubs and facilities and fans and fan groups. The TV and print advertising assault we launched October 9, 1997 was a part of this strategy and was a very worthwhile investment as it established the Fire's brand and created instant awareness.
Thanks again for all your kind words that reflect appropriately on the Fire's staff.
Happy Holidays,
peter
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by JoeW
...I think THE story of the Fire is how everyone contributes to form a real class organization. Very good fans and a kick-butt supporters group. Classy, prepared coaches (first Bradley, than Sarachan). Open GM who is knowledgable and operates with integrity (at least as much as possible within pro sports). Good infrastructure within the team itself. Players (first like Nowak who berates his teammates for not showing more love for the fans and leaves it all on the field every match, on and on to now Armas) who are more than just good players. It would be a mistake to say it's all due to Wilt. He's a big "difference maker" but the lesson about the Fire is how critical the entire organization is to success.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right on Joe. Couple comments...all this love is wonderful and all - and appreciated - but at the same time, we've only won one MLS Cup in six years and we're still middle of the pack in attendance even though we're in a major market. The successes we have had - regularly competing for championships, good branding of the team, good sponsorship revenue and TOTAL ticket revenue, good atmosphere at games, creating an emotional attachment with fans and the community, establishing integrity, honesty and pride as hallmarks and creating a successful charitable arm -are all directly attributable to hiring talented people, who work hard and have good character. That goes for the teams on and off the field. When we started, i did three smart things:
1) Visited every MLS team and every MLS League department and learned what worked and what didn't work. Most of the former was from D.C. United. Learning the latter may have been just as important, though.
2) Hired young, passionate, talented people with good character, most of whom already cared about soccer. People like Steve Pastorino, Dan Garnett, Ron Stern, Vince Formanek, Diana Lopez, and Trent Sheridan have been with the Fire since the beginning and continue to be tremendous leaders in their areas of responsibility. More than half of the Fire's original staff from 1997 remains - a remarkable accomplishment for a sports organization and one that i am particularly proud of. We hired young at the beginning and encouraged and demonstrated promotion from within. On the field, the seamless transition from Bob to Dave reflects positively on Denis, Daryl and Tommy, the team staff led by Ron Stern as well as Bob and Dave themselves.
3) Established key partnerships/relationships. Whether formal or not, we spent much of the latter half of 1997 knocking on doors, talking on the phone and meeting with key representatives who we knew we would rely on in the future: media, government, corporations, soccer associations, clubs and facilities and fans and fan groups. The TV and print advertising assault we launched October 9, 1997 was a part of this strategy and was a very worthwhile investment as it established the Fire's brand and created instant awareness.
Thanks again for all your kind words that reflect appropriately on the Fire's staff.
Happy Holidays,
peter