Fireside Chat – Assistant General Manager Chris West
Kevin Sedelmeier
Friday August 5, 2005
With his first af2 season behind him, Chris West has adjusted nicely to the other indoor game. And along with Head Coach Tommy Johnson, West gives the Fire a unique distinction of having a head coach and a front office staffer that have won national championships in different sports.
It is this legacy of winning that the Fire hopes to continue as they enter the playoffs against Macon this weekend. In this Fireside Chat, West stops by to answer some questions.
This is your first year with the Fire. How is it like what you expected it would be and what about it is unexpected?
The first year is always hard not knowing what really to expect, but the Fire front office staff has been great with putting things into perspective. The most unexpected part of the job would be time you put in on game days - 10-11 hours on a Saturday.
Describe a little of what you do for the Fire as Assistant GM, and what's
your favorite part of the job?
My overall task is corporate sales; what I like best about it is working with the business leaders and structuring proposal to fit their marketing needs.
I doubt any other af2 team has a head coach (Tommy Johnson Alabama - 1992)
and an assistant GM (Louisville - 1986) who both were on national championship
teams at their respective sport and school. What are some of the intangibles needed to have a championship team at any level?
Unity and believing in yourself as well as your team and your coaching staff. Coach Johnson has done a great job in creating a vision for the team.
With all the talk of the new arena, what are your thoughts on that? Freedom Hall probably has a soft spot in your heart, but would a new arena perhaps position Louisville for the AFL?
I think a new Arena downtown would be great for us; it would make the transition of moving to the next level AFL easier.
If you had to pick one Fire player to join you in a 2 on 2 basketball tournament, who would that be and why?
It would be Ja' Dae McGuire 6' 6'' 275. He would control the middle.
Kevin Sedelmeier is a native Louisvillian. A graduate of the University of Louisville with a B.A. in Communication and M.A. in English, he works as a technical writer and has written fifteen screenplays and numerous short
stories. He lives with his wife Elizabeth, son Lukas, and their dog Springsteen.