There’s no two ways about it. Even though the Chicago Red Stars made the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year in their usual gritty fashion, it’s clear now that the club needs to make massive repairs both on an off the pitch. In spite of their playoff streak, two NWSL Championship appearances, and a Challenge Cup final appearance; the Yates Report and this article by Claire Watkins of Defector have laid bare the face that the Red Stars have behaved like a third-rate organization in the country’s third-largest market.
The Defector report covers not only the abuses of Rory Dames, but allegedly those of former chief business officer Vicky Lynch who resigned on October 10th. It may get even worse for the Red Stars after an arbiter ruled in favor of the NWSL Players Association that makes Vanessa DiBernardo, Danielle Colaprico, Morgan Gautrat, Rachel Hill, and Arin Wright free agents this offseason.
It’s a total mess and this site will make five suggestions for the Red Stars to repair their image off the pitch and get from Point B to Point C on it.
1. FIND AN OWNER WHO WILL MAKE THE NECESSARY INVESTMENTS: It’s infuriating to sports fans in Chicago how is professional sports teams in the third-largest market in the country get run like third-rate organizations. All sports teams–especially the Fire in the 2010s–have been run like that from time-to-time. The Red Stars deserve an owner who won’t treat the market or the league like it’s a “mom-and-pop organization”. The onus is much greater given the progress of Angel City FC and San Diego Wave in drawing fans to their games and growing their season-ticket holder bases. The Red Stars at last report was barely around 1,000. Take away the doubleheader with the Fire at Soldier Field on July 30th, the average attendance was 4,054–which would have put the Red Stars dead last in the league by a distance instead of the 5,863 in the official total. Whomever takes the reigns as the Red Stars majority owner will need to make some massively needed upgrades across the board both on and off the pitch in order for the Red Stars to look more like a professional club.
2. IMPROVE IN FOUR AREAS: In the words of Dax McCarty, the Red Stars should make improvements in four areas on the pitch: Goalkeeping, Defense, Midfield, and Forward. Maybe not so much in goal as Alyssa Naeher continued to shine and Emily Boyd is a capable backup. The defense was decimated this season following season-ending injuries to Tierna Davidson and Kayla Sharples and Casey Krueger on maternity leave. Hopefully, all three come back healthy to add depth in the back. If DiBernardo, Colaprico, Gautrat, and Hill all go; then the Red Stars will need a brand new midfield. Up front, it would be nice to get a second goalscorer to compliment Mal Pugh.
Nine rookies saw many minutes for the Red Stars this season and some made key contributions as the Red Stars made it to the playoffs. They should get raises as much as the CBA will allow as well as get some more veteran leadership if the aforementioned midfield players leave.
3. MARKETING 101: It goes without saying that the Red Stars need to market themselves more. It was virtually non-existent. The Red Stars deserve to have more supporters come out to their games The Red Stars need to increase x-fold their marketing budget via radio ads, billboards, tv ads, etc. Speaking of television….
4. GET ON A BETTER CHANNEL: It was nice to see the Red Stars have a local broadcast for some games this season on WCIU 26.2, but there is now an opening on WGN with Fire games going to Apple TV. Getting on WGN will increase the audience and be beneficial for the club like it was for the Fire when they got on WGN. This is another opportunity for potential new owners to explore as they try to get the Red Stars to the next level.
5. CREATE A BETTER CULTURE: For all the playoff appearances and the perception that the Red Stars have a reputation of punching above their weight, the perception needs to be that the Red Stars are a better team than the resources given them. With the upgrades and recommendations mentioned earlier and implementing the recommendations made in the Yates Report, the Red Stars need to make the most of this opportunity to repair their image and be more reflective of a team in one of the largest markets in the city. The workplace also must be one where no one of the likes of Vicky Lynch and Rory Dames are allowed to have a negative influence.
The Yates Report and Claire Watkins’ story should serve as a wakeup call to this club that massive repairs are needed. Otherwise, it’s yet another black eye in a market that’s received more of them than in a stock of black-eyed peas. The Sky of the WNBA managed to build themselves into a contender and earn some limelight the last two seasons. It’s overdue that the Red Stars do the same.
