That Winning Feeling, Remember It?

Celebrate. Enjoy it. Breathe the small piping of fresh air that has opened up over what has been a month of smog over the club and the team.

The Chicago Fire’s win on Saturday night at Houston snapped multiple losing streaks and stopped what seemed like unending backwards momentum for the club both on and off the field. It wasn’t pretty by any means, but they walked away with three points against a reeling Western Conference foe.

Let’s put this win this win in context: it had been 15 months since the Fire had won an MLS game on the road. It had been over four weeks since this team had picked up three points. It was only the second time all year this club has kept shutouts in back to back games. Nemanja Nikolic scored, something he’s struggled to do all year. This team put a 90-minute shift in, looked tight at the back for the second game in a row, and frankly it felt like they finally secured a result that they deserved.

Though I am an eternal optimist at heart when it comes to supporting this club, I don’t believe this changes anything in the context of this season. But what I do believe is that this veteran group of players deserve a little bit of credit for their spirit. They have under performed in terms of talent that exists within the squad, and they’ve recognized that, but it looks like it hasn’t been based on lack of effort from anyone on the roster. They could have mailed it in a late, weather delayed game on the road, but they didn’t. Let’s hope this group can string together a few results down the stretch, make the end of the year at least interesting and provide at some decent moments to cling to for a fan base that needs it.

It’s been tough being a Fire fan this year. Ruben wrote earlier this year that everything should be good and that’s why it’s so bad. Every once and while, we need something positive. We need something to enjoy. That’s why we watch, that’s why we care.

So, all I have to say for this week is let’s enjoy heading into a weekend with three points in our back pocket. We haven’t had many of these lately. Let’s enjoy the good when it’s good, even if it is telling of where we are.