I have the perspective of being intimately involved in the creation and launch of WPS from 2007 through 2009 as founding President of WPS’ Chicago Red Stars.  I also have some strong opinions about the sport’s future direction.  Frankly, my own failure, along with that of my WPS colleagues, to rein in expenses is the reason WPS is on the verge of collapse.  While I was preaching fiscal responsibility from the beginning, it wasn’t enough.   I took a sizable pay cut to join the Chicago Red Stars, but I was still paid too much (as was just about everyone else associated with the League) relative to where the revenues ended up.

Current WPS players, supporters and administrators are now begging US Soccer and anyone else who will listen for another chance, an extension, another year to get on its feet.  Specifically WPS is asking US Soccer to extend its waiver of an eight team minimum standard for classification as a first division professional league even though the League has shrunk from six teams to five since the end of its third and perhaps final season.  Most, if not all people commenting or considering this issue believe that there are no alternative ways to save professional women’s soccer in the U.S. other than having US Soccer grant WPS its waiver.

I disagree.

It may sound cruel, but I believe the best thing for the future of women’s professional soccer (lower case) in the U.S. is pulling the plug on Women’s Professional Soccer (upper case) as we know it and replacing it with an improved streamlined model that would entice more investors throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Here is why WPS is failing:

• Spent too much money on players
• Spent too much money on coaches
• Spent too much money on front office personnel
• Spent too much money on advertising
• Spent too much money on League operations and promotion

OK, so I could have saved some space there and simply written “Spent too much money”.  WPS didn’t spend too much money as in “WUSA has American cable TV’s checkbook” too much money, but WPS expected that it could maintain revenue levels from WUSA while reducing overhead.  It couldn’t.  The spending did many good things – necessary things.  It lured Marta and a host of other top international players, it kept the US Women’s National Team players in the League and it attracted a few major sponsors and a national broadcast deal.  But in the end, it wasn’t enough.

It’s ironic that WPS’ cause of death will be the same as its predecessor WUSA.  WPS thought it learned lessons from WUSA and spent much less than WUSA.  WPS indeed did spend less than WUSA, but was dealt fatal blows on two accounts: 1) revenues fell in proportion to expenses and 2) ownership wealth had been replaced by passion.  Passion can’t pay the bills.

Bay Area CyberRays' Sissi, left, of Brazil, and Thori Staples Bryan, right, carry the Founders Cup around the field after they defeated the Atlanta Beat at the inaugural WUSA Championship at Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Saturday, Aug. 25, 2001. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The League successfully sold 11 franchises, but six folded, left or were kicked out of the League.  I made the prediction before WPS kicked its first ball that it would add teams faster than MLS, but it would also lose teams faster than MLS.  Sadly that prediction came true and the losses exceeded the gains six to four.  To put it into football terms, after three seasons WPS was -2 in takeaways.

WPS could continue another year as it is, but frankly it would be more of the same and would lead back to the same place. Five teams confined to the eastern time zone playing a shortened schedule to avoid Olympic conflicts is just plain ugly.

Puma has opted out of its seven figure annual agreement that paid most of the League’s central office bills.  Sponsors aren’t lining up to replace that funding and the league no longer has its partnership with Soccer United Marketing to fall back on.  If WPS does manage to hold on another year, it will be small, obscure and unlikely to improve its economic condition.  Attracting one, two or even three more teams the following year is possible.  There are legitimate inquiries to make commitments to join WPS, which could help US Soccer justify an extension of the minimum team waiver and buoy the League’s hopes for growth and survival.  But any additions could just as easily be offset by losses of existing teams.

I also don’t see that simply adding investors to the current business model which has failed every team every year will change the future of the League.  Believing that last summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup or next year’s Olympic games will change the economic condition of the League is delusional.  Any bump is short term and not enough to overcome the inherent weakness of the model.  Again, 11 teams have tried it over three years and none of them have come close to breaking even with this business model and the League’s top sponsor is gone.  Adding teams to “Save WPS” without radically changing the model would simply put off the inevitable.

Suffice it to say the future’s not bright and you don’t gotta wear shades to view WPS’ future…and that’s not even considering the legal and public relations quagmire with magicJack and its owner Dan Borislow.

Chicago Red Stars' Women's Professional Soccer player Ella Masar, left, and 2010 draft pick Whitney Engen model their new uniforms for the Chicago Red Stars at Puma's 2010 WPS uniform unveiling hosted at the Trust building in Philadelphia Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Mark Stehle for Puma)

A new model is needed that will attract not just a handful of teams, but as many as 20 teams and a coast to coast footprint for the sport.  I was always told that if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.  So, for your viewing pleasure I present to you my bullet point solution for a new professional women’s soccer league in the United States and Canada that would solve the current mess and launch the sport into a positive era that would grow the sport for the long term (warning: the following contains recommendations that some may consider grotesque and may cause idealistic supporters of women’s soccer to become ill):

• Base player salary budget of $100,000 to $150,000 per team.  18 players per team.  $0k to $3k per month in season per player.
• 2-3 designated players per team.  $4k to $10k per month in season per player. DP salaries are off budget.
• Recommended annual operation budget of $200,000 to $400,000 not including player compensation, though teams that are willing and able could spend more on the business end.
• No NCAA eligible players
• April though August season (extension through September in Olympic and WWC years)
• Invite all current members of WPS, W-League, WPSL and MLS to place teams in the new League.
  • No entry fee for inaugural season.
  • $100,000 entry fee for expansion teams in ensuing seasons.
  • Must commit by last day of previous season to be eligible for following season.
  • $100,000 letter of credit for all teams to guarantee finishing season if teams can’t pay bills mid-season.
  • Operate league for the first year on a cooperative basis by US Soccer, USL and MLS.  USL and MLS operate the league going forward after the first season.
    • US Soccer would establish new, more realistic standards for a professional women’s league comparable to top women’s leagues in Europe.  This would allow both low budget and medium budget teams to compete on a relatively level playing field. In the first year, US Soccer would provide an overriding layer of governance similar to the 2010 D-2 League.
    • USL would use its infrastructure to manage the league’s administrative needs similar to its MISL relationship. USL’s compensation coming from low five figure annual league dues and a percentage of new franchise fees.
    • MLS/SUM would handle the league’s broadcast, marketing, sponsorship and communication responsibilities. MLS’ compensation coming from a percentage of sponsorship fees it generates.
    • If enough teams apply, play will be regional until the playoffs to limit travel expenses and increase rivalries.

Implications (bad and good):

• WPSL would be left out of the professional game and will likely lose teams to the new league. WPSL could more legitimately be pitched as a feeder league to the pro circuit.  New investors could start with a WPSL team and the learning curve to jump to the pro league wouldn’t be as great.  Could be a good selling point for new WPSL franchises.
• WPS as an entity and its office personnel would disappear and be replaced. The name could continue, but personally I’d prefer a fresh brand such as WMLS or anything else.
• Dilution of talent spread over more teams.  I believe as many as 20 teams could be assembled in this model between in the first three years and with that comes a spread of talent, which will reduce quality of play.  WPS, W-League, WPSL and MLS each likely have at least five teams that would very seriously look at joining this model.  If MLS is on board, they will add credibility and stability that would risk little to MLS and offer tremendous potential benefits in sponsorship and added integration into its local and national footprint.
• Some USWNT players may choose to play in Europe if they feel the competition won’t be as good in the new league or if enough teams don’t use their designated player slots as generously as needed to compete with European offers.  With up to 20 teams, there could be as many as 60 DP slots, which may or may not be used.  This is more than enough to accommodate full USWNT and many international stars – if the owners are willing and able to pay the $4k to $10k per month to keep this level of player in the new league. USWNT players receive their US compensation wherever they play.  Club salary usually increases their compensation by an additional 50% to 100% for most.  This proposed model shouldn’t change USWNT compensation much if at all.  More teams means it could actually increase competition for them and drive up their compensation.
• Second tier US players forced into retirement, because non DP compensation would top out around $3k per month.  Playing for a pro team provides a “business card” of sorts that gives players credibility and networking opportunities that help them gain decent paying coaching positions in youth and collegiate soccer.  This augments their “pro” compensation and provides a stepping stone to a post playing career.
• Top international players less likely to play in US.  DP slots would allow many to still play in the league.  And truth is, the depth of international talent has exploded over the last five years meaning those that choose not to stay can be more easily replaced than in the past.
• Many experienced coaches and administrators won’t be able to continue in women’s professional soccer at lower compensation.  There are only five teams, so there can’t be that many coaches and administrators that will lose their jobs.  Plus many more jobs, albeit low paying, will be created to seed a new generation of coaches and administrators.  Others will be able to finad a way to make it work by double dipping with other coaching or administrative positions.
• Lower salaries and operational budgets will create a semi-pro image that will further reduce sponsor, fan, broadcast and player interest.  It’s a step backward in image, but the reduced expenses are needed to bring fiscal sensibility to the business.  Increasing the number of teams will result in a growth of the base, get more people involved as investors, players, administrators and cumulatively as fans.  Critical mass of teams will ultimately generate more interest from sponsors, supporters and broadcasters in the future at which time teams can justify increases to their operational and player compensation budgets. If MLS teams indeed do join this League, they would be able to provide infrastructure that would be more professional than what WPS teams now offer and would serve to improve the image of the League for all stakeholders.

