Where there's Fire...
there will be the ugliest jerseys in professional sports.
Just saw this and thought it was a joke at first. It's not. Behold the new home jersey for the Chicago Fire.
posted by Rep. John Fritchey @ 1/15/2008
11 comments
11 Comments:
I thought it was the Governor's shirt.
It's truly horrible -- I was listening to the NFL playoffs on the radio and they now call the red zone the "Heinz red zone" and use that term in the play-by-play. White Sox games are insufferable -- the first five minutes have Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton doing promos (first pitch sponsors, gametime time and temp, etc.) Life really is turning into a Philip K. Dick/George Saunders story (i.e., advertising crammed into every nook and cranny of life).
Really, it's not that bad. Shirt sponsors are the rule, not the exception, in soccer. It's unfortunate that their great Fire wordmark is gone, but it was inevitable.
Better than those Honda ads that looked like stickers.
John,
I hope you held your nose today when casting your vote on the Transit bill. I understand how you really didn't have much choice - and I also understand that we both know exactly why the Governor did what he did. So it is my hope that you and every other Rep and Sen do your best to make "eunuch-ize" the Governor's political efforts for the rest of his term.
Seriously, how does the guy even sleep at night?
I saw the quotes in the paper: look, amend the constitution if you want, but I don't see how this was an *abuse* of the amendment power. Was there a "gentleman's understanding" that the governor would never use that power on a bill with a tight deadline, or where it would put the legislators in a PR bind if they vetoed it?
Also, this crowing about democracy would be ***MUCH*** easier to take if the legislature wasn't so gleeful about gerrymandering. You folks do your damnest to keep the voters' voices as muted as possible, drawing insane, sometimes contorted, districts to minimize competitive races or to ensure certain identity politics. And don't get me started on how the state judiciary is "elected." Teapot, meet tempest.
LCD,
My issue is that I don't consider adding a wholly new component to a critical piece of legislation at the 12th hour to be a proper or warranted use of amendatory veto power.
And with respect the gerrymandering issue, I support some type of computer-based determination.
And merit selection of judges.
ALL of these items support my previous arguments in support of a Constitutional Convention.
So there's your teapot :)
John,
I most definitely view you as a reformer (as they would say in the tv-show Lost, you're "one of the good guys"). I'm not talking about positions here, but rather tone. This single move by the Governor has received more outrage from legislators than the practice of gerrymandering will in the entire decade. Maybe the entire *century*. Yet the gerrymandering in this state has robbed citizens of far more power than the guv's abuse of the amendment privilege. That's why these reports are so hard to take: the legislature has put protecting their jobs (and protecting congressional incumbants) ahead of the people -- from a "good governing" pov, the Guv's act seems trivial in comparison.
The Fire shirt could have been a lot worse: luckily it doesn't include Best Buy's yellow price tag logo.
Re: LCD's comment and your response. What I find so amazing about the governor's adding a whole new piece to the transit legislation is that he'd never hinted at until after the bill was already passed, not in discussions with the CTA, and -- I gather -- not in any discussions with the legislature. He certainly hadn't said anything about it in public; the man has complete contempt for the voters.
So why not come up with some tax dollars for the Chicago Fire so they don't have to suffer this indignity? The team clearly adds to the tax base of the community, why not help them out?
Think of it as an investment in the community, and in a sport that has growing popularity with minority voters.
You'd be a hit if you sponsored the legislation, Representative.
Let's let seniors attend Fire games for free and play state-sanctioned keno on the bus trip to the game.
Actually, I like it. It's got a sort of Liverpool 70-80's feel (when they were really good), and the ad fits with the shirt colors. I, too, regret the loss of the Fire insignia.
John, you're better at politics than shirt critique--play your strong game.
Michael Gross, M.D., J.D.
Secretary and Rules Chair, Illinois State Soccer Association
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