NOTE: The podcast is shifting format a bit. To maximize all channels and bring you better stuff every week, we’re gonna get a lil’ strategic. Each Office Hours podcast episode will be a “case study” about the business behind culture. I’m also no longer flying solo, as Mess’s Director of Strat Alex Menocal will be riding shotgun.

This week: It was reported Wednesday that the Chicago Fire — the cities Major League Soccer franchise — would be moving back to Soldier Field after paying the city of Bridgeview $65 million dollars to break the teams lease at Seatgeek Stadium (formerly Toyota Park).

The team is one of the well-known franchises in MLS, having won the championship in their first season back in 1998. Since then, the team has had some success, but mostly has fallen on bad luck. As Major League Soccer expands — the league currently has 24 teams with FC Cincinnati becoming the 24th with Miami and Nashville getting teams in 2020 — our case study this week is “Chicago’s soccer team is coming back to Chicago, how would we market them to the city?”

We also discuss the Bad Boys movie franchise and I lay out the plot of Top Gun 2 (starts at 1:00) because WHY NOT?

If you love this episode, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

Thanks as always for reading and if you liked this episode, pass it to a friend and tell them to sign up for the newsletter!