So there you go, my proposal to blow up what I helped create and start something new intended for long term growth and sustainability.  Some WPS teams are already embracing some of these recommendations, but not all.  Atlanta, for instance, is now a leader in controlling player costs.  Sky Blue FC has been a leader in business austerity from the beginning.  The current leaders of WPS should take control at this critical juncture and work with US Soccer, MLS, USL and the thousands of “Save WPS” petitioners to lead professional women’s soccer to a new and sustainable future.  It will require collaborative and unselfish work with great sacrifice for many, but I believe it can work.  What do you think?

Peter Wilt celebrating the US win over Algeria with the World Cup Trophy in one hand and the "Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous" in the other. Fake World Cup Trophy, real joy.

In his weekly column, Milwaukee Wave President & CEO Peter Wilt gives us his World Cup memories from an indoor star on the big stage to Bob Bradley’s goalkeeping dilemma.

My memory can be rather selective and when it comes to past World Cups, there are usually only one or two moments from each that stand out for me.

Here are my most memorable moments of the last five World Cups along with thoughts on memories from South Africa 2010:

1990: I was working for the Milwaukee Wave — the first time — and one of our players, Jimmy Banks, a defender from UW-Milwaukee, earned a starting role under his former collegiate coach Bob Gansler who guided the United States to its first World Cup appearance in 40 years.  I may be using my selective memory, but I believe Jimmy is probably the first, last and only full time professional indoor soccer player to play in a World Cup.

Just making the tournament was considered a success.  After watching from the bench as the US was undressed by Lubos Kubik and Czechoslovakia 5-1 in its opening match, Jimmy Banks started in place of Steve Trittschuh  in the 1-0 loss to Italy and 2-1 loss to Austria that ended the return to World Cup play for the US.

My sole distinct memory from that tournament twenty years ago was 52 minutes into the Austria match when Andreas Ogris split Banks and Desmond Armstrong on a torrid run that led to the game’s first goal, chipped over Tony Meola.  Watching Jimmy getting beat wasn’t a pleasant memory, but I was still proud that one of our Milwaukee Wave players was on the world’s biggest stage.

Peter Wilt at the 1994 Opening Game at Soldier Field with Pele. Fake Pele, real Peter Wilt.

1994: I was working in Los Angeles for the CISL during the US-hosted World Cup.  My trips back to the Midwest gave me the opportunity to attend several matches at Soldier Field including the tournament’s opening game between defending champion Germany and Bolivia.  Watching the opening ceremony in the south end with Chicago soccer legend Pato Margetic, I saw Oprah Winfrey fall through the stage, Diana Ross miss a staged penalty kick, Bolivia’s Marco Etcheverry ejected from the match and Germany’s Juergen Klinsmann score the tournament’s first goal.  After the match I went to Kitty O’Shea’s inside the Conrad Hilton Hotel and watched the infamous OJ Simpson Bronco chase.

Oscar de La Hoya becoming the "Golden Boy" in Barcelona. Real Golden Boy, real Olympic Gold Medal.

Despite those incredible moments from the opening match, the single memory that stands out most from the tournament occurred two weeks later in Pasadena at the United States vs. Colombia group match.  I was sitting in a luxury suite high above the Rose Bowl next to boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya.  The 21-year-old future champ had already won Olympic gold in Barcelona and was 13-0 professionally at the time.  He was just 19 months into one of the best welterweight careers ever that would include five world championships.

Thirty-five minutes into the match John Harkes sent a long diagonal pass into the Colombia goal box.  Before it could reach Earnie Stewart, its intended target, the ball was  redirected by Colombia defender Andres Escobar into his own goal.   The goal helped lead to Colombia’s surprise demise and elimination from the tournament…and Escobar’s murder ten days later in Colombia.

The specific moment I remember was De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions is now a co-owner of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo, turning and lifting his famous and powerful left hand and slapping mine in celebration.  Four years later I was back at that historic stadium slapping high fives to dozens of Chicago Fire players, fans and staff in celebration of the team’s inaugural season victory in the 1998 MLS Cup.

1998: My memories of France 1998, not surprisingly, are nearly non-existent.  The United States flamed out with three losses in group play amid reported personal problems within the team and I was keeping myself busy steering the MLS Chicago Fire’s inaugural season as the team’s general manager.  The Fire debuted just two months prior to this World Cup and our big name superstar and key to early season attendance and publicity success was Mexico’s legendary goalkeeper Jorge Campos.

The Fire won its first two games, then lost the next five, with Campos only available for one of those games (a home opening win over Tampa Bay with 36,444 in attendance), before he joined the Mexico National Team for World Cup preparations.  In his absence, his backup, Zach Thornton led the Fire to victory after victory — eleven straight, in fact.  Midway through that stretch, Fire Head Coach Bob Bradley talked to me about his desire to relegate Campos to the bench upon his return and go forward with Zach in goal.

Bob was concerned about pressure to play Jorge for marketing reasons even prior to the trade that brought him to Chicago.  Despite the public interest in Jorge, the key to our acquisition of the flamboyant goalkeeper from Los Angeles in the first place was the inclusion of Chris Armas.  Bob never would have agreed to take the flamboyant star of the day without also receiving the quiet star of the future.

Bob and I had deep discussions before he accepted the Fire coaching position about what type of organization we would have.  It was critical to him that we would be an authentic soccer team with integrity and would go about things the right way.  My first — and most significant — test was securing a proper training facility, which we accomplished by taking over the Chicago Bears former training ground Halas Hall on the campus of Lake Forest College.  There were other tests before the Campos conversation, but this was a milestone decision that would point the direction of the team for years to come.

To me it was simple.  I just asked Bob one question:  “Who do we have a better chance to win with?”

2002: Not Ji-Sung Park saving our butt. Not  “Dos a Cero“.  Not Hugh Dallas screwing us. Not even having two of my team’s players — DaMarcus Beasley and Josh Wolff — in the World Cup.

It was Portugal.  Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Fernando Couto…the original Golden Generationhad matured and was expected to run over the United States in the opening Group D match for both sides.  John O’Brien in the 4th minute on the rebound of a Brian McBride header - “WOW!”  Then Landon Donovan’s chip deflects off Jorge Costa into his own goal in the 29th minute – “HOLY COW!” And finally, the former Milwaukee Rampage teammates combined for the dagger: Tony Sanneh racing down the right side and whipping it in for a classic Brian McBride header and an unimaginable 3-0 lead after just 36 minutes – “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!”

2006: It was June 17th again – twelve years to the day after Oprah fell through the stage and OJ cruised the I-5 in his Bronco with the world watching.  Section 8 Chicago had a small caravan driving from Chicago to Kansas City for the Fire match at Arrowhead Stadium.  We timed our departure, so we could get to St. Louis in time to watch Portugal beat Iran at the Scottish Arms and then the United States vs. Italy match at Milo’s Bocce Garden, an Italian joint on “The Hill” — St. Louis’ old Italian neighborhood that provided several of the famous 1950 USMNT members who upset England at Belo Horizonte.

The USMNT wasn't the only group to crash in June of 2006. Fake image of Peter Wilt's real crash.

