Chicago Red Stars: Interview

Launching a new team franchise, especially in a city as obsessed with its traditional sports heritage as Chicago is, is bound to be a daunting proposition. But the Chicago Red Stars have lived to tell about it—this Saturday, the professional women’s soccer team kicks off its first home game of its second season, facing the St. Louis Athletica at Toyota Park. In a World Cup year, the team and the league are hoping for a boost of interest and attendance. The possibility of an enlarging presence for women’s soccer in Chicago’s sports consciousness is not daydream—Illinois youth-soccer leagues boast tens of thousands of members—all potential Red Stars fans.

We caught up with two Red Stars (forward Ella Masar and midfielder Brittany Klein) after practice to find out how they are feeling about this season and women’s soccer’s growth potential in a World Cup year.

How is it being on a team with an international makeup of Americans, Brits, Swedes and Brazilians? Not an issue.
“The Brazilians are doing the work off the field—learning the language. But ‘pass’ is the same in any language,” says Masar.

Getting more press coverage for women’s soccer? They’re working it.
Masar says, “I’ve been up at 5 o’clock twice to do morning news shows. We’ll do anything. Some of the girls are hitting the Puma store this week.”

The Red Stars’ unique approach to the game? Creative.
Klein tells us that it’s colorful, aggressive. “Our coach loves Arsenal. And we love Barcelona’s style of play. As for the Red Stars, it’s an attacking style; we want to create our own. We want to bring out the best in each of our lines. We play with a creative attacking style, but we work our butts off when we don’t have the ball.”

Training focus? Fitness around the ball, says Klein.
“We work hard—pre-season you grind out—test your boundaries…a lot of fitness is based around the ball. This year, the focus has been let’s push the fitness level but let’s be on the ball as much as possible.”

A day in the life of a Red Star? Busy?
Masar tells us that right now, it’s basically 24-7 soccer. “For example, when we got back from our first away game, we had to instantly go and do our own lifting program. Then we go to bed early. The next day we watch an hour of film, we practice for two and a half hours. We have an ice bath in a freezing cold, baby bath. Then we got a massage. It’s a fulltime job. I can’t eat what I want. My legs are my ticket. It’s not for the money; it’s for the love and making a difference in people’s lives.”

What does a Red Star do on her day off?
”I’m lucky, I live right in Lincoln Park. We go and hang out at the beach on the lake. We go karaoke or we go bowling. We’ll go play basketball,” says Masar.

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