[[THE PITCH]] Growing up, one of my dad’s favorite expressions was the
complement, “She always brings her lunch pail.” The phrase, with roots in
American football, tips its hat to the blue-collar workers who were so hard
working that they barely took time for lunch. So, “On Any Given Sunday” right before
I took the field, my dad would nudge me, “You better bring your lunch pail!”
Football has brought me back across the Atlantic into
the heartland of the USA, and I am awe struck by the impressiveness of Chicago.
Always an explorer at heart, relocating here has made me not only a member of
the Chicago Red Stars, but also, an excited and happy tourist. I’ve spent my
first month trying to figure out what it means to be a Red Star as well as a
Chicagoan, and I’m starting to think the identities are not too different.
On my first day here, they handed me my CRS jersey,
and a few minutes later I found myself comfortably cloaked in Chicago’s city
flag. I have to admit it was an upgrade from the Ronald McDonald costume we
rocked on my last team. J With red stars lined across the chest, the jersey
links the team to the city’s blue-collar core and the student in me wanted to
know how.
The four stars on the flag represent significant events,
two tragedies and two triumphs, in Chicago’s history.
One of the stars on our jersey symbolizes the Chicago
fire of 1871. While most people know about the destruction of this devastating
disaster, many have no idea what happened next. Faced with the enormity of
debris from the fire, the people of Chicago pushed tons of rubble into Lake
Michigan, creating a landfill, which is now the foundation of Grant Park. Walking
through this beautiful lakefront public property, alive with museums, grassy
fields, bike trails, and amphitheaters, I can’t help but think about the concept
of repurposing for the greater good.
The flag commemorates the persevering spirit of the
city, a spirit very much alive in my new team. It seems to be the signature of
a team for whom, last season, led the league in comebacks and goals after the
80th minute. We are headed to a similar stat this year: in four of
my first six games, we have come back from a deficit to steal points.
Playing in Europe for three seasons has equipped me
with some new tools, and I was excited to come back to the US and try them out.
While my first few NWSL games don’t compare to the great Chicago fire, I will
say that they left me a little singed. After just a few minutes on the field,
it was clear that the tempo and style of play were quite different here, and I
struggled to figure out the timing and movements. Is it possible I am a
foreigner in my own country? Practices were frustrating. I considered chucking my “tools” into Lake Michigan. Or maybe it
was me who needed a dip in the icy lake. In
the end, I got my wake up call from a more gentle water source!
***
When I wake up every morning, I look out my window at the
tranquil flowing turquois water of the Chicago River. The guides on the Chicago
Signature Tour have revealed that it wasn’t always so beautiful. As a young
city, the river was contaminated with sewage and industrial waste. In 1900, through the ingenuity of a civil
engineer they changed the direction of the river water to flow away from Lake
Michigan toward the Mississippi River. Today, I’m told it is one of the
cleanest city rivers in the country. To find a solution, sometimes you need to
change your way of thinking, and sometimes changing your way is the solution.
When you visit Chicago today, you see a dazzling
skyline of architectural masterpieces jutting out of a sophisticated metropolitan
center. Amazing as it is, it’s the knowledge of all the work that is buried
below the surface that has inspired me.
Maybe, for now, I need to worry less about my toolbox
and get back to focusing my lunch pail. After all, Grant Park didn’t build
itself. The wreckage was carried and transformed by the hard working team of
people that is Chicago. The result is pretty magnificent. My new team is
a young team, and if we are going to build something great together, we are
going to have to put in the hard work… show a little patience… and for me: consider
a change of direction.