After the disappointing 1-1 draw, I volunteered to drive the van full of Fire faithful the final four hours to Kansas City.  Rain had slowed us down a bit, but we were still on schedule to make the kickoff when our destiny coincided with that of the US World Cup team.  Both soon crashed without reaching their destination.  The US trip to the knockout round was derailed by Ghana a few days later.  Our trip to Kansas City ended 20 minutes away at the hands of a pickup driver fueled with booze and road rage.  The drunken driver, who apparently believed I had cut him off a mile back, pulled alongside and slammed into our van sending both vehicles spinning round and round and into the median of Interstate 70.  A strong set of cables in the median — and a decent job of Joie Chitwood style crisis steering and Bob Bondurant School of Defensive Driving — kept everyone alive and mostly healthy, though our rented van was totaled.  While I pleaded with the Missouri State trooper to charge the other driver with seven counts of attempted vehicular homicide, the twice previously convicted drunk driver was merely arrested for felony DUI.  I never did make it to the Fire match — and the assailant never made it to prison as he pleaded down to a misdemeanor — but I do have a World Cup memory that will likely never go away.

2010: So, what will be my enduring memory of the 2010 World Cup? There are many candidates and perhaps more to come on Sunday.

• The two US goals unrighteously called back
• The despair of the US/Ghana match
• Watching Mexico defeat France with a restaurant full of Mexicans
• Watching Argentina beat Mexico in a bar full of Argentines
• The wild three minutes of Paraguay/Spain
• The crazy finish of Ghana/Uruguay
• The steady buzz of the vuvuzelas
• Or the raw jubilant emotion following the most important United States goal in the last 20 years.

While they are all memorable in this extended moment that continues through Sunday, I don’t think anyone will be surprised when five, 10 and 20 years from now, the memory of 2010 will be voiced over by Ian Darke:

“Howard, gratefully claims it.  Distribution, brilliant.  Landon Donovan, are things going here for the USA?  Can they do it here?  A cross and Dempsey is denied again!  Donovan has SCORED!  OHH, CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??? GOAL! GOAL! USA certainly through.  Oh, it’s incredible!  You could NOT write a script like this.”

…and the United States of America ERUPTS!

United States Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley

Bob Bradley has completed a full cycle as head coach of the US Men’s National Team.  By most any metric or standard, he has achieved great success and advanced the program.  Here is a partial list of his achievements in the last four years:

• He has a higher winning percentage than any coach in US Men’s National Team history: .644 (38-19-9)
• He won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
• He took the US Men to their first FIFA final at the 2009 Confederations Cup
• He won the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Hexagonal
• He won the 2010 World Cup Group C
• He brought more players into camp in one World Cup cycle than any other coach in US history
• He scheduled more games against European nations than any other US coach
• He helped with the development and maturation of Landon Donovan into the United States first world class attacking player
• Selected, coached and galvanized a group of mostly modestly talented (relative to the world stage) individuals into a unified team that fought for each other and the common good

But now I wonder what Bob does next.  While staying on in his current role is a possibility and by reviewing his accomplishments above would make sense, extensions beyond one World Cup cycle are rare and shouldn’t be counted on.  As a certain coach told me when he resigned from the Chicago Fire, “we could have achieved more, but we had a real good run and change is often best for everyone.”  So, if this is indeed the close of a chapter for Bob, what will the next chapter be?

There are already rumors linking him with two prominent jobs that are not yet even open in London and D.C.:

• Fulham

This  would be an intriguing opportunity for the Princeton grad.  He would be the first American born head coach in the Premiership.  Fulham is a club that has reached out for American players in recent years including current US National Teamers Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra.  In many ways, this would be a better opportunity for Bob than continuing into the next cycle with the US Men.  While Fulham currently has popular Roy Hodgson in the skipper’s post, he is likely to bolt for Liverpool in the coming days.

• DC United

Returning to his MLS roots where he served as Bruce Arena’s top assistant and earning MLS Cup rings in each of the League’s first two seasons.  Curt Onalfo is in the seat now in his first season as United coach.  Bob still has a close relationship with DC United President Kevin Payne and Onalfo’s team has posted a substandard record of 3-9-1, for ten points which is tied with two other teams for fewest in the 16-team MLS.

• Chivas USA

Perhaps he could take over his former club that is struggling under new coach Martin Vasquez at 3-9-1, which matches DC United’s ten points at the bottom of the MLS standings.  This would allow Bob to remain in southern California, close to his daughters who attend college in the area.

• Youth Development with US Soccer

Keeping  one of the country’s smartest soccer brains in US Soccer, but redirecting his focus to the sport’s overall development would bear fruit down the road.

Perhaps he will take a less predictable step.

• Major League Soccer

While I wouldn’t expect Bob to take any position that would keep him off the sidelines and training fields, his experience, knowledge and intensity would serve America’s top professional league well in many areas.  While his professional career has been on the competition side of soccer, his intelligence and perspective would also be beneficial on the business side.  Few people realize that Bob has a graduate degree in sports administration from Ohio University, one of the nation’s most respected programs of its kind.

• Collegiate Coaching

Bob isn’t one to make decisions based on popular expectations and coaching out of the public spotlight would allow him the opportunity to focus on what’s important to him – his family, his players and the sport of soccer.  A southern California school position would allow him the chance to stay near his daughters and an Eastern school would bring him back to his roots and nearer other family members.

• Author

Again this is unlikely, because it would keep Bob away from his passion of being on the sidelines, in the locker room and in the editing room working to develop a group of athletes into a successful team.  However, a Bob Bradley book describing his ideas and practices to assemble, develop and prepare a team wold serve as a great resource for coaches in any sport and offer invaluable life lessons to all.

• Broadcasting

Just kidding.  Wanted to see if you were paying attention.  While I think Bob would be the best soccer analyst this side of Wigan coach Roberto Martinez, I can’t imagine him ever wanting to do this.

Whatever path Bob chooses to take, I am certain he will do so with integrity, hard work, intelligence and considerable thought and he will be successful again.

Italy's Giampaolo Pazzini reacts near New Zealand captain and former DC United defender Ryan Nelsen

Is this the changing of the guard or world parity? Have the many surprising and even shocking group play results so far been unusual or does the quadrennial break give us upset amnesia? Or perhaps it’s the curse of the Nike Soccer “Write the Future” ads? The late Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who championed parity in the NFL, would smile…so would Lamar Hunt and I imagine Don Garber and Sepp Blatter are smiling, too.

Four of the seven top seeds have been “mortalized” in group play. Upsets are nearly becoming the rule rather than the exception. European giants Spain, Italy, Germany, England, and France have all conceded points to much lesser teams. African nations have failed to take advantage of their home continent advantage. While South America has been the strongest region (10-2-0 through 12 matches), even Brazil and Argentina have shown they may not be invincible to lesser opponents.

Perhaps in spite of itself, FIFA has seemingly achieved parity. The tournament surely isn’t over and it’s still likely that one of the heavyweights will be lifting the successor of the Jules Rimet Trophy on July 11th, but the minnows are growing up and the sharks seem to be losing some of their teeth. There may be many reasons for this:

• New FIFA regulations are more forgiving allowing players who played for one nation’s youth national team to change national teams at any age instead of by age 21. This change implemented last summer essentially allows a deeper pool of players for the lesser soccer nations. Today’s United States opponent Algeria took advantage of the change more than any other nation and totals 17 foreign (France) born players on its 23 man roster.
• Coaches have more access to videos and scouting networks allowing better and more detailed scouting and soccer education. Modern technology and increased networks provide more information for smaller soccer nations that tends to level the field between nations. Scouting teams in the opponents country can even be deemed hazardous duty.
• The cool and often rainy weather seen in group play can limit the advantages of more skilled players and add to the parity.
• The high altitude of games in Johannesburg and other elevated venues may have affected one team more than the other. France’s loss to Mexico, England’s draw with the US, New Zealand’s draw with Slovakia and Brazil’s struggle with the People’s Republic of Korea all occurred at high elevations. Six of the ten sites are at elevations of 3,900 feet or greater:
  

  Stadium, City: Elevation
  Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg: 5,751 feet; Free State Stadium, Mangaung/Bloemfontein: 4,593 feet; Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria: 3,983 feet; Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane: 4,298 feet; Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg: 4,921 feet; Soccer City, Johannesburg: 5,751 feet

• The neutral African site may serve as an equalizer as well. Teams from the host continent haven’t provided much in the way of competition, but the traditional western European powers, who had minimal travel and maximum fan support four years ago in Germany have neither in South Africa.
• More top professionals are crossing borders to ply their trade in top foreign leagues now than ever before. This provides better experience, quicker development and greater confidence for players from weaker soccer nations who migrate home every four years to exchange their club kits for their national colors. As an example, at the Premier League’s beginning in 1992-93, only eleven players named in the starting line-ups for the first round of matches were foreign. Just eight years later, 36% of Premier League players were foreign. By 2004-05 the figure had increased to 45%. Chelsea became the first Premier League side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up on On December 26, 1999 and on February 14, 2005 Arsenal famously became the first Premier League club to list a completely foreign 16-man roster for a game. This melting pot makes for greater assemblages of talent, but pushes out domestic players from what most consider the best league in the world.
• At its core, world soccer parity directly correlates with increased globalization – the spread of all facets of society across borders and oceans. Culture, business and sport now travel rapidly due to more efficient transportation and communication. Dissemination of sport knowledge and experience, just like the spread of international culture and business, is like water seeking its own level.

