the footy queen

Sorry I’ve been m.i.a. lately - sometimes life gets busy, ya know?

At least I’ve been spending a lot of my time watching, playing, & talking about soccer - last night I was even able to go out and play pickup with my sister and a group of my friends from Section 8 Chicago. It had been over a year since my sister and I had last been to Grasshopper when all the Husaria guys used to play regularly, and we missed it!

My legs are hurting today, but it was fun to run around and see everyone. Hope everyone is doing well!

Footy love, nikhak

Get on the bus!

This Saturday, April 24th there will be a (beer) bus leaving from the Chicago Fire vs Montreal Impact watch party hosted by Section 8 Chicago and then headed out to the Chicago Red Stars vs Portland Thorns game at Benedictine University.

I’m excited & proud to say that I helped coordinate this bus trip. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to unite soccer in Chicago - Kick It Social (my part-time employer) and Chicago Red Stars are co-sponsoring the bus, while Section 8 Chicago has helped with promotion and ticket sales.

Some cities are fortunate enough to have their men’s and women’s clubs working together, promoting one another, or at the very least have a friendly relationship with each other. Those cities, clubs, teams are fortunate - not every city has the same unity between soccer teams & organizations. If it can’t be done on the club level though, let us, the supporters, at least try to connect everyone, every team together

Join us! Get a ticket here.

C’mon you men in red! C’mon you Stars!

Footy love & Chicago soccer pride, nikhak

What were we doing last weekend, you ask? Well, Smash was cheering on her FC Dallas boys at home in Dallas with her girls, and Julie and I were bundled up in Chicago trying to bear the cold weather and terrible soccer being played by Chicago Fire - at least the tifo by Section 8 Chicago was off the hook.

Losses & sadfaces. Hoping this weekend is better for our teams. MLS weekend #3 of 2013 is upon us - happy soccer watching.

Footy love, nikhak

nikhak: Soon Section 8 Chicago will be the most disliked group of supporters in MLS. I’m entertained by the tweets right now because i’m not at the draft. If I were there, I’d likely be embarrassed. For now, I’ll enjoy a few laughs.

Footy love.

Another weekend spent with my sister and friends at Toyota Park. For once in a long while, it’s actually exciting to go to matches again - the Fire have been playing significantly better than they have the last couple of seasons and have been notching a lot more W’s on the board.

Also, second place in the Eastern Conference and third place overall. Not baddddd, guys.

What are your hopes for the end of the MLS season?

Footy love, nikhak

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Photo credit:

One year ago yesterday, my late father was inducted into the Chicago Fire’s Wall of Honor. Thanks to the Fire for helping create such a wonderful memory of my dad and for all those who supported us through it. A red heart can never be broken. ♥

Footy love, nikhak

Going to away Chicago Fire games is always exciting, but this particular trip was even more exciting than previous ones - we were in a fabulous city, playing at a historic stadium (Stade olympique), and Montreal Impact were playing their first ever home game in MLS.

If you’ve never been to an away game for your club then you might not know that before the match all the traveling supporters meet with one another in a designated area to pick up tickets and walk into the stadium together as a group. An unbelievable atmosphere of camaraderie is created when an away group walks into the stadium together, whether it is 25, 300, or 1,000 supporters, the unique experience is almost indescribable. While hooliganism isn’t a word tossed around when talking about the MLS, it only takes one person from the home or away club to start a little controversy, so walking in as a group also helps as a security measure - this is usually just an extra safety measure on top of official security that is often provided by the home club.

This game wasn’t any different. Most Section 8 Chicago members (#S8OT - Section 8 On Tour) met at the Viau subway station just outside the stadium. (Let me tell you what a luxury it was to be able to take the train directly to the stadium, since in Chicago - I mean Bridgeview, IL - we don’t have a quick public transit route to games at Toyota Park.) From the station we all walked the short distance to the stadium together where we met with other S8 folks, who drove to the game. The horn was played, chants were sung, and we all waited for Montreal security to let us into the stadium.

