So what did I spend today doing? Bringing the rest of you up to snuff. First I had to correct Wilt
on when Columbus Crew Stadium was built and how much it cost in his "Top 20 MLS Stadia" post (it
was completed in 1999 at a reported cost of around $27 million [Ed. Although Wikipedia says $28.5
mil]).
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WVHooligan 04 November @ 08:11 PM EST
Will we see more of Conor Casey with the US National Team? (Getty Images)
Good evening folks, I hope everyone is having a good day. Now that we are in the evening it is
time once again for some links and thoughts. I only have two items tonight and really only one
link.
My first thought of the night centers around the US Men's National team and their upcoming
friendlies this month in Europe.
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WVHooligan 02 November @ 07:51 PM EST
Empty stands were a common sight at Pizza Hut Park this year. (Getty Images)
I hope everyone is getting use to the longer days again after the time change this weekend.
Nothing like getting darker a bit earlier again here but that's just how it goes. I have a few
goodies to discuss tonight leading off with a big time look at something former Chicago Fire GM
Peter Wilt sent Alexi Lalas a few years back.
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Last night, the Chicago Fire made their latest induction into the club's Ring of Fire, which
acknowledges heroes of the team's history. Added last night was Chris Armas, joining Bob Bradley,
Piotr Nowak, Lubos Kubik, Frank Klopas and Pitch Invasion's own Peter Wilt in the Ring. Despite
the pouring rain all night, Fire supporters, including myself, stayed in the stands to recognise
Chris at an excellent half-time ceremony, midway through a critical game that eventually saw the
Fire reach the MLS playoffs after a 1-0 win over Chivas USA.
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Not the most intense game, but the Fire got the "W" and that is what counts! Playoff
bound!
Wish I could have seen the halftime event where Chris Armas was named to the Fire's Hall of
Fame, the "Ring of Fire". Thankfully Peter Wilt, the Fire's former GM and member of the "Ring of
Fire", was posting some great pics on his Twitter feed!
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Peter Wilt started his soccer management career with the Milwaukee Wave as director of marketing
in 1987. 22 years later he has found himself back where it all started after working with the
Chicago Power, Continental Indoor Soccer League, Minnesota Thunder, Chicago Fire, Milwaukee
Professional Soccer and the Chicago Red Stars.
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Peter Wilt started his soccer management career with the Milwaukee Wave as director of marketing
in 1987. 22 years later he has found himself back where it all started after working with the
Chicago Power, Continental Indoor Soccer League, Minnesota Thunder, Chicago Fire, Milwaukee
Professional Soccer and the Chicago Red Stars.
Click to continue reading...
McHenry, Ill., native Peter Wilt officially was introduced by the Milwaukee Wave as the team's new
president and CEO on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Wilt still will maintain several roles with the
Chicago Red Stars, where he had been the team's president and CEO.
Here are some useful links:
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New boss wants Wave to reach out
• OnMilwaukee.
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Peter Wilt's commute just got a lot shorter. The longtime soccer executive and Whitefish Bay...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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• Chicago Red Stars president and CEO Peter Wilt is joining the Milwaukee Wave of the National
Indoor Soccer League in a similar capacity. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first posted the news
Tuesday morning. The McHenry, Ill., native and former Chicago Fire general manager will be
introduced at a press conference Wednesday, and official information will be available at
ChicagoRedStars.
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An open letter to Andrew Hauptman, Chairman and Owner of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, by
Tom Dunmore, Vice-Chairman of Section 8 Chicago and member of the WB05 supporters'
group.
Dear Andrew,
Twelve years ago today, as you know, a soccer club was born in Chicago.
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WVHooligan 07 October @ 07:31 PM EST
Tonight's links and thoughts are brought to you by the letter N...as in naked. Okay I know that
was a bit cheesy but seeing the naked athlete photos today all over really well leaves someone like
me at a loss for words.