More of the minnows are surviving, while several of the soccer sharks in the 2010 World Cup are not.

The seven top-seeded nations in 2010 have already drawn four times and suffered two losses, not counting Group A with the host South Africans.  Whether you count South Africa, Mexico or France as the Group A top seed, you can add a draw and a loss (two if it’s France) to that total.  With six more matches to play, top-seeded teams this year have already lost or drawn eight times.

In 1998, the top-seeded teams lost three and drew five times in the group stage with Spain, England and Brazil absorbing the defeats.  In 2002, the top-seeded teams had an upset epidemic with four losses and six draws in the group stage including two draws by co-hosts Japan and South Korea

The 2006 World Cup’s group play went exceedingly – and boringly – to form with no upset victories and five draws by the top seeds.

* Through June 22, 2010

While 2010′s new found parity, where any country truly can defeat any other country on a given day, may not be popular in western Europe, it provides real hope to billions of fans who previously saw little. And I suspect 2010 is only the beginning. The trends described above are long term and in their infancy. By the time the World Cup returns to North American shores in 2022, this prediction really won’t be a dream…and the former Red, White & Blue long shots will be joined in the newly favored nations pond by many of their former fellow minnows.

The Highbury Pub was filling up five hours before the US vs. England kicked off. ESPN Milwaukee was broadcasting the Milwaukee Wave's Soccer Saturday radio program from the stage in the bar and 100 vuvuzelas were ready to irritate.

Today we complete the first set of 2010 World Cup group play games.  I’ve watched more than 90% of all the minutes – and yet managed to miss five goals live (Holland, Argentina, Slovakia, Brazil’s second and North Korea’s).  It’s been an educational experience. I’ve learned many interesting factoids (many acquired by virtue of this being the first Twitter World Cup) and made a few observations as well.

I. Denmark’s starting lineup on Monday had just as many Dutch League players as the Netherland’s lineup (three).

II. Nigeria is the only country in this World Cup without any domestic league players on its roster. On the other hand, Germany, Italy and England’s rosters are made up completely of domestic league players.

III. Brothers in the Cup: The Boateng brothers on Ghana and Germany will face each other in the group stage.  Kevin-Prince and his half-brother Jérôme are in the same group and will be on opposing sides June 23rd in Group D’s final match.  It’s a fascinating story. After calling up forward Jerry Palacios on Tuesday to replace injured Julio Cesar de Leon, Honduras becomes the first World Cup team ever to roster three brothers.  Jerry’s brothers Wilson and Johnny are also on the team.

IV.  I thought I heard on the telecast that Ghana’s John Mensah was 19 years old and already had 63 caps.  Turns out he’s 27. If he were 19, it would’ve made him the most capped player at that age this side of Mia Hamm…instead it means this is a meaningless factoid…though he does have a half-brother, Ekow Benson who has played for the Ghana National Team.  Makes me wonder, which brothers have played for the USMNT…

V.  Both goalkeepers in last Sunday’s Serbia vs. Ghana match, Richard Kingson and Vladimir Stojkovic played for Wigan last season.  Neither impressed last season, so they may both soon be former Wigan keepers.

VI. The four youngest teams at this World Cup are: Ghana (24.1) followed by North Korea (24.8), Germany (25.0) and Cameroon (25.2).  Ghana gets its youth by including Ghana’s World Cup roster includes eight members of its 2009 U-20 World Championship squad.  Surprisingly to me, the oldest is not Italy, but the Italians are in the top four:  Italy (28.2), Australia (28.4), Brazil (28.6) and England (28.7). The youngest team at each of last three World Cups has been African– 1998 Cameroon, 2002 Nigeria and 2006 was also Ghana.

VII.  Impressive how many folks noted the resemblance between German midfielder Mesut Ozil and apparently not forgotten actor Peter Lorre.

Mesut Ozil and Peter Lorre

VIII. 17 of 23 players on Algeria’s roster are from France.

MatchPricks.com blogger and France supporter Colin Deval looks longingly at a trophy he believes the French have no chance of winning again as long as Raymond Domenech is coach.

IX. Three former MetroStars coaches are head coaches in this World Cup:  Bob Bradley (USA), Carlos Alberto Pareira (South Africa) and Carlos Queiroz (Portugal).  Perhaps Eddie Firmani can take over Italy in the knockout round.

X. More countries (204) competed to be in the 2010 FIFA World Cup than are in the United Nations (192).

XI. Brazil’s starting lineup Tuesday was numbered 1-11.

And some observations:

* Be careful what you wish for: While many were surprised that Algerian goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi had his suspension for head-butting a referee commuted for the World Cup, Slovenia wasn’t complaining after it’s opening victory was decided by Chaouchi’s alligator arms.

* Slovenian defensive midfielder Alexander Radosavljevic shares the same little used last named of former US National Team star and current Toronto FC Head Coach Preki.  For a moment I considered the chances of Preki and Alex being related, but then I figured “Radosavljevic” is probably to Eastern European soccer what “Washington” is to the NBA.

* Super slo-mo replays really bring out  the emotions of players, coaches and fans, but the most startling effect of the high tech replays for me is the clarity of fouls.  Either this is the most dangerous World Cup in memory or the slo-mo replays are translating the risk and violence of the sport more than traditional camera work does.

* Soon after I made my surprising World Cup bracket picks public last week I felt a twinge of regret…I wished that I had selected Cameroon and Serbia to go through to the second round instead of Denmark and Ghana.  But the Danes stoic performance against the Dutch and Ghana’s win over Serbia now have me thinking I was right the first time.

* I had another crazy idea to improve interest in this little tournament:  In the future, FIFA should qualify 31 teams the  same way it currently does and then create a 32nd team made up of the best players left off of other teams and countries failing to qualify.  This would be an incredibly talented team with very little time to train together.  The team could be coached by one of the World Cup’s carousel coaches:  Bora Milutinovic, Carlos Alberto Parreira or Guus Hiddink.  This quadrennial’s 32nd team could include Pato, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Neymar from Brazil, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Amr Zaki (Egypt), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Iceland), Javier Zanetti (Argentina), Antonia Valencia (Ecuador), Tomáš Rosický (Czech Republic), Karim Benzema (France), Karim Benzema (France)….and Brian Ching.

"Crime scene" outside the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

* Things that bothered me, rightly or wrongly, during the US/England match: An arrogant and bombastic (until the 4oth minute) England supporter standing in front of me, ignorant American fans, John Harkes, US not winning, assumption that US was outplayed, focus on Robert Green’s glaring goalkeeping gaffe.

* I too cried while listening to the National Anthem before my team’s 2010 World Cup debut.  For me, it was for Bob and the Fire boys.

Granted, this pick is somewhat biased due to the many Chicago Fire connections with the US team and is made through red, white and blue goggles, but the mere fact that I find myself able to see a path to the top for the good ol’ U.S. of A. represents a sea change from the first US World Cup appearance of my lifetime in 1990.

Over the last 20 years, the “Dream” of advancing out of the group stage has morphed first to “Hope” then to “Wish” and now to ”Expectation”.  I recall watching the three and done at Italia ’90 and just praying that we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves and my Milwaukee Wave star Jimmy Banks wouldn’t get torched by Italy.  In 1994, as the host nation, I again hoped we wouldn’t be embarrassed and wished that we could surprise the world by advancing out of group play, which we did.  As part of MLS in 1998, my confidence in a solid performance by the Americans was unrewarded by Steve Sampson’s crew.  Four years later, for the first time, I remember having a realistic chance of advancing out of group play, which thanks to South Korea’s final group play win over Portugal, we did and then went on to surprise Mexico dos a cero before falling to Germany and a missed handball call.

