Full 2012 Chicago Fire schedule out tomorrow at 1:00 PM CST; here's what we know so far
by Tweed Thornton on Jan 4, 2012 5:45 PM CST
in Fire Front Office
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PrintMajor League Soccer will release the full schedule tomorrow at 1:00 PM CST but a couple of different outlets have combined to give us a picture of 10 of the 34 MLS Regular Season games. The bulk of this information comes from the Chicago Fire front office sending out a sneak peak E-mail this afternoon that included the 'Significant Six': six top games to amp up the excitement. Great move by the front office to get the needle turned up to 11 among the fan base. Those who haven't been paying attention must have been completely surprised given the fact that the schedule is typically released in February. The games we know so far are after the break.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Source |
| 3/17 | Montreal Impact | Olympic Stadium | Jeremy Filosa |
| 3/24 | Philadelphia Union | Toyota Park | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
| 4/21 | Toronto FC | BMO Field | Canadian Soccer News |
| 4/28 | Seattle Sounders | Toyota Park | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
| 5/26 | Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
| 7/8 | LA Galaxy | Toyota Park | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
| 7/21 | Toronto FC | BMO Field | Canadian Soccer News |
| 8/4 | Toronto FC | Toyota Park | Canadian Soccer News |
| 9/15 | Montreal Impact | Toyota Park | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
| 10/27 | DC United | Toyota Park | Fire Season Ticket Holder E-mail |
We discussed the fact that Chicago will be the opponent for Montreal Impact's club home debut before we reached the holidays and now that's been double confirmed. Section 8 Chicago had some great info on the challenges that opponents face when opening stadiums. That setback is not so bad if Chicago gets both LA Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders at home next year. With the new scheduling format, that means Chicago won't have to travel to LA or Seattle in the regular season until 2013. I'd rather have the team play LA Galaxy and Seattle at home this year and travel next year because this still has the makings of being a bit of a transition team. As long as things keep going in the right direction, Chicago should be elite in two years.
Other notes are the Fire's home opener is against the Philadelphia Union on March 24. The E-mail to season ticket holders billed the DC United game as an end to the 2012 season. The 2nd Annual Supporter's Bus trip to Columbus is on Saturday, May 26. The excitement is building. Toyota Park can't re-open soon enough.
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It can’t just be bad luck that the Fire seem to frequently open new buildings, is it? Heck they even played the first game back for the Quakes in ’08.
by chicagofire1871 on Jan 4, 2012 6:13 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
It is weird, isn't it?
Someone else suggested that the FO may do it for publicity, since most of those games are televised and draw big crowds. Still, it seems like it might put you at a disadvantage at times. But I won’t try to rehash the whole previous discussion on this…
On a different note, it’s nice not to travel to Seattle and LA, though that probably means the Fire will play away in Vancouver, Portland, RSL, or LA for Chivas. I’m assuming they’ve tried to balance out the long road trips over seasons. So every season will have some tough stretches — like twice away at Toronto, if they have any kind of a decent team. It’s just the nature of the unbalanced schedule.
I’m going to ask Frank this very question next week. Last year it was just a coincidence but if do open Montreal, open Houston, AND open Montreal’s expanded Saputo Stadium next year, something is up.
Considering team’s terrible records in these games and the fact that the Fire missed the playoffs last year by 3 points, it’s a highly questionable strategy to use if the Fire are using it.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
by Tweed Thornton on Jan 5, 2012 8:54 AM CST up reply actions
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