I’m currently on the lower level of the library, working on a history paper, and it’s actually quiet. And as a result I can actually get work done.
Wouldn’t it be great if the whole library was like this? LIT is taking a review of their department, and they’re asking all students for their input. Check your Lake Forest e-mail for a link to the survey, and tell them if you agree with me.
His story began in the small town of Velika Kladuša, located at the very northwestern tip of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A simple and quiet town torn apart by war and is sadly known for serving home to Canadian Forces NATO Camp following the nearly four-year long Bosnian War.
Just five years prior to the war, in 1987, born was Adis Husidic - the Fire’s 2009 second round selection in the SuperDraft. Growing up in what was once the socialist state of Yugoslavia; the surroundings that Baggio grew up in were drastically differed from those that he would soon experience. “We were pretty well off, you know. My father was a professional soccer player. It was pretty normal prior to the war,” said Husidic.
It was his father, Zarif, who first introduced Adis to the game of soccer, and gave him the name that we now know him by. “I didn’t play any organized soccer when I was growing up before the war. I just learned the basics from my father. When I was growing up I was a fan of Roberto Baggio, because he was a creative player who would always find a way to make something happen, and so my father began to call me Baggio.” The name caught on with his friends and family, as Zarif even named his store Baggio after his son.
In March of 1992, a civil war raged through the land and forced the Husidic family to flee the bombs and seek shelter in a refugee camp near the Croatian border. “We had to move out with the bombs getting closer and closer. We would end up living in these rooms with ten or fifteen people in them. It was pretty bad. There were a lot of mines and you could hear kids stepping on them.”
Following four months in the camps, Baggio and his family would spend four years in exile in Hamburg, Germany. The young Husidic became fluent in German, grew amongst his German peers and got his first taste of organized youth soccer by playing for a lower division club called Ütersen.
Soon enough, Baggio was once again on the move only this time across the Atlantic. The Husidic family came to the Chicago-area in May of 2007 with no money and nowhere to go. “We got placed in a government home, and I remember waking up pretty early during those first days because of the difference in time zones,” said Husidic, “I would wake up at like three or four in the morning and look outside and it was dark. I remember thinking to myself ‘what are we doing here’, there was nothing to do.”
Baggio would experience one more government home in another gray Chicago neighborhood before the family moved to Franklin Park, where Zarif got a job as a construction worker. Like Germany, Franklin Park served as a place of greater hope for Baggio, where he could once again take up organized youth soccer. He began commuting to Buffalo Grove to play with local club Schwaben AC.
“One of the coaches at Schwaben told my family about Libertyville, that it was a nice place to raise your kids, get a good education. So we moved there next.” As a high school kid, Baggio would play four years with Chicago Sockers FC while starring for Illinois and Region II ODP teams, along with three years of soccer for his high school.
“I only played for the Sockers Top Talent Program during my senior year. We got to play in a major tournament in Dallas against clubs that like Aston Villa from England. Club soccer is a lot better compared to high school. In high school you just need one player to be good,” said Husidic, who also ran track for Libertyville High School, “One of my friends talked to me about coming out to run and I was like ‘what fun is there in just running’ but I joined. It was pretty fun, my goal was to improve my speed and get faster for soccer.”
After graduating from high school, college scouts did not heavily recruit Baggio and the decision to stay local and attend UIC was an easy one. “I basically knew I was going to UIC right away because I wasn’t really recruited by many teams…I wasn’t that good coming out of high school,” said Husidic who bonded with his team right away, “the guys here are cool, the team is really good. My friends told me it was going to be great at UIC with being in the city and all.”
His soccer progressed gradually, season by season, and during his freshman and sophomore years Baggio was named to the 2006 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team and 2007 First Team All-Horizon League, respectively. It wasn’t until his junior year when Husidic blazed onto the stage by scoring nine goals and racking up six assists, while leading his team to the NCAA Tournament sweet sixteen in November. His performance throughout the season earned him a spot as an NCAA All-American, and Soccer America First Team MVP.