In 2006, we were in a tough group, which muted expectations.  Nevertheless, our boys didn’t play up to the ever increasing expectations, resulting in a call for change at the top — which was granted.  Now we come to 2010, the magical year predicated by the word “Project” a dozen years ago.  “Expectation” of advancing has now replaced “hope”.  Some even think that advancing and then losing in the second round won’t be deemed “success”.  It’s in that context that I made my bold prediction that Carlos Bocanegra and his teammates will be hoisting the sporting world’s most prestigious trophy in 32 days.

Last week, just prior to the kickoff of the United States’ final tune up versus Australia, I grabbed my official “The Highbury Pub World Cup 2010 Bracket” form and hurriedly began making predictions.  It involved making 31 decisions.  The first 27 decisions were mainly made with my head.  The last four were admittedly influenced by my heart.  When I put the marker down, there was one team circled in the center of the page as my predicted winner – the United States of America.  Perhaps equally surprising was the other team in the center of the page, the one that wasn’t circled indicating the runner-up - Italy.  It just so happens that I am half Italian (the Vilona familyis Calabrese) and all American.

"It's only a dream..."

Ten of the 16 teams I selected to escape the group stage were pretty obvious.  The other six were educated guesses, gut feelings and random long shots.  Once I slotted teams into the second round spots, the knock out round picks came pretty easily.  If by some random chance, these matchups come to fruition, there will be some amazing round of 16 and quarterfinal games including a rematch of the World Wars (Germany vs. England) and a battle for Iberian supremacy (Spain vs. Portugal) in the round of 16 and Mexico vs. USA, Holland vs. Brazil, Argentina vs. Germany and Italy vs. Spain in the quarters!  Those are all dream matchups…meaning, I must’ve been dreaming when I made these picks.

Groups F and G were the only two groups in which my picks followed the odds.  In each of the other groups I have higher FIFA ranked teams finishing below their lower ranked opponents who I’m picking to advance to the second round:

A much younger Peter Wilt shows his blind patriotism goes back decades!

Group A: Mexico (17) finishing above France (9) and Uruguay (16)

Group B: South Korea (47) advancing over Nigeria (21) and Greece (13)

Group C:  USA (14) finishing above England (8)

Group D:  Ghana (32) advancing over Serbia (15)

Group E:  Denmark (36) advancing over Cameroon (19)

Group H:  Australia (20) and Switzerland (24) advancing over Chile (18)

The upsets take a break with all my round of 16 picks going to form.  Then in the quarterfinals I’m back on the upset trail with Holland (4) over Brazil (1) and Italy (5) over Spain (2).  One of my semifinal picks goes to form, while the US over Holland pick may require a dose of faith and a Dutch epidemic of strained hamstrings.

Then, once the US gets to the final against Italy….anything can – and will – happen.  My predicted path for Bob’s Boys winning the Cup requires getting results against three higher ranked nations: England, Holland and Italy.  IMHO, the US is underrated and England is overrated and a draw could be enough to position the US atop Group C.  Victories over an Arjen Robben hobbled Holland and aging Italy would certainly be upsets, but I believe the chemistry of the US team along with its mix of emerging young talent, veteran leadership and underdog status will surprise teams as the US makes its way to Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on July 11.  Final score of the final match?  USA 2, Italy 1.

A boy can dream, no?

The reliance on Fire connected players and coaches will be an important factor to creating a unified team chemistry that will give the US its best chance of success.

Here are the XI. players and coaches that give the Fire even more influence on the 2010 US roster than Simpkins-Ford did on the 1950 US roster.  Listed after each name is the position with the US World Cup squad and the years affiliated with the Chicago Fire:

XI.     Michael Bradley, Central Midfielder, 1998-2003: He was only eight years old when he began kicking the ball around with the likes of Piotr Nowak, Frank Klopas, Ante Razov and Chris Armas on the Chicago Fire training field.  Before he left the Fire for New Jersey at age 13 with his dad, Michael’s list of training partners included Eric Wynalda, Hristo Stoitchkov, current US teammates DaMarcus Beasley and Carlos Bocanegra and current US coaches Mike Sorber, Lubos Kubik and Jesse Marsch.  The son of the Fire’s first Head Coach and the current USMNT Coach, Bob Bradley,  never played a game in a Fire uniform, but he shined the players shoes, helped with equipment, discussed the team every day with the head coach and trained with the Fire before and after practice sessions throughout the team’s first five seasons.

The next four players never played for the Fire’s first team, but they were recruited by and played under current Chicago Fire Assistant Coach Mike Matkovich with the Fire’s PDL team, the Chicago Fire Reserves.

X. Brad Guzan, Goalkeeper, 2004-2005: Guzan grew up in suburban Homer Glen, IL and starred with the Chicago Magic under Matkovich.  Matkovich annually assembled one of the top collections of college stars in the country and for two seasons his goalkeeper was Guzan.  He was very well regarded as a youth goalkeeper and I recall the first time I saw him play for the Fire Premier, aka Reserves, as a gangly 19 year old in a US Open Cup tie against SAC Wisla, a local amateur team.  While the Fire Reserves won the match 5-1, I was disappointed by Guzan’s play.  Just as the peasant-turned-newt did in “The Holy Grail”, however, he got better.   His 0.388 goals against average was the best in the PDL in 2004.  He went on to star for Chivas USA where he earned MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2007 and currently is Brad Friedel’s backup at Aston Villa where he has shown his knack for saving penalties.

Matko’s Memories: “Brad Guzan, he’s like my son. I’ve known him since he was 11 years old. I knew he was going to make it because he’s a tough guy. He’s got a lot of talent from a young age. You know how you can tell when a guy’s young, you know he’s going to make it because his head is on right? He’s the perfect guy for that.”

IX. Jay DeMerit, Central Defender, 2001-2002: The Green Bay, WI native and former University of Illinois-Chicago defender played two seasons with with the Fire Reserves where he was mainly ignored by then Fire head coach Bob Bradley and me.  His rags with English seventh-tier club Northwood to riches with Watford story has been well told and now he is on the cusp of making a real difference on the soccer world’s biggest stage.  This time, he wasn’t ignored by Bradley. 

Matko’s Memories: “He’s super athletic kid, good guy, good willingness to work. It’s interesting to see how he ended up where he is because he ended up just going overseas on a walkabout with this other guy named Kieran, who was an English guy. And he ended up sticking England. Ever since then, it’s been nothing but successful. When we had him, he was a very good defender. We were able to play 3-5-2 with him on the field. I remember him marking Pat Noonan and taking him out of the game; Pat didn’t have a shot at goal. He was just so good athletically. He’s one of the best defenders we’ve ever had in the Fire Reserves. I can see why he’s where he’s at.”

VIII. Jonathan Spector, Right Back, 2003: The second most famous soccer player from Arlington Heights, IL, Spector played briefly with the Fire Reserves, before signing with Manchester United.  I saw the highly touted Spector play in one of his few appearances with the Fire Reserves and it was in the midfield.  A few months later, he was moved into the back by Sir Alex Ferguson and was training with his new club, Manchester United.

Matko’s Memories: “We only had Jonathan one year. We got him out of the Residency program. We actually played him outside/left mid. He was only 16 when he played for us, he was very young. But he was a special guy. He had the profile to make it. When he was in with us and to start him it was a good experience for him playing with us in the PDL because he played with older guys. I think it really helped him when he was back down in Residency.”

VII. Ricardo Clark, Central Midfielder, 2002: I certainly didn’t spot future stardom every time while scouting Fire Reserves games, but Clark’s talents were obvious as a 19 year old in his only season with the PDL club.  His loping strides and deft touch reminded me of a young Manuel Lagos.  The following winter, he turned pro early and was selected second overall by Bob Bradley and the MetroStars.  Bradley was pleased that DC United used the first pick to take New Jersey native and local favorite Alecko Eskandarian as he preferred Clark for his new club’s needs.  The Fire picked third overall and were disappointed, but not surprised, when Clark was taken leaving us with Nate Jaqua, whom we also felt would be a solid MLS player.

