By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The Chicago Red Stars are thinking big when it comes to their upcoming game at Wrigley Field.
The team is taking aim at the NWSL record for single-game attendance when it hosts Bay FC at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs on June 8.
The record is held by Seattle, which drew 34,130 to Lumen Field last Oct. 7 in what was Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game.
The Red Stars have employed a vigorous marketing campaign in an attempt to surpass that total, including the launch of a multifaceted campaign, “Witness History: Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” The effort looks beyond club records, aiming to bring the possibility of breaking the NWSL attendance record.
The match will be the league’s first at Wrigley Field, and the Friendly Confines’ first professional women’s sporting event in more than 80 years.
“Some of the best women’s soccer players in the world will represent our great city in the heart of Chicago on June 8,” Chicago Red Stars President Karen Leetzow stated in a press release. “This once-in-a-lifetime experience wouldn’t be possible without incredible women paving the way. This campaign honors their stories and furthers the conversations around equity and leveling the playing field to make women’s soccer more accessible to Chicagoans.
“We want Chicago to witness history with us on June 8 and hope the Red Stars continue to make history in a stadium of our own in the city that we love.”
Inspired by the history of the ballpark classic tune, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” creative agency Havas Chicago and the Red Stars partnered to create “Witness History” to blend symbolic baseball history with soccer.
The original lyrics of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” were penned in 1908 and tell the story of Katie Casey, a woman who wanted to cheer on her baseball team at a time when women cheering at ballparks was not as common a sight as it is today. The portion of the song best known today and traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of baseball games is actually the chorus of the original tune.
The Red Stars and Havas, inspired by a woman claiming a place in a space that was not for her, put a modern spin on a timeless classic.
Red Stars players bring this to life in the launch video by stepping in front of the iconic Wrigley Field marquee, pulling open the gates and marching in to take over the ballpark. The players step on the mound and wave their flag, toss soccer balls onto the diamond, sit in the dugout and even equip the stadium staff with Red Stars gear.
“This campaign merges the song’s feminist roots with the realities of modern women who assert their worth, inspiring a cultural shift that honors past and present athletes,” said Havas Chicago Co-President and Chief Creative Officer Myra Nussbaum.
There will be ads on social media, television, print media, billboards, and public transit.
Orland Park native Tatumn Milazzo joins Penelope Hocking, Jameese Joseph, Leilanni Nesbeth, Ally Schlegel, Sam Staab and Mackenzie Wood in the promotions.