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The Chicago Fire are hosting their season kickoff luncheon on Monday. The annual tradition marks the end of preseason and the ceremonial start to the new MLS campaign. It’s also an occasion for Fire fans to mingle with players and club officials.
Yesterday, Fire Confidential contributor Marty Tomszak reported a concerning bit of news: media availability during the luncheon would be drastically curtailed.
Also hearing that media availability will be limited to interviewing Nelson Rodriguez and the topic of discussion must be related to the luncheon. What a cowardly way to enter the season. #cf97
— שӞᵽªᴙǡ (@TrueMartyParty) February 22, 2018
CF97 Twitter took this about as well as you’d expect.
Earlier today, the Fire’s head of public relations Frank Stranzl took to Twitter to address the situation. While there would be restrictions on the media during the event on Monday, the team, as well as club president Nelson Rodriguez, would be available for questions on Tuesday.
For #cf97 thread: Nelson and our entire team will be available to media one day after the @ChiFireFound Luncheon to discuss any/all topics. [1]
— Frank Stranzl (@frankstranzl) February 23, 2018
Hope to see a great turnout at our charitable event to support a great cause on Monday, and I also hope to see a large media contingent at Toyota Park on Tuesday as we head into the new season. #cf97 [2]
— Frank Stranzl (@frankstranzl) February 23, 2018
So, not ideal, but considerably better than what fans and media were left to conclude over the past 24 hours. Whether this was the plan all along, or whether Tuesday’s media availability was hastily arranged in response to fan outcry, remains an open question.
Regardless, we are categorically in favor of club officials and players making themselves more available to media.