On New Year’s Eve, Husidic signed a contract with Major League Soccer and immediately set his sights on the Chicago Fire by entering the MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas prospect. “Chicago Fire…either the Fire or some place warm. I didn’t want to go anywhere that was cold,” said Husidic, “Even when they had the 28th pick, I was hoping that they would pick me. I would have rather gone 28th instead of 1st.”
The Fire moved up to select Husidic by acquiring the 20th selection from the Colorado Rapids for their 28th selection and the rights to goalkeeper Matt Pickens. “Once the trade was made I remember feeling that maybe they were making it to take me,” said Husidic as he prepares to fly out with the team to Bradenton’s IMG Academies for training camp.
“I’m just excited,” said Husidic, “My goal is to start. I didn’t get a chance to really talk about this season with Klopas or Hamlett at the Draft, but I will soon. There will be a lot of UIC fans at the games. It’s a good team with a legend like [Cuauhtémoc] Blanco, and one of the best American players [Brian] McBride, players like [Logan] Pause, [Justin] Mapp…or [Bakary] Soumare.”
With the MLS season looming around the corner, another team that the young Fire midfielder may be suiting up for is not a foreign one to Baggio. “There are rumors coming out of Europe that the Bosnian U-21 National Team wants to call me up. I would love to play for them,” said Husidic. And so the story of Baggio Husidic may indeed come full circle, returning to the country of his birth having developed the genius of his genes abroad.
Tom Plonowski/Chicago Fire Media Relations
It’s 7:34 p.m. Central Standard Time. It’s been snowing since I got up this morning, and City of Lake Forest crews have been out plowing the streets throughout the afternoon. At the bank this afternoon, heard stories of 50 minute commutes to Vernon Hills.
But here on campus, one might ask whether the powers that be have looked out a window lately? It doesn’t seem like anything’s been touched, which makes it quite hard to get around especially since our campus is so under-lit in the first place. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like crappy weather plus crappy unplowed sidewalks plus crappy lighting create a campus where nobody really wants to be… hmmm.
EDIT: 11:01 p.m. - The crews came out in full force after I posted. Irony.
Hey Everyone,
Despite the crappy weather, me and two other editors, the Lovely Justin Tardiff and Courageous Chris Pellegrini, are in the Stentor Office putting together the final issue of the newspaper for 2008.
Chris wonders, “How should I lay out my section?” as he diligently tests a holiday beverage for Gentleperson’s Gourmand.
Justin is looking through computer archives of the Stentor to find the perfect shade of blue to accent his section, News.
And I, the Managing Editor, have nothing substantial to do yet, so I’m writing this blog about what is going on in the office. Now I’m going to go look for Facebook Pictures of the ISO/IDC Night. It’s been lovely. Stay inside tonight if you can!
And Justin needs to get more sleep, because he is obviously going crazy as he complimented me for this blog before publishing it. Thanks Justin!
Kate
Today was a landmark day for Major League Baseball and Indian athletes everywhere. Two amateur Indian “throwers”, for their background is in the javelin rather than baseball, signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The two soon-to-be pitchers, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, inked minor league contracts with the aim being that they will learn the game, and the art of pitching, over the next few years in the Pittsburgh farm system.
The likelihood of either Patel or Singh ever making the major leagues, much less being impact arms on that level, is infinitesimal. The real story here is that they are the first two athletes from India to sign with a professional sports team outside of their native country. Simply put, in this day and age of global scouting in baseball, basketball, and soccer, this is an astounding fact. India has the second largest population in the world, approximately a billion people, and is not exactly a powerhouse on the international athletic scene, yet it remains shocking that there could be this type of a first at this point in history.
