Before the Fire

By Todd McClamroch in News on Sep 13, 2006 8:30PM

The Chicago Fire and their fans will pay homage to the Chicago Sting this Sunday in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Sting's first NASL Soccer Bowl Championship in 1981. During that season, fans came out to Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park not to see the Cubs or Sox, as there was a baseball strike underway, but to see the Chicago Sting. The Chicago Sting defeated the New York Cosmos 1-0 in front of a crowd of 36,000 in Toronto to earn the title.

The Sting played outdoors in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and were crowned champions in 1981 and 1984. The team then moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) where they competed from 1984 to 1988.

The Chicago Fire host Freddy Adu and D.C. United on September 17 at 3pm. Before the Fire and United take the field, the Chicago Sting championship team will take the field for an intra-squad "Legends" game that will feature 17 of the 18 members of the 1981 squad. At halftime the team will be recognized on the field. The Fire will also be playing some Sting highlights on the video board and using music from the 80's to celebrate the event. Chicagoist hopes the Fire appreciates irony and plays a lot from The Police.

Chicagoist was a fan of the Sting and stars like Pato Margetic and Karl-Heinz Granitza and plan to support the Sting by wearing Chicago Sting T-Shirts from Section219.com. For those interested in sports nostalgia Section219 is a great place to find t-shirts from defunct sports teams. The have many Chicago teams from the past like the Chicago Blitz, Chicago Warriors, and the the Chicago Fire football team. Or check out DistantReplays.com to enjoy the game wearing a Chicago Sting 1970 soccer jersey.