that we once were. Coming to Toyota Park/Cardinal Stadium/Soldier Field was also once a road game that most teams feared and over the past few years that hasn’t been the case. I look for the team to restore that fear into the opponents and that we protect our home turf.
the Fire would once again host a conference championship game.
If you had to name a favorite player to have ever played for the Fire, who would it be? And your favorite current player?
There is so much that goes on during match day that I really don’t have one particular favorite. I love to get there early and tailgate with all my friends and make my homemade burger, of course. Then comes match time. Being in Section 8 is an experience in itself. There is nothing like that in the Chicago sports scene. The only thing that it compares too, as someone once told me, was it was like being at a college football/basketball game. Another thing i like about match day is occasionally seeing Fire’s owner Andrew Hauptmann (spelling?) in the stands with section 8. I can only name a few owners across all sports that go into the stands and experience the atmosphere that section 8 creates. Then of course after the game we all usually get that free aldis milk and cheerios, I mean c’mon, what’s not to love about that!
So many players have been my favorites over the years. Early days you had Nowak, Klopas, and Thornton. Then you had the likes of Beasley, Bocanegra, Marsch, and Jaqua. The most recent generation you had Busch, Conde, Rolfe, and McBride. Overall though, I’d say my favorite player had to have been the one and only, Mr. Cuauhtemoc Blanco. He was an amazing player that brought a certain energy to the field every time he stepped onto it. He had amazing vision and had that “soccer sense” that left the stadium many times saying “did he just do that” ala The Blanco Bounce. Blanco also gave us many memorable goals, including the 2007 Goal of the Year. Currently Sean Johnson is my favorite player. Still young and has a lot to learn, but since he took over the starting role in 2010, he has kept the Chicago Fire tradition of great goalkeeping. He makes the saves no one expects him to and as a keeper myself, its a lot of fun to watch. I’m expecting a lot of great things from him in the years to come.
Lastly, apart from watching the team play and of course the famous ‘churro man’, what is your favorite thing about match day’s at Toyota Park?
What is the most memorable match you have ever attended? Wow, that’s a really hard question. Some of the ones I can think of off the top of my head would be the ‘03 Eastern Conference Finals ’09 Superliga Final and the amazing comeback against Colorado, and in 2011 you had the home and away games against Columbus and ’11 US Open Cup Final in Seattle. But if I had to pick my most memorable match, I would have to say it was the playoff game at home against New England in 2009. Capacity stadium with standing room only, awesome atmosphere in Section 8, rivalry game in the playoffs, great weather, flares going off, amazing goals by the Fire which lead to a victory over the Revs, it was a perfect storm. On top of the victory, it also insured
Chicago Fire supporters light off flares during a memorable 2-0 win against New England in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in 2009.