Down the road, these two minor signings open up two potentially enormous doors. The first, is that since there are so many people living in India, by sheer force of probability, a few of them are almost guaranteed to be talented enough to make an impact in one of the world’s many high-profile professional sports leagues. Whether it’s soccer, baseball, or basketball there will someday be a superstar from India, or at least the sub-continent. Today marks the first step towards the inclusion of India in the global world of pro-sports scouting.
More immediately, MLB opens up a new, and potentially plentiful, market. The population of India is huge and there is an ever growing middle class with disposable income that could potentially be spent on MLB and its related products. By signing these two players, the Pirates and MLB grab headlines and attention in one of the last untapped sources of leisure revenue. Cricket is the most popular game in India right now, and the similarities between cricket and baseball are undeniable, making the MLB an easier sell than something as esoteric as football. (in the American sense, since soccer is the clear number two in India)
Whether it happens now or in the near future, India was just welcomed to the globalized age of professional sports. The ramifications will be social, cultural, and most importantly for those directly involved, monetary.
As I sit at one of the computers in the Student Center, it couldn’t be a better place to write about the laxative situation that we promised we would respond to in this week’s Stentor.
58 percent of participants in TheStentor.com’s online poll believe that there is some form of laxative in the coffee in the Caf. I was shocked to find out the number was that high. I hate coffee, and have never tried the coffee here, but I’ve spoken with some people who love coffee but swear there’s something in what’s served here.
While I can’t speak about the coffee, I can speak about the breakfast. I don’t think I’ve ever left the breakfast here feeling all that great. I can go in, eat only a piece of fruit, and feel lousy. So I talked with a doctor, and he said it was probably my problem and had nothing to do with the food. Since, let’s be honest, Aramark is not putting a laxative in the coffee, maybe there’s some bizarre medical condition affecting 58 percent of the campus that makes them high-tail it to the bathroom after having a cup of joe? Who knows.
A few days ago, Justin wrote about the election campaigns and made some observations. In lieu of Mario Baldassari’s victory, I will add my own observations to the election and respond to Justin’s post.
I liked Justin’s breakdown of of the various campaigns, but I disagree with his “Most creative campaigning” award, given to Noah. Noah’s slogans were amusing, but Mario had an organized, uniform campaign that relied on specific, recurring symbols to send his message. The recurring puzzle-pieces, Mario-style chalking font, and aesthetically appealing campaign posters made his candidacy seem consistent, serious and professional. Yet he also managed to have cheeky slogans. On North Campus, where he lives, he chalked “keep it local,” and by the Dr. Seuss plaque near Young Hall he claimed, “Dr. Seuss would vote for Mario.”
Like him or hate him, Mario’s smooth campaign carried him to victory in this election. Let’s face it, most people probably don’t stop to read every campaign poster they see. With Mario’s posters, you can get as much out of his imagery as you can from the text. Let’s hope he can carry that consistency and competence into his administration next semester.
It was a shame several weeks ago when the 2008 Presidential Election came to a close. What would I follow now? But wait… the 2008 Student Government elections are in full swing. There’s been some serious campaigning for the various candidates going on, and as one of the courses I’m taking this fall is POLS 312: Campaigns and Elections, I feel qualified to rank a few of the campaigns that stick out to me. It’s my 2008 LFC Campaign Marketing Awards.
Most Creative: President Noah Dion’s re-election team has gone all out with the chalk marketing, a popular way to promote events and the like here at Lake Forest thanks to our inconvenient Dr. Seuss-designed sidewalks. But the campaign has gone beyond just “Vote for Noah” scribblings to have a “‘Good luck with your work’ - Noah” line outside of the library, and a “‘Nice Shoes’ - Noah” quote outside of the student center. I get a warm-and-fuzzy image of Noah after seeing that type of marketing.
Most Guerilla: I have no idea how many packs of Post-It notes Vice Presidential candidate Louise Lloyd Owen has gone through to get her name out there, but it seemed to be a pretty successful effort. A newcomer to Student Senate this year, name recognition could have been a serious issue at the polls. But for a few days, the Post-It notes were everywhere in Nollen Hall, and supposedly other buildings as well. And while the notes which said “Louise for VP!” might not have been the most explanatory of her platform, they were never far from a more-detailed poster. Nice work.