If you haven't by now seen the group of DC United players baring it all for ESPN Magazine's
photo shoot you should do yourself a favor (I guess?
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Over at Women's Soccer USA, Jen Striker reports that Peter Wilt is out at Chicago Red Stars. It was
pretty obvious from his ESPN Soccernet interview that he was looking to go somewhere else, but I
was a bit surprised at how Striker characterized the departure:
According to Chicago sources, Marcia McDermott has completed her boardroom takeover of
the Red Stars by forcing out Peter Wilt and assuming his position in the organization.
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Hard to know what to make, exactly, of this somewhat disturbing picture of David Beckham hacking
his way around the local links:
I'm no Tim Gunn but I think I'm on pretty safe ground when I comment that 34 year old international
style icons out in public doing the skateboarder thing or whatever the hell this is supposed to be
really ought to know better.
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In case you have missed anything, here are some recent links with Chicago pro soccer mention:
WPS expansion draft
• John Howell, Bleacher Report: Red Stars lose two subs to Philadelphia in WPS first expansion
draft
• Beau Dure, USA Today: Philly looks strong in WPS expansion draft
• Jeff Kassouf, The Equalizer: Grading the WPS expansion draft
Chicago Fire player development
• L.
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At least, that's what Wendy Parker would have you believe. Besides her article on Pitch Invasion,
she's slagged me off on her twitter account, soccer news aggregator site, and even her Atlanta
Soccer News site. The basic premise is the same, but it seems Wendy got increasingly worked up as
she plotted, wrote, and then basked in the afterglow of the article that was largely written in
response to me.
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WVHooligan 15 September @ 07:05 PM EST
Just a few bits and pieces tonight. I've gotten a couple thoughts on some club's playoff chances
along with some info on Blanco's future in the Windy City and some thoughts on an interesting
interview with Peter Wilt.
First up the playoff talk. Most of you know I mention Sportsclubstats.com when I talk about
playoff chances for each club.
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As some of you know, Peter Wilt has been on a guest blogging run at Pitch Invasion, my favorite
site to leech from. At the end of last week, Wilt submitted his report card on the first WPS
season. Those of you who've already read it can probably guess what I'm going to focus on. Overall,
there's a lot of encouraging stuff in his report, although it's clear the league is not yet
profitable for the owners.
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Amos Magee
I've known Portland Timbers Director of Soccer Development and Assistant Coach Amos Magee for
15 years. He played for me both with the A-League Minnesota Thunder and several times as a call
up with the Chicago Fire. Amos was one of the most tenacious and savvy players I've ever
known.
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The Aztexan 04 September @ 12:15 PM EST
I really enjoyed Chicago Red Stars' CEO Peter Wilt's post on Pitch Invasion the other day. Titled
Grading WPS in Year One, he takes a hard look at 8 aspects of the just-finished inaugural season of
Women's Professional Soccer. These include attendance, fan experience, marketing and operations,
and quality of play.
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Editor's Note: Chicago Red Stars President and CEO Peter Wilt returns for
his third weekly column on Pitch Invasion, pulling no punches as he grades the first season of the
league his own team plays in.
Sunday's Women's Professional Soccer All-Star victory over Swedish powerhouse Umea ended WPS'
first season and that makes this a good time to reflect on the inaugural year and analyze WPS'
progress.
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MIKE JACOBS 28 August @ 05:36 PM EST
Peter Wilt, the former President and CEO of MLS' Chicago Fire, wrote a great article recently
outlining his 'soccer management philosophy'.
1. FANS ARE IN CHARGE.
2. WE ALL SELL
3. TARGET THE SALES AND MARKETING EFFORTS
4. BUILD A GOOD STAFF
5. BE A GOOD LISTENER
6. Click to continue reading...
Du Nord 26 August @ 05:19 PM EST
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUEOfficial web site
dN
American Jose Fransisco Torres and his team Pachuca had a much better time on Matchday 2 (Tuesday)
beating Metapan 5-0.
dN
Group Stage - Matchday 2
Some Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United v Toluca - 7pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Cruz Azul v Columbus Crew - 9pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Arabe Unido v Houston Dynamo - broadcast delayed to Thursday at 7pm Central on FSC
MLSOfficial League Web Site
dN
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake v Chivas USA - 9pm Central on Direct Kick
dN
I made a guest appearance this week on the excellent podcast United Mania.
