Normally, you wouldn't associate "Fire" with the North Pole, and certainly not the Chicago Fire MLS soccer team.
↵↵So what do these two seemingly disparate things have to do with each other? Quark Expeditions, a company that bills itself as "The Leader in Polar Adventures", is sponsoring a contest called "Blog Your Way To The North Pole"; bloggers (or anyone, actually) are being encouraged to enter this contest with a 400-word travel post that most captures the best reason that the entrant wants to travel to the North Pole.
↵↵Still wondering what this has to do with the Fire? Giovanni Savaglio is a traveler who went to Antarctica on a Quark trip eight years ago and met his wife there. He's a huge Fire fan. His entry to the contest is pretty compelling -- but then you also learn that Savaglio wants to plant a Chicago Fire flag at the top of the world:
↵↵At this point you might be wondering the connection is between the Fire and the North Pole. Well, I've always thought that some pursuits and efforts always hold their allure and fascination. One such venture is the symbolic placing of one’s flag at the top of the world. Much like hoisting a championship trophy, the elevating of one’s colors in being able to say "I'm the first" or "I'm the best", still holds appeal for those that compete.↵↵↵
↵Like Robert Peary in 1909 being the first to reach the Pole, I too seek to duplicate that with the Fire Flag being the first Major League Soccer team's flag to be placed at the Pole.↵
↵Your support and the votes from the fan base would greatly enhance my dream of flying the Fire flag on top of the world. A win for me would be a win produced by the Fire. I would love to represent the Fire in blogging to the North Pole, sending out the blog and images of a successful rising of the Fire flag. On return home, I would submit that flag to the Fire for a keepsake and display.
Well, what the heck, why not. A Chicago sports team flag planted at the North Pole, in the tradition of Robert Peary over 100 years ago? Sounds good to me. There are instructions on how to vote for Giovanni Savaglio here.