In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire burned the City of Chicago to the ground, bringing it to ruin. An uncanny resemblance can be seen in the current Chicago Fire Soccer Club; our once great club, one of the premier organizations in MLS widely feared and respected by opposing teams, has become a shadow of its former self under the stewardship of Mr. Andrew Hauptman. However much like how the City of Chicago was rebuilt and rejuvenated, we the fans petition Mr. Hauptman to take the necessary steps to respark the Chicago Fire through improving on field results, improving communication with the fan base, and to treat the supporters as members of the Fire family instead of merely as customers.

The on field results since Mr. Hauptman’s purchase of the club, but particularly during the past 5 years, have been nothing short of a disgrace. Before 2007 missing the playoffs was seen as a massive failure; now, it is almost to be expected. Off the field we have been forced to watch teams in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, and Orlando own the soccer conversation both in their respective markets and across the nation. Meanwhile the only soccer conversation we own is the pity and laughter of other teams. Chicago is a city second to none, one that makes no little plans; we strive to be the best, and results both on and off the field need to be improved.

What plan does the ownership have to address these issues? Are we going to begin pursuing big name players like Robbie Keane, or are we going to win by having the best youth development system in the nation? If the plan is the former, 6 years have passed since Blanco left and we have yet to replace the results and the fans he brought. If the plan is the latter then why did we not lead the way in developing our own USL team, so that we could control the development of our younger players and ensure they are ready to contribute to the first team?

The most damning indictment of the current ownership of the Chicago Fire is that fans are not made to feel a part of the Fire family; we are treated as customers, only as valuable as the amount of money we are willing to spend. We have stood and cheered on the team during your infamous editorial, after losing our Kings of the Cup title in a humiliating 6-0 loss, through our worst season in history, and what has the front office done to reward our support? Spat on our tradition by removing the white stripe from our home jersey, disregarded our honor by making a mockery of what the Ring of Fire should be, and extinguished our passion by lacking either the ambition or ability to return us to the upper echelon of the league. Enough is enough.

If Mr. Hauptman sees our club as nothing more than a capital investment, then we request that he sell the team to an owner who will act as a proper steward of the Chicago Fire. Otherwise, we demand that he take steps to rectify issues on and off the field, and bridge the divide between the front office and the fan base. The Fire is dying, make sure it doesn’t go out.