Soccer on the Brain

My internship with the Chicago Fire Premier has been going great. So great, that it looks as if it is turning into an "actual" job.

Since I got the internship, my boss has brought up being hopeful that he can begin to compensate me, which was a nice idea. But, then I found out that my "paying" job back in CA (that I telecommuted for) would be ending in two weeks.

I started getting nervous because it was supposed to have lasted until August, which would have worked out perfectly with the "bulk" of the internship, since our season is over in August. Telecommuting was allowing me to dedicate most of my time to working for the Fire and being as involved as I wanted to be: working full-time hours, going to/working all home games, and also the opportunity to travel to all away games. I didn't want to go get another job that would unquestionably cut into my time with the Fire. I even briefly toyed with the idea of putting off finding a second "job" until August and just becoming a spendthrift and living off of a bit of my saved school money until then (which I wasn't a fan of). But, I brought it all up to Todd and he approached me about compensating me for my work for the Chicago Fire.

I'm not sure how much or how often he'll be paying me, but as with most things Chicago-related, I know that the pieces will fall into place and that I'll be just fine.

But I'm super excited!

The team is doing really great, thanks to all of our hard work. We started off the season 3-0 (not including a pre-season scrimmage win against DePaul University) and we qualified for a spot in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, our facebook/twitter following grows each day, and once the bad weather disappears for the summer, we are anticipating good crowds in the stands. It's a learning experience for all of us to try and figure out what has worked marketing wise to build off of for next season, and what we need to tweak. And, with my previous experience working for a PDL team, I know I've been an awesome asset for Todd in terms of getting paperwork filled out, turned in, etc.

And this past Monday, Memorial Day, I was able to go on my first roadtrip with the team. We took a 5-hour bus ride up to Pontiac, Michigan (for those of you in the know, Pontiac is right by Flint, where Michael Moore filmed "Roger and Me") for a game against the Michigan Bucks (which we ended up losing 0-2). Then we turned around and made the 5-hour drive back to Chicago, arriving at 3:30 in the morning on Tuesday.

Did I mention that I was the only girl on the bus? I'm definitely not complaining, although sometimes it's not so fun being just "one of the guys". But, it was a lot of fun, and I was constantly entertained by the antics and accents of our two British coaches.

I even got to spend some time with the Director of Player Development for the entire Chicago Fire Organization, who I was introduced to by Mark Spooner, the head coach of the Chicago Fire Premier's PDL and NPSL teams. I can only assume that, quite possibly, word is getting out (thanks to Todd) about what a good job I'm doing and how necessary it is to introduce me to the "right" people with the Fire.

But, until that day where I have my own "corner office with a view" at Toyota Park, I can only look forward to each and every day that I get to spend working for the Chicago Fire Premier for the rest of the summer, season and beyond, including a four-day trip to Canada for a couple of games and some fun.

Figured ya'll might want to see some of the pictures from my Chicago Fire Premier Adventures!

This is Evanston Township High School, where we play our home games.

Me and the Chicago Fire flag at our last home game.

View from inside Toyota Park, from the one game I've had time to go to.

Vintage-looking Chicago Fire flag.

Relaxing in the stands at our game against Michigan.

Plaque inside the tunnel leading out onto the field at Toyota Park.

The Sears Tower is righth down the street from my office, this picture was taken on my walk to the Blue Line to go home one day.

Toyota Park <3

...Speaking of fun, tomorrow is the first day of June and it's looking like summertime in Chicago has finally arrived. It's nice to be constantly reminded of the season that caused me to fall in love with the midwest in the first place. And I look forward to digging up some free time to take advantage of all of the awesome, "summery" things that Chicago has to offer!

P.S. I promise to try and keep this thing updated more than once a month :-)