It was a heartbreaking end to the season, but no-one can say we didn't bring everything we could last night as supporters. I'll leave it to a Karl or Peter or Ben to judge, but I hope and believe we lived up to stand and deliver, and that it reflected the growth of the section during this season.

For me personally, it has been a long, at times tough but mostly fun and productive first season on the board of Section 8 Chicago. I've only been a Fire fan for about six years and a season ticketholder and Section 8 regular just for the past three, so I'm in no position to judge the state of the section historically, but I'm truly excited for the future based on this season.

Last year we all came together out of solidarity with our friends in Sector Latino and though that was a good fight to be part of, this year I've seen even more togetherness, and much more of it out of positive situations. Here are my thoughts and thanks on 2009.

Our roadtrips were really well organised, with no major security incidents -- unlike ones I recall in '07 & '08 -- thanks to better co-ordination with operations at opposing stadiums, with Giaco handling that burden well, assisted by many others who captained buses, organised tailgates and just did the main thing: showed up to support the Fire wherever we were, and doing so in the right way. We've been a credit to the club on the road. Let's make NYC epic to open 2010.

At home, our tailgate expanded greatly, and folks somehow handled the increased demand despite us all missing Jim's presence for much of the season, with URS & Omar doing incredible work and too many other folks to mention also stepping up, including first-time tailgates run by The Far Western Front and Husaria.  The extended tailgate time is something we plan on pushing to keep in 2010. Merch sales (with Melissa and lately Chow handling that crazy rush) were outstanding, and our finances, kept under a close tab by Mario, are in the best shape ever, I believe.

Inside the stadium, that earlier tailgate time really showed its value in the last three home games, as it helped us get folks into the section earlier, and the team clearly loved having us in there for warmups. We have to keep this going in 2010. Increasing the number of banners on the upper deck makes a notable visual difference, with some creative work done (Joel's Busch banner from last night being a prime example). Match crew did heroic work and I hope more will join in set-up regularly.

We also managed to raise enough money for the huge displays in the last three games, from the flags to the temporary megabanderas and confetti/streamers. That all cost S8C well over $3k, but our fundraising drive showed how much people around the stadium appreciate these displays and we need to roll that effort on going forward. We can do a lot next year. The team clearly appreciates this, more than we realise most of the time, and initiatives like the Supporters' Player of the Year and the Anniversary Party can be built on in the future to solidify our relationship with them and keep strong the idea of what cf97 should mean. I think we all saw how Frank Klopas reached out to us, and we need more of that.

With the front office, we had an up and down year, neglected at first by our liasion as things fell apart a little, with the Club Charter being sidetracked and yet more petty disputes arising over simple shit like banners and flags that we should be well past. But ownership recognised mistakes and we have seen a massive shift in the past three months, with supportive efforts from the FO operationally (extended tailgate), financially (ticket stipend settled, marketing support) and most importantly in greater communication -- the Q&A with Fire leadership on Friday being a remarkably swift response to the concerns we recently expressed about a lack of dialogue with the club, for example.  We will continue to push forward with them on the Charter and plans for 2010, and I'm optimistic about where that is headed.

We still do have the heated issue of flares and security to address (unfortunately the two get mixed up with each other), and that can't be brushed aside internally by supporters or forgotten by the FO as they should work with us to find a proactive pyro solution and address our concerns about Monterrey. If either side is intransigent we will get nowhere, and in my opinion that's not acceptable for two parts of a club. This is the area of most concern for 2010.

As a culture, I've loved watching so many new people join with us at tailgates, watch parties and meetings, and the various supporters' groups interacting more than in the past. As one friend of mine mentioned at the Q&A on Friday, our diversity is probably unique in Chicago culture and I also think it's unique in American soccer. It's also our greatest strength, and though there will always be challenges to maintaining it, we should cherish and protect it.

Personally, I've made many new friends (and a wonderful new wife I met thanks to Section 8!) and I've appreciated every beer, every memory we made and was even proud to share moist eyes with some of you last night after the game. This is only a game and we need to remember that, but at the same time, I love being part of this Fire community and though I don't know what next year holds in terms of my own involvement with S8C, I think the organisation and the comradeship of our support is unmatched in American soccer.

That credit goes to all of you, and a little more than most to Ben Burton, of course, who you all will always owe a beer to for his service to the section. He's left us in great shape and it's up to all of us to build on what we have going.

I'll leave you with my favourite photo from 2010.