Lights. Camera. Bye Week.
With drama surrounding the firing of head coach Dave Sarachan, the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in town, and a friendly against Polish club MKS Cracovia, the Chicago Fire's Major League Soccer bye week could have been mistaken for a Hollywood sports flick.
Act One. The team struggles and then stumbles upon an obstacle that presents a major turning point in the production.
The Fire were in top form to begin the season climbing atop the Eastern Conference standings with ten points in four games. Since then, the "Men In Red" dropped six of their last eight games to fall to fifth place in the seven team Eastern Conference by June 18.
Chicago media carpooled out to Bridgeview's TOYOTA PARK on Wednesday, June 20, cramming into the press conference room to report the tragedy that any great sports film must begin with in order to be successful: a la Rudy being too small to play for the Notre Dame football, Coach Bombay dating rival Iceland's assistant in Mighty Ducks 2, and Denzel Washington's T.C. Williams football crew segregating themselves at the beginning of training camp in Remember the Titans.
Sarachan was relieved of his coaching duties in the morning after failing to rally the Fire out of their rut.
"I think it came as a little bit of a surprise to some of the guys," said seventh year Fire defender Jim Curtin. "Obviously anytime when there is a change, everybody is caught off-guard a little bit. I think, in his time here though he did a good job [but] obviously we haven't been getting results lately. It was a move that up top they felt was necessary. We're going to have to move on from it and look to get back on track and get winning again."
As Hollywood says, the show must go on.
Act Two. The team bonds over a common interest as they try to overcome obstacles presented in Act One.
Whether it's the Mighty Ducks learning how to fight from their Los Angeles friends, or the Titans singing Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's duet, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," in the locker room, every sports film requires a moment when the team overcome their adversity, forgetting the struggles they had experienced earlier on.
The Fire's bye week did not forgo the script as several players enjoyed the Gold Cup semifinals and final at Soldier Field, watching the United States defeat Canada and future teammate Cuauhtemoc Blanco's Mexico side down Cinderella story Guadeloupe.
"It was really cool to be a fan," said Fire forward Calen Carr. "I think sometimes when you're playing the game, you don't really get to appreciate all the excitement of the fans and see the emotion that goes along with being a fan. In the game, you are just so focused on the next play at hand that it was cool just to step back, especially with a game of that magnitude, and just appreciate the entire atmosphere and what the fans put into the game."
Carr and Fire teammates Jim Curtin, Jeff Curtin, Diego Gutierrez, Floyd Franks, Nick Noble and Osei Telesford, as well as others, all took in the atmosphere together as the United States defeated Mexico 2-1 to be crowned Gold Cup champions.
Act Three. The team overcomes all odds to emerge victorious.
Who would want watch a movie where Rudy never gets to play, the Mighty Ducks get spanked by Iceland twice, and the Titans disband?
No one. Instead...
Rudy gets on the field for the Fighting Irish, the Mighty Ducks pull several tricks out of their sleeves to down evil Iceland, and the Titans overcome a prejudice society to win the state championship. Could the brave "Men In Red" share the same fate?
Well the script is already written, so read on.
Fire midfielder Willian Oliveira capped off Chicago's blockbuster with his goal in the 36th minute of play, giving the Fire the quintessential 1-0 victory over MKS Cracovia. The 22-year-old Oliveira epitomizes the Fire's recent struggles, but also presents a promising future.
MLS SuperDraft first round picks Bakary Soumare and Jerson Monteiro have now both earned starting minutes for the Fire. Interim Coach Denis Hamlett, who has never held a head coaching position, made his debut on the sideline in the shutout win.
Undoubtedly, the Fire's bye week had a storybook feeling to it with its ups and downs, but now the real question appears. Movies end with the credits but the Fire has to continue. This is reality. Can the Fire springboard off their Hollywood-esque bye week or will their continuing struggles with injuries and current decline from first to fifth in the East resume as they continue regular season play?
"With Denis (Hamlett) being interim coach right now, he came in and had a good message for the team to make the most of everyone's opportunity when you get a chance to be out there on the field," said Curtin on the events of the past week and the Cracovia game. "I think everybody did that during the week preparing for Cracovia and the game was pretty good. We had some good moments in it. I think it was good to obviously get a win and get that feeling back of getting win. I think it was a good week for us. With all the changes and craziness that has happened over the past week, we're going to be getting focused this week for Colorado. It's a huge game for us to get back on track and winning like the Fire usually do."
Cuauhtémoc Blanco is scheduled to take to the pitch in Fire red in July and the Fire plan to have their next full-time coach in place as the "Men In Red" attempt to climb back atop the Eastern Conference standings in the second half of the season.
Hmmm...anyone else picturing a sequel?
Justin Bryant is an intern with the Chicago Fire Media Relations department. Bryant will graduate from Indiana Wesleyan University next year, where he works as sports editor of the university newspaper and is a sports correspondent for the city newspaper, the Marion Chronicle-Tribune.
