Seasons Over

Not much to say. All in all it was a good season. The team frustrated me most of the year, but we made some new friends at the park and that makes it all worth while. There are a lot of questions about what the future holds. For the team it's who is coming back and who will we sign for next year? Overshadowing all of that is the fear of a strike or lockout. Will there even be soccer in the US next year?

Plenty of time for that in the future. But for tonight, good memories of the year and a bad taste for how it had to end.

Do you have an extra ticket?

Something odd happened to me last Saturday night. We went to the Fire's playoff game against New England. Now, the Fire won and it was a great game with some great atmosphere. I love a full house and it was even better that everyone was wearing red (unlike the Club America game this year: full house, everyone in yellow). At the end of the game the entire stadium started to sing "Fire" with Section 8 (I haven't seen that too often!) But that's not what the odd thing was.

We got to the stadium a little late. We visited a friend in the city beforehand because she was having a birthday party. We ended up getting caught in traffic on Harlem (mental note: don't take Harlem again). I dropped Cindy, Charlotte and the kids off closer to the Stadium, then parked in the far outskirts of the Toyota Park parking lot (next to the trains). As I was walking up I saw the smoke from the flares rise above the Toyota Park walls. I walked by the Section 8 tail gate - now abandoned since the game was on. I could hear the crowd moan and cheer - I could hear the chants of Section 8. And then it happened...something that I never thought would occur at a Fire game.

"Hey buddy, do you need some tickets? Do you have any to sell?"

A scalper...at a Fire game. You know you've hit something when you are 15 minutes into the game and the scalpers are wanting to buy tickets from you! I know, scalping is illegal. Toyota Park is probably not happy that there are scalpers there. BUT - there were scalpers there...and they are only there if they think they can make some money. I know they won't be there next March, but for a few minutes, it felt good.

Cindy asked me if it could have been a sting operation...if the cops or security were looking to catch people selling tickets. Perhaps it was, but then again, the game was sold out. And it looks like the game this week is sold out. People on the boards are begging for tickets. I have mine, and it feels good. And I wonder (and somewhat expect) that they will be back.

Congratulations Chicago Fire...you have hit the big time...at least for a little while.

Two for one

Ok..I have been missing for some time now....perhaps it is time to write again.

Can I really do two blogs at the same time (I haven't been able to do one...what am I, crazy?).

Well, here goes nothing.....

Blanco gets the call

So, Blanco gets the call back to the Mexican National team. This is his chance to finally get 100 official caps. I think this really says a lot about the state of the Mexican National team and more importantly, the lack of leadership within the team. I don’t think Blanco still has the skill and speed that he once had, but that is not why he was called up. Mexico has looked like a team without and leadership under Sven. The talent was there, but they seemed like they were missing the catalyst that could bring them all together. Perhaps Blanco is the answer to their problems. Blanco has a way of bringing this team together. More importantly, he has a way of getting into the oppositions head. That might just be enough to salvage this World Cup run.

Comment always welcome.

Toronto 0 Chicago 2 - An end to the ties

Two goals, a clean sheet and three points…it feels good to finally win a game. Here are some thoughts:

• Bush had an outstanding game. He made some saves that brought back memories of last year. He was by far my man of the match.

• It was nice to see the Fire play for the entire 90 minutes. Unlike previous weeks, there did not seem to be a let down.

• The final goal by Brian McBride was sweet. I think that was what many of us were hoping for when the Fire picked up McBride last year. Banner finding a streaking McBride after getting the rebound from Rolfe’s original shot. A thing of beauty and something that I hope we see more of.

• Beyond that, no one really shined. Rolfe’s first goal was nice but was caused more from a breakdown on Toronto’s side then a great play from Rolfe. Besides the goals and the saves by Bush, I don’t remember anyone’s game really standing out.

• We still have some major issues in defending set plays. It seemed like Toronto just missed scoring every time they had a set play in our end. We are not marking well in the box. Once again, our opponents ended up with the ball at their feet within feet of the net. The major difference today was Bush was positioned to stop the shots. This is a major problem that we need to rectify soon.

• Our passing still does not look sharp. I realize that the conditions were terrible (rain and a plastic pitch), but this seems to be a continuing problem. With the exception of the Club America friendly, our passing this year looks like something out of a rec league. This should be basic stuff for professional’s!

All in all it is good to get a win and finally end our streak of ties.
Next up Sunday (5/24) at New York.

Comments always welcome.

A new start.

For awhile, I attempted to write about my two loves at the same blog. I have found that much too difficult to keep up. So, here goes a new blog. I want to use this blog to discuss all things football, fútbol or soccer.

I know that there are a lot of football blogs out there. Most cover the European football, especially the EPL. While I love to watch European football and I am a supporter of Newcastle United, I want to use this blog to discuss soccer here in North America (the CONCACAF region to be exact.) I'm amazed at how little there is that is out there about the beautiful game here in the Western Hemisphere. Although the sport is not as popular here as it is in the rest of the world (save Mexico), it is still loved by a great many of us. The problem is that many of us are ashamed of the game that is played here. We tend to ignore it, criticize it, or make fun of it. None of those reactions will make it better or help it grow.

I want to take some time in this forum and embrace the North American game. So, we will look at the kids who play in the streets, parks and field houses of our communities. Discuss the colleges and universities that give those kids an opportunity to play. Talk about the professional clubs and the national teams, both male and female. Or just hang out the old guys who play in the parks on Sunday afternoons. The beautiful game is all around us. We just need to take some time and notice it. And perhaps, before this is all said and done, it can become something that we are all be proud of.