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Chicago Red Stars meet their fans
Editor's Note: Chicago Red Stars President and CEO Peter Wilt returns for
his second column on Pitch Invasion, considering the critical role good customer service plays in
winning fans in American soccer.
One of the basic tenets of the soccer management philosophy I discussed last week was the
importance of providing good customer service.
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Peter Wilt
Editor's note: We write about the supporter experience a lot here at Pitch
Invasion, but what's the view like from the other side of the fence? We've invited Peter
Wilt, the President and CEO of the Chicago Red Stars of WPS and former President and CEO
of MLS' Chicago Fire to write a weekly column on his experiences as an executive in American soccer
and on the business of the sport.
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Chicago Red Stars player Cristiane battles 9 year old soccer player Renae Blevins to see who is
the ultimate soccer juggler. This is simply too amazing not to post.... Seriously Peter
Wilt: Where did you find this girl?
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Seriously, female Sounders fans. You've watched me meticulously analyze the ramifications of WPS
putting it's players in various shades of pink. You've observed me taking on Peter Wilt for having
his players judge a car show on Fathers day. You've seen me suggest that the Sirens of Soccer are
perhaps a bit too over-sexualized in the media.
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Does soccer need more 'danger' to sell in the United States to the right demographic?
Comments made by former MLS Commissioner Doug Logan to the Oregonian in this regard
made waves recently. "Soccer audiences at their best have got to be a little dangerous," Logan
said. "It's three guys with a beer cursing at the guy on the field.
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On this date in MLS history, June 24, 1997, Peter Wilt was named the first general manager of the
Chicago Fire. CLICK HERE to read my most recent MLS history post about the Chicago Red Stars
president at Examiner.com.
~ Charlie Corr
MLS Examiner at Examiner.com
SlideTackles.net creator and editor
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While we're all anticipating Confederations Cup semifinal...boy, typing that feels weird. What
next? "Now that Freddy Adu has realized his potential...."
Anyway. Probably lost in the excitement was this interview with Peter Wilt that Paul Demko
conducted and posted at DuNord. It's not JUST about WPS, you crybabies - some interesting stuff
about the Fire's salad days, the Minnesota Thunder, Toyota Park, attendance - I'll give you a
little taste, though.
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We mark our 75th ever show today with an announcement that we will be covering MLS and USL like
never before, with weekly features and locker room interviews. Rod Underwood, coach of the
Cleveland City Stars joins us to preview his teams home opener Friday night on FSC versus
Rochester. We also speak with Ignacio Rodriguez about Miami FC's strong start to the season.
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Chicago hosts Sky Blue FC on Sunday; game televised on FSC
Just how good is this brand-new Chicago Red Stars squad? Now is the opportunity for Chicagoans to
get a firsthand look as the Red Stars (1-0-1) host Sky Blue FC (0-1-1) in Women's Professional
Soccer play this Saturday at Toyota Park (5 p.
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MLS Rumors 17 April @ 03:59 PM EST
No they're not an MLS team but a loyal MLSR reader and passionate Red Stars fan, feels they should
get some love and so he sent along what came in his season ticket package for the Chicago Women's
Professional Soccer club, Chicago Red Stars.
Lots of people showing off their MLS season tickets but no love for the WPS.
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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Red Stars of Women's Professional Soccer held their first-ever media
day (a week later than originally scheduled). The team is coming off a 1-0-1 road trip in its
inaugural season, and now the Red Stars can call Toyota Park their home base for the next five
matches. Chicago hosts Sky Blue FC this Sunday (5 p.
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