Chicago Fire striker Nate Jaqua may have put it best when describing Toyota Park, which celebrated its grand opening Sunday as the Fire defeated the New York Red Bulls.
"This place is amazing; it is one of the best places I've ever played at," he said. "The crowd was incredible. It feels like they are right on top of you."
A throng of 20,133 packed the Fire's new home for its first full-scale soccer event, and they were rowdy all evening long. Fire players said the crowd's energy transferred to them.
"With this type of crowd and atmosphere, it makes it easier," said midfielder Thiago, whose 69th-minute strike locked up the points for the home side. "We feed off the crowd. The whole night was phenomenal. The crowd was better than we were expecting."
"It was such an electric atmosphere," said rookie forward Calen Carr. "The guys on the bench, we could barely sit still. I'm starting to feel confident at home. I come in and try to give my team a spark."
Carr certainly provided a spark, as he assisted Thiago on a goal two minutes into his coming onto the pitch.
The Fire spent their first nine weeks on the road before finally returning to the Windy City on June 11 for a "public safety" match against the New England Revolution, which was played before a limited audience of nearly 13,000 Fire season ticket holders and Bridgeview residents. After compiling a 2-5-5 record while playing 11 of their first 12 games on the road, the Fire are ecstatic to be home.
"This was a new season for us tonight," said Fire head coach Dave Sarachan. "We're taking the rest of the season one game at a time, trying hard to get a three-point result. We still have a lot of work to do. That will be difficult, considering we have to turn around in two days for another game."
Fire captain Chris Armas scored his first goal of the season and the eventual game winner, a shot that Red Bulls 'keeper Tony Meola got a finger on but that trickled over the goal line. He said the club felt lucky to have the opportunity to have a second opening game.
"Most people don't have another chance for another opening, but we'll take it," he said. "We sensed the energy the fans brought. We had a good start and finish. We had a great team effort; we played a full 90 minutes."
Jaqua, who along with Armas is just now getting back to full fitness, proved dangerous alongside strike partner Andy Herron, as both attacked the Red Bulls rearguard at will, combining for six shots.
The only thing they didn't do was put the ball in the net; Jaqua had a golden chance denied in the 62nd minute by Red Bulls 'keeper Tony Meola, who was seemingly out of the play but scrambled back to his goal line to stop Jaqua's open shot.
"We've been building a good sense of each other every week. Our timing, runs and combos worked well," Jaqua said. "Luckily, Chris and Thiago picked up the slack for us and we won as a team."
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