Matko’s Memories: “We only had one season with Ricardo. He played U-19 and he played in the Fire Reserves.  When he came obviously you can tell this guy had talent right away.  He was in and out of the national team pool. At the level with the PDL he covered a lot of ground. Had the ability to take games over and dominate the middle of the field from a holding spot. When we had those teams he was only 18/19 but he was one of our better guys at that age.”

VI.     Mike Sorber, Assistant Coach, 2000: The St. Louis native was Bora Milutinovic’s MVP for the US in the 1994 World Cup, went on to play for UNAM Pumas  where he was the first American to be named to the Mexican league All-Star team then played in MLS for four seasons before joining the most talented team in Fire history, if not MLS history in 2000.  He played 24 games helping the Fire capture the Central Division title and reach the MLS Cup Final.

Five players, the coach and the son of the coach of the 2000 Chicago Fire are among 11 2010 US World Cup players and coaches with ties to the early Chicago Fire.

V. Lubos Kubik, Assistant Coach, 1998-2000: The Czech international is my favorite Chicago Fire player ever.  His skill on the ball, economy of movement defending the Fire goal and genteel personality all exuded class as he worked with Piotr Nowak and Chris Armas to stabilize the spine of the Fire through its first three MLS seasons.  The Ring of Fire member has great insight into the game developed over decades of playing and coaching in the top leagues of Italy, France and Germany.  Bradley has used Kubik to scout European and other World Cup competitors as well as American players in Europe.  He also provides insight that is valuable from a former player of Kubik’s pedigree that includes 56 caps, including the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championships.

IV.     Jesse Marsch, Assistant Coach, 1998-2005: Jesse was always a coach as a player.  Coaching probably comes more naturally to him than playing.  He made the very most of his playing abilities by working hard and analyzing the game.  Those qualities and his long history with Bradley dating back to his college days at Princeton University make Jesse a great complement to Bradley’s staff.

III. DaMarcus Beasley, Midfielder, 2000-2004: DaMarcus came to the Fire in a draft day trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy just moments after we selected Carlos Bocanegra.  The Fort Wayne, Indiana native flourished in Chicago where his parents were able to drive to all the home games.  He electrified fans with his speed on the ball and through Bradley, learned to become a tenacious defender.  At the time we sold him to PSV Eindhoven, he was the most popular player in Chicago and one of the most popular in America.

II. Carlos Bocanegra, Defender, 2000-2004: Carlos was a high school football and soccer star in southern California.  fortunately for US Soccer, the future national team captain chose to focus on soccer at UCLA.  We worked exceedingly hard the week prior to the 2000 MLS SuperDraft to move up from our #4 slot to get the MetroStars first pick overall, so we could be assured of selecting Bocanegra – and failed.  As the old saying goes, “sometimes the best trades you make are the ones you don’t.”

The night before the draft, we had even arranged a scenario that would’ve given the MetroStars the #3, 4 and 6 selections and put Chicago #1 to assure getting Bocanegra.  The MetroStars said “no”.  The failure to make that deal led to the most productive ten minutes in Chicago Fire history.  Little did we know that Octavio Zambrano was holding onto the pick to use for another UCLA defender, Steve Shak, who went on to play 38 games over two MLS seasons before finishing his career in the USL.  Kansas City and Colorado followed with selections of Nick Garcia and Adin Brown leaving Carlos available at #4 and allowing us to trade the #6 pick along with a 2001 1st round pick to LA for Beasley.

I. Bob Bradley, Head Coach, 1997-2003: The best decision I’ve made in my career was hiring Bradley as Chicago’s first head coach.  Not only did he build the Fire into a great team, he taught me important life skills about communication, family, priorities, accountability, listening and integrity.  He’s taken those qualities with him to the US Men’s National Team.  I’m not surprised one bit that he has the winningest record in US Men’s Soccer history while playing the most difficult opponents and taking a look at the most players in US Soccer history.

Bradley coached seven of the ten others on this list in MLS - five with the Fire, Brad Guzan at Chivas USA and Michael Bradley at the MetroStars.  He has surrounded himself with players, coaches and staff that he is familiar with and whom are familiar with him.

There is a level of trust, respect and understanding in the group overall, but especially among the coaches and the players who have previously played for Bradley.  This relationship has developed over years of working together, talking to each other, challenging each other.  It has built a sense of unity.  The group really came together at the Confederations Cup after they rebounded from a poor start to challenge for the championship.  Fifteen players on that Confederations Cup roster are on the US World Cup roster.  I’m convinced that the unity this team has acquired as a result of the shared history and methodical assembly of both team and staff will lead to America’s greatest soccer success.  That common bond and past relationship has helped build the collection of individuals into a true team and for eleven of them that shared background includes time in Chicago with the Fire or Fire’s PDL team.

Bill Veeck operating during his second tour of duty as White Sox Owner and President with Mayor Daley pictured over his shoulder.

Though this is a story involving friends I’ve met through soccer, it’s more of a baseball story than a soccer story.  But even more than baseball, it’s a story about the impact two Chicagoans have had on the city’s past, present and future.  It’s about the first of the great sports promoters, the last of the great big city bosses and their legacy in Chicago.

The sports promoter is baseball Hall of Famer Bill Veeck - former owner and president of the minor league Milwaukee Brewers and major league St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians and twice, my Chicago White Sox.  Among other notable promotions, gimmicks and innovations, Veeck created Ladies Days, exploding scoreboards, names on the back of jerseys and in 1951, he famously sent 3’7″ tall Eddie Gaedel into a major league game as a pinch hitter.   He also signed Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, created grandstand manager day, popularized giveaways and created financing structures that revolutionized sports team ownership.  But more than being a promotional genius, Veeck was a common man with uncommon generosity and love of life.

He was my vocational inspiration and a person whose values and actions I’ve always admired and tried to emulate.  Pat Williams’ amazing book, Marketing Your Dreams:  Business and Life Lessons from Bill Veeck, Baseball’s Promotional Genius tells story after story that serve as guidelines to life that are meaningful for all and absolute mandatory education for those in sports promotion.

Peter Wilt's dedication to open communication with soccer fans was inspired by his correspondence in his youth with former Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck.

Any transparency, accessibility and interaction with soccer fans I’ve provided over the last 20+ years is directly attributable to the correspondence Veeck and I had in the 1970s when he owned the White Sox.  The letters we exchanged began when I was angered by his trade for former Chicago Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger.  Veeck’s response using Cubs legend Phil Cavaretta finishing his career with two seasons on the south side after 20 on the north did nothing to sooth my distress of the trade, but it did make an impression on me I’ve never forgotten.  I wrote back to him to tell him that I still didn’t agree and I threw in a trivia question I had just learned: “Q. Who is the only center fielder to ever catch a foul ball in the major leagues?”  I printed the answer upside down on the bottom of my letter: “A. Johnny Mize”.  I was delighted to get a response a week later from Veeck only to read that he knew the answer…and mine was wrong.  The correct answer he pointed out was Johnny Mostil.  I had simply made a mental mistake interchanging the two old time players both named “Johnny M.”, but I was too embarrassed to respond.

The boss is Mayor Richard J. Daley.  Daley was a tough and driven leader who sometimes controversially steered Chicago’s growth and vitality through the difficult 1960s, while other northern cities were falling  into rust belt status.  One historian, Michael Beschloss, called Daley “the pre-eminent mayor of the 20th century.” Another historian, Robert Remini said that Daley’s leadership allowed Chicago to avoid the fiscal difficulties other cities faced in the 1960s and 1970s, and “Chicago always had a double-A bond rating.”

Here is a timeline of some of the milestone dates in their connections to Chicago:

April 5, 1955: Richard J. Daley elected mayor of the City of Chicago

March 10, 1959: Bill Veeck leads a group to purchase majority ownership in the Chicago White Sox for $2.55 million

Mayor Richard J. Daley...wearing a Shriners fez.

September 22, 1959: White Sox clinch first American League pennant since the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919.  The Chicago Tribune reported:

Fire Commissioner Robert J. Quinn ordered a celebratory five-minute sounding of the city’s air-raid sirens. The late-night wail, at a time when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s threat to bury America was still fresh, frightened tens of thousands of area residents. Many rushed to the streets. Others herded hysterical children to shelter. “We had seven children under 9 and woke them all up when the sirens screamed,” said Mrs. Earl Gough of the South Side. “We said Hail Marys together in the basement.”

