BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Long-time Chicago Fire midfielder Logan Pause addressed the media Friday to announce he call time on his 12-year career effective at the end of the season during an emotional press conference Friday at Toyota Park.
“It’s with joy and humility that I announce this season will be my last as a professional soccer player,” he told reporters and a majority of teammates in attendance. “I’m leaving the game and this profession with gratitude and joy to these gentlemen sitting next to me, this wonderful club, this fantastic city, wonderful teammates past and present.”
In somewhat of a rarity in today’s sports landscape, the Fire’s #12 spent all 12 professional seasons with the Men in Red, tying Cobi Jones and Pablo Mastroeni for the second longest consecutive tenure of any MLS player, behind only teammate and assistant coach C.J. Brown’s 13 seasons in Chicago.
Over that time, the defensive midfielder who honed his skill set after Fire Original Chris Armas appeared in 332 competitive matches and won three domestic titles with the club. Offensive stats weren’t his thing, tallying just three goals and an apt 12 assists but the mark he leaves was more about being a consummate professional while making life difficult for opponents and challenging teammates everyday in training.
“It’s a sad day for the club having someone like Logan who’s been here for 12 years and a big part of everything this club is built on,” Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop said. “Though it’s a sad day, it’s one that he’s going to move forward in his career and do fantastic at whatever he does.”
“[When] he came to training, he played it like it was his last game every single day,” Brown said.
“He treated the game with the utmost respect. It was a joy to be on the field to be on the field, in training with a guy like you,” as he looked at Pause. “Whether I’m an older or younger guy, being next to someone like Logan makes you raise your game. If you don’t, he’s going to say something to you. Some guys may take that offensively, other guys it makes them stronger and makes them better.”
Even at 33, Pause was consistently noted for his incredible endurance, always beating out younger teammates in fitness tests even towards the end of his career. His ironman status was perhaps best on display after suffering a collapsed lung and pneumothorax during a 2-1 win at Philadelphia on August 12, 2012.
Pause played nearly 20 minutes before being withdrawn from the game, missing just two matches as he returned as a substitute in a 3-1 home win over Houston three weeks later.
“I remember past years when we were thinking about what is the Fire all about and they come up with the Tradition, Passion, Honor and everybody would sit there and say myself or Chris Armas or Peter Nowak fit those ideas of what we thought the club was about,” Brown said. “I think Logan is right there with all of that.”
Seeing his playing time diminish over the past two seasons, Pause said the timing of his decision was down to the fact that he “wanted to retire where my heart was and where my mind was. Also so the next nine games our team is ready and focused on what we have to do and the final push that’s ahead of us to make the playoffs.”
In over a decade at the Fire Pause had a lot of thank you’s to hand out on Friday.
“A special thank you to Andrew and Ellen Hauptman for the continued support and opportunity to work here and most importantly the friendship that we’ve gained over the years. To [coaches] Frank [Yallop], C.J. [Brown], Clint [Mathis], Aron [Hyde] and Tony [Jouaux], the entire staff and previous coaches I’ve had that have poured out opportunities and stuck by me. Of course I wouldn’t be here without their support and knowledge.
Teammates over the years that Pause counted closest included Armas and Brown, while he also thanked former Fire players John Thorrington and Chris Rolfe who “helped push me to be my absolute best without accepting any excuses or cutting corners. I’ve learned more from you guys than I can repay in a lifetime.”
Pause also thanked Fire supporters saying, “What an amazing 12 years it’s been for me. I can honestly say that you’ve made it easy. You’ve made it a joy. You’ve made it a pleasure. You’ve made it an honor to step out there every day. Thank you.”
With nine matches remaining and the Fire sitting just four points out of the final two Eastern Conference playoff spots, Pause brushed off talk about what would be next at the end of the season, instead preferring to focus his attention on the team’s playoff push.
Despite that both Yallop and Brown said they’d like to see Pause stick around the club.
“The guys know Logan better than I do but my sense is that he never wanted to leave this club. The city, the club, the organization, we wouldn’t want you to leave ever,” said Yallop.
“It’s a sad day for the Chicago Fire, I think it’s a great day for the Pause family. Hopefully he’ll stick around and help us out and be a voice at times if he can be,” Brown added.