Cleverest Tagline: Presidential candidate Ornis Mala’s “See the International Success.” Sure it sounds cheesy, but while a newcomer to the LFC political scene, and someone who took heat at the debate last Thursday for his lack of participation in Student Senate/GA, Ornis claims to - in fact - have a great deal of experience from his role as President of the Student Government at the American School of Kosova. And there you have the “international success.” If he can activate LFC’s sizable population of international students to support him as well, he could make an impact in the presidential bids of Noah Dion and Mario Baldassari.
Most Likely to Win Despite Minimal or Lack of Campaigning: Treasurer Chase Cook, e.Team President TJ Sargent, and Secretary Allie Winkelman.
And there you have it! Strongly disagree? Comment below or send us a Letter to the Editor at opinions@lakeforest.edu.
Hey Everyone,
So, instead of studying more for my ENGL 211 exam, I will write this blog. How amazing was Gossip Girl tonight?! I never thought I would be one of “those girls,” you know, the type that write blogs about Gossip Girl, but GG is very addicting. I-and I’m sure many other people at this school will agree- like the fashion aspect best. As my friends and I watched the hour-long guilty pleasure in Salucka’s Blackstone single, we talked about buying GG-inspired clothes on BlueFly and our deepest thoughts about whether we liked Serena’s “bow” made out of braided strands of her hair. (We were in favor.) I have no issue telling people that I like to indulge in this television show. The people who matter to me know that I am smart, and care about more than television. In fact, besides Grey’s Anatomy, which I never catch on air, GG is really the only tv I watch.
Tonight also begins (at midnight) “Da Lake Forest Mafia” game. I’m pumped to see how many people will be chasing each other around the Caf tomorrow at lunch. If someone I don’t know comes up to me, I’ll run like hell. Eteam’s gonna win!
I guess not much more is on my mind right now, besides the fact that I should be reviewing Donne’s finest love poems. I’m working on an article about the LFC community coming together through the lack of flex dollars for this week’s issue, so if you have any comments on that, please let me know!
“Who am I? That’s a secret I’ll never tell. You know you love me. Xoxo.”
Off to study. Good night!
Kate
Managing Editor
“Do you want your receipt?”
That’s the question I’m asked every time I go to Boomer’s Cafe in the Student Center, and I assume many of you are asked the same. Ever since Aramark changed the pricing at the Cafe this fall, nearly doubling the cost of Bosco Sticks and hiking soda 25 cents a bottle, I’ve said no. I’ve feared what my balance could possibly be - I know I’m a frequent customer, so I felt it could be quite low. This is of particular concern, as I’m on the 10 meals/$575 flex dollars plan, and I hate eating in the Caf probably more than anyone else on this campus. So I’ve been buying the cheapest items on the menu - pizza (for which one of the employees, Nacho, continually makes fun of me for) and mozzarella sticks. And I would never ask my parents to add more flex dollars to my account - perhaps it’s just my personal view, but I object strongly to the fact that students are required to participate in meal plans at Lake Forest, and desire not to give Aramark’s lawyers any more of my money.
Last Tuesday night, though, I learned I was on much better footing than the rest of my staff. One of my co-editors has $6 flex dollars remaining, another has close to $80. After asking for a receipt, I found out that I’m down to $223. Or essentially, despite being more than 2/3 through the semester, I have more than 1/3 of my flex dollars remaining.
How’s your flex dollar situation? Are you dead broke and need me to buy you some Naked Juice? Or are you in even better shape than my cheap self? Send us a Letter to the Editor at opinions@lakeforest.edu, or respond to this blog post, and let us know!
Staff of The Stentor, Lake Forest College’s student newspaper, speak out on issues facing them. Topics discussed include LFC issues, the city of Lake Forest, and college life in general.
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