It was Sunday April 7th in the 80th minute and the weather was finally warm enough that the players could wear short sleeves and the fans did not have to bundle up to watch the match. The score was even but the mood in the Harlem End was somber

We all know there are certain disadvantages to the location of Toyota Park. Rather than continuing to lament what so many others have, I wanted to take a different approach. Despite the location, I think that the Fire can maximize this venue

The Houston Dynamo broke the MLS record for the longest unbeaten streak at home, while the Chicago Fire were on the losing end for the fourth time in six matches this season.

For the second week in a row, the Fire feature in a mid Sunday afternoon game. Hopefully the end result is the same around 6 PM this Sunday as it was last Sunday. The task is quite a bit more daunting this week in Houston though

How much of Sunday's win was improvement, and how much was playing an opponent playing poorly?

As the Fire ride the momentum of last week's win, they look to cause another upset when they travel to Houston. Hopefully they do not feel the "Orange Crush" but do some crushing of their own to bring the 3 points back to Chicago.

The Fire are coming off a confidence building (and relief inspiring) win over New York. Their next opponent is always a tough customer, but that is even more true in the impenetrable fortress that is BBVA Compass Stadium

An Opta perspective of the Chicago Fires first win of the season. These three points immediately lifts them out of last place in the conference thanks to goal for being the tie breaker in the standings.

Who's going to score? That's a question that Fire fans have often had to ask over the last several seasons, let alone the dismal beginning to 2013. In part 1 of this series we look at scoring history in MLS and its correlation to league success