Quinn apologized but also argued that the incident provided “a very good test” of the area’s readiness, which he found wanting. Mayor Richard J. Daley claimed Quinn acted in accordance with a City Council proclamation that “there shall be whistles and sirens blowing and there shall be great happiness when the White Sox win the pennant.”

June 9, 1961: Bill Veeck’s ownership group sells the White Sox to brothers Arthur and John Allyn for an estimated $2.5 million.  Veeck’s group reportedly turned down an offer of $4.8 million from entertainer Danny Thomas and future Chicago mayoral candidate Bernard Epton, because the option amount was too low.  Veeck, who eventually had 36 operations on his amputated right leg, was in ailing health, which was the reported reason for the sale.

April and August, 1968: In the aftermath of riots spurred by Martin Luther King’s assassination, Daley took a tough approach that was lauded by some and lamented by others.  Similarly, four months later, his police force was front and center defending the city during protests and riots in Grant Park during the Democratic National Convention riots.

December, 1975: The great mayor called the great promoter and asked him to save the Sox for Chicago.  The White Sox seemed destined to be moved to Seattle.  Veeck’s son Mike, a great baseball promoter in his own right, recalled the situation in a terrific interview with White Sox Interactive’s Mark Liptak.

Mark Liptak: We fast forward now to the mid 70′s. The Sox were in financial trouble, John Allyn was looking to get out and moving the team to Seattle was a real possibility. Do you remember when and how it first came up at your house that your dad might want to get the Sox back?

Mike Veeck:“My dad actually made a bid to buy the Baltimore Orioles first. In fact he had a handshake agreement on it. We in the Veeck family always felt a handshake wasa deal. When that fell apart my dad got a call from Mayor Daley. He wanted to know if my dad would be interested in getting the Sox again.”

ML: Mike, why the White Sox? Why did your Dad show such loyalty to a city that he only resided in for a few years the first time around as owner? Was it strictly a good business deal or was there more going on with the situation for him?

MV:“Mayor Daley called in December 1975 and offered considerable support. My dad always had the philosophy of ‘you can’t go home again’, and he wasn’t comfortable in the ‘savior’s role,’ but he loved Chicago. He was a Midwesterner by birth and had a Midwesterner’s pride. He understood and had a lot of respect for Chicago. He knew it was a working town and it was the town of ‘everyman.’  He also loved the idea of the Sox being the ‘underdog.’ He never made any apologies for the fact that there were two baseball teams in Chicago so he stepped up when he was needed.”

ML: The other American League owners made it very difficult for your dad. They rejected his first proposal saying it basically didn’t meet the way business was being done at the time and then they gave him ten days to come up with a new deal or the Sox were basically gone to Seattle. Was there a time when your dad ever thought he would not be able to pull it off?

MV: “No… he always thought he was going to get it done. Again he loved being the underdog and he loved the intrigue in baseball, the politics and the dealing. I don’t, I’ve worked for four teams and I’ve seen what goes on but he took a very Machiavellian view of the situation.

ML: White Sox fans really responded as well. I remember Johnny Morris at WBBM-TV starting a “Save The Sox” campaign on his TV sports show.

MV:“One of the first things that I did when my dad took over the club was open all the cards and letters that the fans sent it to us. I’d see fifty cents from kids, ten dollars from people… all doing what they could. I sent two tickets to a future Sox game to everybody who sent anything. We then contributed all the money, I think it was 60 or 70 thousand dollars to the American Cancer Society in the name of Nellie Fox who passed away from it. But I was touched by what they did, remember I was 25 years old and to see people care about the team like that was very special.”

Peter Wilt with Night Train Veeck

Bill Veeck spent that month rounding up an investor group with the help of Hizzoner.  Every day for that month, he called Daley.  With Daley’s help, Veeck built an ownership group that included Chicago Sting owner Lee Stern and together the great mayor and the great promoter managed to keep the White Sox in Chicago.

Last week, I united the grandsons of Veeck and Daley at a White Sox game.  Actually, it was before the game that I introduced John R. Daley to William “Night Train” Veeck.

John, a broker with Daley Insurance Brokerage, provided the tickets and I put together the guest list. It included my favorite Windy City Rollers Roller Derby queen, my best friend from childhood, a Red Stars fan, Chicago Fire supporter and one of my best friends from this century.

Jack Schaller, my dad's grade school buddy and proprietor of Chicago's oldest tavern, Schaller's Pump.

We agreed to gather before the game at Chicago’s oldest tavern, Schaller’s Pump on Halsted Street near US Cellular Field.  The owner, Jack Schaller, and my dad went to grade school together at Saint Sabina’s on the city’s far south side.  The tavern is a classic Bridgeport neighborhood bar with a backroom that served as an illegal betting lounge for horse races through the 1960s.  It has a fine menu that features Chicago’s finest Prime Butt Steak and terrific navy bean soup.

When I introduced Mr. Schaller to Night Train, Jack’s eyes widened and he told the young Veeck that his grandfather was often a welcome visitor there.  He proceeded to tell Night Train that his father, Mike, also frequented the pub…until a celebrated night of rowdy behaviour caused Schaller to remove him from the premises permanently.  Night Train promised to be on his best behaviour, so he could return to this new found gem.

John R. Daley and Peter Wilt at a White Sox game.

The game was surreal.  A light, but warm rain fell throughout.  The seats belong to the Daley family and are next to the Sox dugout and in the first row behind the on deck circle.  The eclectic group, most of whom didn’t know each other at the start of the night, shared jokes, trivia and conversation like classmates at a 25 year reunion.  I found it both eerie and exciting to talk to John about Chicago Fire stadium discussions I had with his uncle, the current Mayor Daley, and quizzing Night Train on Eddie Gaedel’s jersey number for his lone major league at bat.

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen wearing his lucky Fire jersey.

I also told John about the Chicago Fire jersey White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wore underneath his uniform for luck on the way to the 2005 World Series title.  And Night Train, who’s been working for baseball teams since he was a kid and is earning a graduate degree in sports management at Northwestern, soaked in the view and evening with the awe of a kid at his first game.

As we exited the game, we stopped by the site of Comiskey Park’s home plate, talked about how great that site would’ve been for the Fire’s stadium and then stopped at the intersection of 35th and Shields.  Shields has been renamed for Night Train’s grandfather and I had him pose under the street sign for the picture below.  We continued our walk back to Schaller’s Pump and passed John’s late grandfather’s modest brick bungalow at 3536 S. Lowe Avenue.  On this warm and drizzly May night, past, present and future all seemed to collide in Bridgeport.

Night Train Veeck at 35th Street and Bill Veeck Drive

The legacies of Richard J. Daley and Bill Veeck are alive and well in Chicago.  Without Daley and Veeck, the White Sox wouldn’t be in Chicago, this city wouldn’t be nearly as great as it is, I wouldn’t have had the career I have and one small group brought together by their grandsons would’ve missed out on one special night.

Peter Wilt lets his sports' team support influence his emotions for better and worse. Here he reacts to Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens giving him his 2006 US Open Cup championship medal

I tend to be an emotional person and need to work to avoid both highs and lows in my life.  I also tend to let sports results effect my mood inordinately.  The last week was a difficult week for me personally and professionally and the results of the soccer teams I follow all went against my desires.

I’ll avoid detailing the personal and professional downers except to say that they’re nothing anyone else doesn’t have to deal with on occasion.  I only mention it as it seemed to marry with last week’s soccer results which kept me down for an extended period.

I suppose sporting results, both good and bad, effect every sports fan’s mood to a degree.  Those reading this probably tend to be effected more than the average sports fan and more by soccer than other sports, so I imagine that these readers will commiserate with me a bit more than the typical person.

I had serious interest in four soccer results last week.  The matches and the results in order of importance to me:

UEFA Europa Cup Final, Fulham 1, Atletico Madrid 2:  The Cottagers are the only non-American team I’ve ever supported in any sport.  My Fulham fandom began in January, 2004 when Carlos Bocanegra left the Chicago Fire for Craven Cottage.  Since then Fulham has always had at least one American on its roster.  Fulham has never won a major trophy in its 131 year history and prior to last week had only competed in one other major championship game.  Fulham lost 2-0 to West Ham United in the 1975 FA Cup final.  Yet they seemed destined to win  the Europa Cup this year ever since Clint Dempsey’s special goal advanced Fulham past Juventus in the return leg of the last 16.  131 years without lifting a major trophy is a long time….in any sport.  Wait till next year!

