Celtics Follow the Bouncing Ball
By George Houde
Irish American Post Chicago Bureau

There may be crimes related to soccer.This is according to John O'Sullivan, founding member of the Chicago Celtics Soccer Club and conspirator with the rest of his team to kick, run, pass and score their way to a championship season this year in the Northwest Suburban League.

The crimes may be of less than misdemeanor status, less than any sort of judicial status actually and may involve such things as engaging in practice as a non-playing 44-year-old diehard Irish soccer nut just for the joy of the game. And the camaraderie. And the tall tales. And perhaps a few pints. It certainly isn't for the money, says O'Sullivan.

"It costs us $1,600 to put a team up," said O'Sullivan. "It's a lot of money. Anyone who is playing shares in the cost."

With 15 players currently on the roster and the team now finishing its indoor soccer season playing as  the Chief O'Neill's, whose name is taken from a Chicago pub of the same name and which provides some sustenance for the players. O'Sullivan indicated the squad has been coming along. "We've been doing pretty good," he explained. "We lost to Bari the other week. though, 4-2."

Bari is the Italian contingent in the indoor league and the competition is becoming tough as the playoffs and indoor championship was coming up in the first week in April. Bari was the team's second loss this winter, having lost a close match to the Motorola Zingers 3-2 in the season opener Jan. 17.

After that, there were victories over Park Ridge, Well Hungarians and Slice of Chicago.The league is still up for grabs although the finals are early in April -- and O'Sullivan and compatriots will be aiming to uphold the long tradition of Irish soccer in Chicago. The team plays in a Wednesday night league at Soccer City in Palatine.

The Celtics were organized in 1957 after soccer had arrived on the American scene along with post-war European immigrants. But it went through some very thin years when soccer was thought of by Americans as a strictly European game. The explosion of soccer in the 1980s and 1990s revived it.

The Celtics were reestablished in 1991 by a bunch of Irish lads who were not satisfied with the role that soccer played in the lives of Americans, according to O'Sullivan, himself a native of Trim, Co. Meath.

O'Sullivan and his group put together a team made up almost entirely of Irish ex-patriots livin gin the Chicago area, with "a sprinkling of world talent in there for good measure," he pointed out. So there are Brits as well as Canadians, New Jersey-ites and Californians on the team.

But it is not always easy to find Irish expatriates willing to play rough and tumble soccer. O'Sullivan and crew have had to scout Irish pubs in the manner of a press gang, shanghaiing prospects and putting them to the test. Most of the team members reside in the northwest side or suburbs with a few living on the south side of Chicago.

"We're always looking for players when they come to the bars," added O'Sullivan.

The purpose of such recruitment, he said, was to bring "high class soccer to the multitudes and, in the process, rise to the pinnacle of established soccer in Chicagoland."

A fairly tall order, given the multitude of soccer teams in the Chicago area, as well as the difficulties of maintain a healthy and full roster. Injuries come into play and there are jobs and families.

"We've got 15 on the roster, but you won't get 15 every week" said O'Sullivan. "People get injured and Valentine's Day hurt us, for example." Significantly, Valentine's Day marked the loss to the Italians.

The team also tours and plays in such venues as Toronto, New York and Boston. In Chicago, the league will have two divisions of 10 teams each and the Celtics will have its hands full battling its way to the top for the coveted league cup. O'Sullivan will watch from the sidelines, however, as club secretary and founding father.

"I won't put on the boots," he said.

For more information on the Chicago Celtics, call O'Sullivan at 1-773-736-5391, or e-mail JOsulli887@aol.com
 
 

The Chicago Celtics roster includes: Barry Glancy, 23, Dublin Mike Ehst, 23, Downer's Grove Andre Spitzer, 31, White Plains, N.Y. Brendan Fields, 27, Dublin Michael Kenna, 30, Dublin Roberto Pelosi, 29, Dublin Mike Shelley, 20, Dublin Kevin Farrell, 29, Dublin Bill McLaughlin, 27, San Diego Steven Lau, 35, New Jersey Sean Brogan, 29, Dublin Kevin Reid, 31, Farnborough, England Robert Higgins, 29, Vancouver B.C. Stuart O'Brien, 23, Drogheda, County Louth Tom Ennis, 41, Dublin Neil Jarvey, 28, Oxfordshire, England Joe Murray, 28, Kilkenney Ivan Clarke, 30, Dublin David Lynch, chairman, 35, Dublin John O'Sullivan, 44, Trim, County Meath