Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

Well, work in my position doesn't exactly require any heavy lifting, so i don't want this to come off as complaining, because i'm not.

After a long and fruitful night promoting the Red Stars at the Fire game* at Toyota Park Saturday, i put in 12 hours today, but it was all good and fun.

This morning i left for Judson College at 10 am for the WPSL game between local FC Twente3 and Chicago Red Stars WPSL affiliate MYSC Lady Blues. After trying to watch two soccer games Friday night only to have them both cancelled by lightning, it was great to have such a beautiful day today to watch this game. The Madison, WI based Lady Blues won 5-0 and maintained the best record in the WPSL Midwest Division. A victory Wednesday night at the Chicago Breeze (who feature Red Stars supporter Corrie Eastland), will clinch the Midwest Division title for the Lady Blues.

After speaking with FC Twente3 Coach Richard Drake and Lady Blues Coach Ben John, i took off for GameWorks in Schaumburg for the Red Stars first viewing party ever. It was also our second overflow "sellout" as Red Stars fans filled tables in the viewing room as well as in the overflow Stadium Bar area to watch the USA beat Brazil 1-0 on a second half strike by Amy Rodriguez and hear from Red Stars GM Marcia McDermott (in person) and Head Coach Emma Hayes (via internet at halftime). Red Stars staff distributed promotional materials, raffled off prizes and talked up the team to the crowd.

i then drove to Milwaukee to drop off 100 Barcelona/Chivas tickets and meet up with my friend Valdemar Escobar for a bar-b-que and discussions about promoting the Red Stars in Milwaukee's Latino community before heading home 12 hours after the day began. Sitting in the sun watching a soccer game, hosting a soccer viewing party at GameWorks and talking soccer at a Sunday evening bar-b-que - it's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it ;-).

* Saturday evening, we started at 5 pm promoting the Red Stars to fans tailgating before the Fire game at Toyota Park. The pre-game promotion was shortened when TP management asked us not to pass out anymore Red Stars brochures or window clings in the parking lot, because we didn't ask the Fire's permission. We'll be sure to ask first next time. Hopefully they'll say yes. We then entertained a number of youth soccer and corporate leaders in our suite while watching the Fire pull off a terrific extra time victory over Toronto FC. Afterwards, we mingled in the TP Stadium Club, then i met up with many Section 8 die-hards at Beefy's on Harlem - the unofficial post game meeting place of Section 8. By midnight i was ready to call it a night.