Women’s Professional Soccer: Chicago Red Stars 0, Philadelphia Independence 1:  I left early. I rarely leave early.  But after 72 minutes of this match I could see where this game was going.  My WPS team – I’m a partner in the Red Stars - gave up an early goal (again), staggered through the first half and improved to frustrating in the second half.  We have an owners meeting tomorrow and we’ll be discussing the usual topics of financial and operational updates, but I imagine the topic of this talented team’s inexplicable poor record will also be on the agenda.

Major League Soccer: Chicago Fire 2, Kansas City Wizards 2:  There are two kinds of draws – those that feel like wins….and this one.  Brian McBride subbed in for Collins John at the half and scored a few minutes later to give us what seemed to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead.  It was the second time this year that the Fire captain started the game on the bench only to score soon after being subbed in.  That begs the question that Paul Gardner asked on Monday:  When a star forward scores off the bench, is it coaching genius or a sign that the coach should’ve started the forward in the first place?  Alas, Fire Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra was caught off balance on the first KC goal and he left a rebound so wide open in the 90th minute that even Kei Kamara couldn’t miss.

FA Cup Final: Chelsea 1, Portsmouth 0:  I’m not proud of it, but as sports allegiances go, I’m also a bit of a hater.  While I passionately support the Wave, Red Stars, Fire, Fulham and White Sox, I also support whoever’s playing against the Cubs, Bears, Manchester United and…..Chelsea.  After winning the Premiership the previous week it was easy to support former Blues coach Avrum Grant and his relegation bound Portsmouth squad in Grant’s revenge match against Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup Final.  While the FA Cup brings memories of Monty Python’s philosophers football match -  Immanuel Kant was a real pissant - this match provided real hope for an upset as the clock ticked away.  In fact, Portsmouth had a 56th minute penalty to take the lead, but Kevin-Prince Boateng took it right down the middle (and earlier took Michael Ballack out of the match and the World Cup) and allowed Petr Cech to save.  Just three minutes later Didier Drogba’s 59th minute free kick caught David James flatfooted and the post finally yielded for the first time in six chances against Chelsea.

Throwing himself into his favorite teams has allowed Peter Wilt to enjoy their successes to their fullest.

The cumulative virtual effect of these four decisions along with the barbiturate effect of recent real world factors resulted in my morose mood that carried over to mid-week.  I wish I could separate these results from the reality of life, but long ago I allowed sports results to be part of my life.  The benefit of living life this way is that the victories send me on a high that is memorable and inspiring.

So while I may be down today, the same passion for my sports teams that made me despondent this week will allow me to love and live life to its fullest tomorrow.

A quixotic Milwaukee bar that gave a glimpse at the future of American soccer

Every summer when I was a kid, my dad packed my brother, sister, mom and me in the 1966 apple red Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon and headed out on the American highways in search of Civil War battlefields, countless Holiday Inns and camp grounds.  Being the youngest, I had the last choice of seats and inevitably ended up in the way back, surrounded by suit cases and tent poles facing backwards.  In between exhorting truckers to blast their horn, I would yell a question to the front of the car.  It was the same question that I found myself asking Monday night while sitting at the bar of the 4th Base tavern:  “Are we there yet?”

While the question from the back of the Ford was a high pitched whine requesting an answer towards the end of an 8-10 hour day of driving/riding, the same words I uttered the other day were rhetorical and quizzical.  The question I asked myself Monday was in reference to the United States’ journey to become a soccer nation.

Interior of the 4th Base is a virtual sports museum.

I had tickets to the Mexico vs. Senegal World Cup tuneup at Soldier Field Monday Night.  I also had a 4:00 pm sponsor meeting in suburban Milwaukee.  The meeting went long and the rush hour traffic, exacerbated by Milwaukee’s highway construction,  was bumper to bumper.  I detoured off the highway and tried to cross town on an arterial road.  Another detour directed me past the 4th Base, one of my favorite places in Wisconsin.

As I approached, my Honda Civic Hybrid seemed to take control and pulled itself over at 5117 W. National Avenue.  The 4th Base is a blue collar sports bar in a blue collar town in a blue collar state, West Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Opening the door, there’s a thin haze of cigarette smoke clouding above the U-shaped bar.

Milwaukee Braves pitching staff is one of many old baseball pictures gracing the walls of the 4th Base.

Wisconsin has thousands of bars like it, but none that are JUST like it.  Sure, there’s a 1950s wall mounted pinball machine, Patsy Cline singing from the juke box and a matronly bar maid playing bar dice with a couple of flat topped customers.  The 4th Base, however has a few important differences from the thousands of other shot and a beer joints in America’s Dairyland.  It is a virtual sports museum.

The walls display dozens of old photos – many of them of the bygone Milwaukee Braves who played a dozen years in Milwaukee County Stadium a few blocks north of the bar which now has the stadium’s final home plate embedded in its side.  Many of the photos are of a single

The great Roberto Clemente is memorialized more than a dozen times throughout the 4th Base.

Puerto Rican hero who gave his life for earthquake victims after giving the Pittsburgh Pirates exactly 3,000 hits.  There are football helmets – NFL, college and USFL.  The ceiling is draped in basketball jerseys, including an Atlanta Hawks Pete Maravich #44 and the wooden decorative cover of the Milwaukee Brewers home dugout at old Milwaukee County Stadium.

And of course, dangling over the cash register wearing a white sanitary stocking and blue stirrup sock  is the prosthetic leg of former American League batting champ and Milwaukee Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn.  Kuenn operated Cesar’s Inn, a two (maybe) star motel and bar just down the street for many years.

The last home plate at the old Miwlaukee County Stadium is built into the side of the bar at the 4th Base.

Baseball pictures, basketball jerseys, football helmets - even if impressively unique and classic, are well placed in a homey establishment like the 4th Base.  The food, however, is severely out of place.  There is no menu per se.  Patrons are directed to the refrigerated deli case, which is wedged between the far side of the bar and the ladies room.  There you can view dozens of delectable options inviting your imagination to select the meal.  The cook (it’s hard to call anyone a chef in a place like the 4th Base) will help you choose between steamed lobster, pan fried walleye, crab legs, tilapia, alligator, jumbalaya, filet mignon or killer sirloin burgers.  I chose a 22 ounce black and blue porter house steak with steamed vegetables.

I was shocked Monday night, but not by the food selection, not by the crowd gathering before the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves game and not even by the chocolate lab sitting a few bar stools away.  I was blown away instead to see what the new bartender was wearing.  His name was Mike, he’s a 2002 graduate of Milwaukee’s Pius XI High School and is going back to school to finish his degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Richie Cunningham’s alma mater.

Mike, the 4th Base bartender, was wearing a Frank Lampard Chelsea jersey.  In this classic Milwaukee establishment, the royal blue top was more out of place than the blackened swordfish or shrimp scampi.  I figured he must be an impostor of sorts.  Assuming he was another recent bandwagon jumper, I asked him how he came to support the Blues.  He said he became a fan in 2005 when he spent a semester in west London and took in a 2-1 Chelsea victory over Fulham in the derby held at Stamford Bridge.  Other signs of true soccer fandom included his knowledge of Didier Drogba’s second half hat trick on Sunday and pleasant recollections of attending Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer games in his youth.

Mike wears his Frank Lampard jersey while Harvey Kuenn's prosthetic leg hangs over the bar,

A couple of patrons teased him for wearing a soccer jersey.  The bar matron came to his defense by saying “At least it’s a sports shirt.”  And then two customers across the bar started chatting with him about Chelsea’s return to the top of the Premier League.  That’s when, thinking that this may be evidence of a tipping point in American soccer, I whispered to myself, “Are we here yet?  Has soccer finally arrived in the United States?”  Mike then burst my bubble.  I asked him if he’d been down to Chicago for an MLS game.  He said he hadn’t, but he’d love to take his fiancée.  I inquired when he was getting married.  His response…and his ignorance to the meaning of the date and time of his wedding, brought my hopes that this was a sign of the arrival of soccer crashing down.

Mike, the American soccer fan who supports England’s (current) top club is getting married on June 12th….at 1:00 pm CT.