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Last June, the Tribune ran a story that mentioned the Chicago Fire and the Chicago Cubs were at least discussing the idea of bringing soccer to Wrigley Field for the first time since the Chicago Sting played there in 1984.

Imagine one of the key stone players for a club becoming its General Manager. He would be a decent to good player in the League, and acquire talent that many others would not recognize over a decade after his retirement. Then while the Chicago Fire are in a deep funk with only 4 points in last five and win-less since match day two, he fires the head coach and takes over the coaching reigns?

AP photoBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Some Chicago sports fans need a refresher course that the 1980s were not completely centered on Mike Ditka's 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and the phenomenon of Michael Jordan.
The Chicago Sting was the toast of this city at the start of the decade, winning North American Soccer League crowns in 1981 and 1984.

AP photoBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Some Chicago sports fans need a refresher course that the 1980s were not completely centered on Mike Ditka's 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and the phenomenon of Michael Jordan.
The Chicago Sting was the toast of this city at the start of the decade, winning North American Soccer League crowns in 1981 and 1984.

On June 28, 1981, more than 30,000 sports fans filled Wrigley Field to watch Chicago Sting play New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

As you'll see from the above video, it was a highly entertaining game played in front of a passionate crowd on a hot summer's day in Chicago.

As a self professed comic book nerd I can appreciate the concept of alternate realities and multiple universes. That being said I'm generally not a big fan of sports fiction so this soccer book is a bit of a departure from the other efforts reviewed here. Michael Maddox's "The Ten Shirt" sort of made me feel like I was reading one of the possible alternate reality stories that I encounter after picking up the new weekly stash of reading material on Wednesday afternoons at the local geek store.

Introducing a new Hot Time In Old Town daily segment - Chicago Soccer Smolderings. We revisit some of the hottest stories of the last 24-48 hours and link to some other interesting items you may have missed. If you only have a few minutes to stay up-to-date on the Chicago soccer, check Chicago Soccer Smolderings: Dave Wilson's Daily Links after the break.

Another look back at 1981 courtesy of FireStingDoug:

After losing to the Sounders 1-0 on June 17, the Sting travelled to Portland to face the NASL's version of the Timbers. Powered by goals from Paul Hahn, Pato Margetic, Arno Steffenhagen, and Dave Huson the 4-2 victory ended the team's three game losing streak.

Guest Contributor Dillon Young
This Week in American Soccer History: July 11 1979
The Minnesota Kicks, riding a five game winning streak took on the Chicago Sting in front of 23,073 at the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN. This match, which pitted two of the most high powered offenses in the league, started out slow and was tied 0-0 going into the break.