If you’ve heard it once, you’ve probably heard it at least twice about me, I’m a milestones guy.
Following every Fire game, myself and Microsoft Excel spend a lot of time together tracking statistics and staying on top of player milestones. For instance, who else would have noticed Sean Johnson hit his 150th competitive appearance last Friday vs. Houston?
Celebrating those benchmarks in a career isn’t just fun, but also appropriate. When the Chicago Fire Ticket Sales Department approached me with a rather unique milestone, I knew it was something to write about.
Meet David Quinn a Group Sales Account Executive here at the Chicago Fire. As of a couple weeks ago, “Quinner” as many call him, surpassed 20,000 tickets sold on the season, becoming the first person in the club’s 17 year history to achieve such a feat.
“It’s a fantastic personal achievement because it’s something that only happens over the course of time and sticking with something,” said Chicago Fire Sr. Vice President Mike Ernst. “David has a love for the game and this club that is hard to match and you see it in the drive and passion he puts into his job every day.”
Quinn has lived and breathed Chicago soccer since the late 1970s, serving as a youth coach and camp instructor while still in high school before playing collegiately at St. Joseph’s College (IN) in the 1980s. Quinn returned to Chicago as a high school coach following his run at St. Joe’s.
Quinn has spent the last 17 years working in the professional game, working for the Fire for 15 seasons and spending two in between with the Chicago Red Stars.
“It’s exciting but I’ll admit the feeling comes a bit hollow,” Quinn told Chicago-Fire.com. “I’d trade 20,000 tickets for an MLS Cup and I think that’d be true of everyone else here. Still, when you’ve hit something that hasn’t been done before, it feels good. I take a lot of pride in it.”
Quinn will be honored with the Group Ticket Sales “Gold Standard” award by MLS Commissioner Don Garber when clubs convene around next January’s MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia.
Great job David!
