Fuerza Chicago

jl_murtaugh@yahoo.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:03:37 +0100

“Yo si le voy, le voy a Chikago!”

For those new to Section 8 the last few seasons, the pulsating rhythms, constant jumping, and perpetual flag-waving of Sector Latino are integral to the flavor of the Harlem End as a whole. Their new location in the front portion of 117 is a product of their alliance with Ultras Red-Side, who occupies the ce [...]

Fire Top of the League, Playoff at Home

tjd1979@gmail.com — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Two Chicago Fire teams are top of the league -- did you know that? And that there's playoff action at Toyota Park this week?

The PDL and Super-20 teams both finished top of their respective midwest divisions this season. The PDL team made the playoffs for the eighth straight season (the only USL team to be able to boast that). On Tuesday, they will host the Kalamazoo Outrage at 4pm on the Toyota Park practice field. The game and parking are free, so come out and support our boys.

Fire Take on Top of The Table RSL

sr.giaco@gmail.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

"The Chicago Fire (7-5-3, 24 pts.) host Real Salt Lake (6-6-5, 23 pts.) in the second of two regular season meetings this Saturday, July 19, at TOYOTA PARK. Kickoff for the match is at 7:30 p.m. CT." That's what is it says on the Fire's homepage. So what is beyond that? What should the Fire expect from the newly crowned (if only for a week) top of the little brother conference?

Well, the first of the two meetings this year (March 29th) was a 1-1 draw, and the las [...]

Back to Basics at the Break

fotop81@yahoo.com — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

What a difference three points makes. Somewhere around 84:30, there was a fair number of Chicago Fire fans ready to torch the entire organization, top to bottom. Denis Hamlett? Out by the All-Star break some would whisper while some of us tried to figure out what the roster would look like by the end of the transfer window. I found myself babbling on more than one occasion [...]

The Hamlett Question or: "Hammer's Lone Ranger"

benjamin.kumming@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Everyone, naturally, has his or her own opinion on what’s wrong with the Fire. Some blame a mysterious “mid-summer slump,” citing a similar run of poor form in June and July of last year. Others say the dressing room has been lost, and the players aren’t motivated and focused. Maybe the attacking players are unable to concentrate, knowing their futures are on the line for the impending McBride transaction. The one person who doesn’t seem to have a constructive id [...]

Organized Pyro in Chicago?

martygroark@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

The game is about to start. Flares are lit in front of the Harlem End and the stadium begins to look like a smoldering volcano awakening from a long nap. Smoke bellows of out Section 8 and surrounds Toyota Park in an almost dream like haze. The lineups are announced and more flares are lit while huge flags begin waving from all corners of the [...]

Chicago Choreo

jl_murtaugh@yahoo.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

While if you were to mention the word "tifo" to a typical sideliner Fire fan, you're still likely to get blank stares or questions about your DVR, there has been a building awareness in the stadium that on important matchdays, there's usually something big going on before kickoff in the Harlem End. Home Openers, league matche [...]

Blanco Sent-Off, In Further Trouble?

tjd1979@gmail.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

As most of you know, Blanco was sent-off last night and was apparently involved in further altercations on his way off the field, as the Fire fell 2-1 to DC United in extra time of their US Open Cup quarter-final.

The Washington Post is reporting the following:

In addition to his on-field conduct, which according to D.C. United defender Marc Burch included both punching and eye-gouging D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms, Blanco also allegedly head-butted a D.C. United operations employe [...]

Kings of the Cup That No-One Can See

tjd1979@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

If a US Open Cup quarter-final takes place and nobody sees it, does it really happen?

Tonight, MLS' two most storied franchises face-off in yet another knockout grudge match, as the Fire travel to Maryland to take on DC United in the Open Cup.

Yet not only is the tie of the round not on television, online video streaming was not planned by the Fire, DC United or US Soccer (last minute efforts are being made by Section 8 Chicago to co-ordinate a webcast at the ti [...]

The Fire Academy Showcase Their Skill in Greensboro

splice92@hotmail.com — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100

By the time the final whistle blew on June 30th, not only was the month of June about to end but the U-18 and U-16 Chicago Fire Academies were wrapping up their four-day stay in Greensboro, NC. They were taking part in the Summer Showcase featuring teams from all across the United States looking to punch their ticket to LA, if they had not already done so, and the finals competition July 12th through the 19th to be televised on the ESPN networks.

Kings of the Cup Roll On

martygroark@gmail.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:52:48 +0100

The Chicago Fire successfully continued their run towards a record 5th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday after a 4-1 pasting over the visiting Cleveland City Stars of the USL-2 league.

After failing to score in the last 333 minutes of their regular season, a few lesser used Fire players were able to earn some time Tuesday night and showed the starters how scoring is done. Sec ond year player Mike Banner was able to find net early in the game when in the 13th minute he had time t [...]

Another Frustrating Night

martygroark@gmail.com — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:41:14 +0100

After failing to score in their previous two games, the Chicago Fire looked to the match against San Jose to regain the form that quickly made them an MLS Cup favorite and instill some confindence in the Fire fowards. After regulation however, it is difficult to see what it was that made Chicago an early season powerhouse, as once again the Chicago Fire frontline remained anonymous Saturday night.

Rookie Head Coach Denis Hameltt opted for a new lineup as he started Andy Herron and To [...]

Blog Entries - July 2008