Fire Made a Big Mistake Letting Wilt Go
The Anschutz Entertainment Group does some things incredibly well. If it did not, soccer would not be where it is in this country.
But AEG also bungles some things, and a prime example was the unceremonious ouster last week of Peter Wilt, the longtime president and general manager of the Chicago Fire.
Wilt, 45, is one of the most capable, agreeable and popular figures in the sport. By any measuring stick, his eight years with the Fire were a tremendous success. His drive and enthusiasm, as much as anything, turned the club into one of the best in Major League Soccer.
Chicago has almost always been a contender. It won the league championship in 1998, its inaugural season, and was runner-up in 2000 and 2003. It also won U.S. Open Cup titles in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
Off the field, the Fire has built one of the most loyal and passionate followings of any MLS team. On game days, Wilt often could be found in the stands, interacting with the Fire faithful and getting to know their hopes and concerns.
He was almost one of the fans and, like them, he was looking forward to moving from Soldier Field to the team’s new stadium, which opens next year in suburban Bridgeview.
In the end, money caused Wilt’s downfall. AEG told him April 7 he was being replaced by John Guppy, a 37-year-old Englishman who has been groomed by AEG while serving as executive vice president of the MetroStars, another of AEG’s five MLS teams.
The change was officially announced on Monday.
Scott Blackmun, AEG’s chief operating officer, described Guppy as “a proven and capable marketing executive who we believe will capitalize on the commercial opportunities that exist for AEG in the Chicago marketplace.”
And therein lies the answer to the riddle of Wilt’s ouster.
Wilt is a soccer person. He is folksy, down-to-earth and honest. Guppy, for all his English soccer background, is a marketing person, with all the spin-doctoring that that implies.
As the Chicago Tribune reported, when Wilt on Tuesday had the unenviable task of introducing his successor, the two are night and day.
“The contrasting styles were evident,” the Tribune said, “ ... with the always slightly disheveled Wilt next to the dapper and buttoned-down Guppy.”
Dapper and buttoned down is what AEG wants when it sends someone to talk to the money on Michigan Avenue. Wilt never had the corporate lookand never wanted it.
But since AEG is a business, the bottom line takes precedence. Fair enough and understandable. Those who pour millions into the sport are entitled to a return on the investment, either now or down the road.
Down the road simply arrived a little sooner than Wilt or anyone else in Chicago expected.
But the way in which he was cast aside -- out of the blue and not two weeks into the new season -- is unforgivable. Fire Coach Dave Sarachan said he was blindsided by the news. Fire players were equally stunned.
Fire fans are venting their anger on soccer bulletin boards. And the Chicago Tribune reported that Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes, one of the team’s largest fan groups protested by dressing in black, handing out leaflets, refusing to take their seats until eight minutes into the game and draping a banner over their section with the word “Why?”
It did not have to be this way. Presumably, Guppy could have been brought in to manage the business side of affairs and Wilt could have stayed where he was, but AEG either did not consider that option or rejected it.
Wilt was offered the chance to stay on as general manager under Guppy, now the Fire’s president and chief executive officer. He declined, as AEG expected he would.
He was feeling “sadness, anger and fear,” he said.
There is one option, assuming the U.S. Soccer Federation is smart enough to take advantage. If another team does not grab Wilt, U.S. Soccer, based in Chicago, should.
The sport in this country has enough marketing people. It lacks leaders of Wilt’s caliber and charisma -- people whose love of the game overrides their love of the almighty dollar.
