There was never any USOC Championship merchandise after the '98 or '00 cup wins, but Puma has treated us fantastically compared to what Nike did. Am I hoping for too much in a USOC Champs t-shirt? Puma did make that great Section 8 shirt, why not this? Would anyone buy this?
Don't know about USOC stuff, but I've been told that there will be a 2003 MLS Eastern Division/Conference Champions t-shirt coming down the pike soon. Probably not by this weekend, but by the first playoff match for sure. It should show up on the FireGear site when it's ready and they should also have them at the stadium and at 980 N Michigan.
Now that seems dumb to me. Do very many people ever buy that kind of intra-league top division finisher stuff? Why would the Fire make a shirt for that and NOT for a real championship? 10 years from now, will anyone gloat over our Eastern Conference crown or our USOC win? I think the latter is far more likely.
If memory serves, for the last three divisional crowns that the fire has won, they had commemorative t-shirts and sold them out before everyone who wanted one could get one. Part of the "why one and not the other" may have to do with the fact that the divisional/conference championship thing is MLS and the Fire are MLS so that any licensing issues do not become a problem, whereas for the Open Cup, that "belongs" to USSF and those kind of issues may be a much bigger problem. (And considering USSF's demonstrated "expertise" in selecting championship final sites and the like, one might suspect that attempting to arrange something mutually beneficial with them might be a bit of a challenge.)
Anyone wanna buy some commemorative "Metrostars actually made it to a Cup final" t-shirts? only $15.....
Weren't the FIRE wearing USOC Champs t-shirts (along with dope Puma knit hats) after their victory? Of course, seeing as the USOC provided it they probably just printed 25 w/o team names on them then deducted the cost of the t's from the Fire's winning paycheck.
Actually, those were not "official Nike issued shirts" and therefore we'll never see those again. Hooray USSF, very classy.
Ya know... I have to walk past the house of Chicago/FIRE disrespect (18th and Prarie) to every home game now. No USA games at Soldier since...I don't know when. The Open Cup debacle..Lackluster promotion...bad TV deals....What is going on there?? I feel like Jeffery Wygan in "The Insider" when he is in the hotel room, near suicidal, staring at the floor of the Brown and Williamson tobbaco company that houses the legal department, and he mutters into the phone, "That is where they [mess] with my life."
Word has it the Fed is moving to the Home Depot Center so you won't have to be taunted - or taunt them - by Soccer House much longer. As for an Open Cup winners shirt, I'd buy one from afar just to be supportive. (Plus all my DCU championship shirts are getting a wee bit tattered and it doesn't look like a knew one will be getting printed anytime soon.)
If this come true it would be good for Chicago. Currently their expense account used would only read: one taxi ride from Soccer House to new SF and back $10 rather than: one plane, nights in hotels with all meals paid $3000. Chicago soccer crowds priceless !!!
No. Just US National team operations, and they mostly already have. the bulk of the fed will remain here for the foreseeable future.
We're still waiting on our cup winner T-shirts in Columbus. Maybe I'll buy a Chicago one, since I'll never get a 2002 winners shirt. Crew merchandise sucks. www.chicagofiregear.com is great, though. Wish we had the management/support like your club does.
Now that I think about it, we might need printing on both sides in order to list all the accomplishments this season...
"We’ve got one more to go, and that’s the biggest one," Beasley said. "Nobody will remember who won the Eastern Conference or the Supporters Shield after this year if we don’t win MLS Cup."