When we were finally allowed into the stadium we found ourselves purchasing $7 coors light and potato chips. I guess they wanted to keep all the tasty pizza slices, nachos, and hot dogs to themselves! In a dark corner of the stadium we sat surrounded by security and realized that if we sat in the actual seats assigned to us that we wouldn’t be able to see one of the goals on the field. (Thanks, Impact.) Luckily, security kept Impact fans out of the section next to us, so we were able to spread ourselves out a bit and keep our eye on the goal that Oduro would later score on.

The game overall wasn’t an exciting one. Montreal had more attacking opportunities against the Fire in the first half, splitting our defense on numerous occasions. Luckily, Paolo Tornaghi, who was debuting in his first official Fire match, was able to keep a clean sheet in the first half. In the 56^th minute Impact scored their first goal on home turf in league history with a cross from Sanna Nyassi that was headed in by Davy Arnaud. Montreal held the lead for 15 minutes, but Dominic Oduro netted a tying goal in the 71^st minute of play, which was assisted by Sebastian Grazzini. Luckily a shot from Montreal in the final seconds of the game smacked the crossbar (or was it the post), which saved the fire from a loss and gave both teams their first point of the 2012 season. (Game highlights here.)

The atmosphere at Olympic Stadium wasn’t as impressive as I was expecting. From the corner we were sitting in, it was nearly impossible to hear the chants from Montreal’s supporters, though their visual display, bouncing, and clapping was exciting to watch at moments. A few members of their supporters’ group did come over to our group and introduced themselves by shaking each of our hands, which I thought was a classy gesture in comparison to those dressed as leprechauns, who were continuously trying to heckle us. Overall though, the Montreal fans were not as loud as I anticipated; however, they were certainly exceptional at booing the Fire and doing the wave.

In the end, the trip was a successful one filled with many good memories, as can be expected from the S8OT crew. Thank you to Montreal, my traveling buddies, Chicago Fire, S8OT, and Chicago Fire for another unforgettable experience.

Footy love, nikhak

HAPPY REX MANNING DAY! Otherwise known as, the Chicago Fire home opener.

Let’s go boys!

Footy love, nikhak

Thanks for sharing these, Section 8 Chicago and Pitch Invasion.

This past weekend I traveled to Montreal to support my @ChicagoFire for their first game of the 2012 season and the first MLS home game of Montreal Impact.

Before we, Section 8 Chicago, were allowed into the stadium, we waited outside the concrete walls of Stade olympique where chants were sung in excitement for the match.

I hope to have a more detailed post about my experience at the game posted before the weekend, but until then, enjoy this short video.

Footy love, nikhak

In August I met up with some fine gents of Section 8 Chicago’s Hot Mess CF97podcast along with special guest Peter Wilt (former CEO of the Chicago Red Stars and first President and General Manager of the Chicago Fire). Peter and I were asked to be guest speakers on this paticular episode to discuss this summer’s Women’s World Cup as well as the Chicago Red Stars. Needless to say, I was flattered they asked me to join them. Peter has been an incredible inspiration and a wealth of knowledge to me over the years. I was excited, yet nervous (obvs!) to share the mic with him. In the end, everything turned out to be more fun than I could have imagined (or maybe it was the whiskey).

This particular episode of the podcast is appx 2 hours long, but if you have 30 minutes on your hands while you’re surfing the net, on your commute to work, or need to kill time while you’re on the john then you should listen to the 30+ minutes when Peter and I discuss (and possibly share a little gossip) the WWC and the Chicago Red Stars:HOT MESS EPISODE 5: THE WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH EPISODE. Women’s soccer chat chimes in at appx the one hour mark, and if you’re up for listening to more Chicago Fire and US Soccer related fun then don’t hesitate to listen to the rest of the podcast. The men of Hot Mess CF97 wouldn’t disappoint you - would they?

If you have a chance to listen to the podcast, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Footy love, nikhak