BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Fresh from the glitz and glamor of their starring roles in “Mike Magee’s Day Off,” the Chicago Fire’s star forward and head coach Frank Yallop tried to deflect attention back onto the field and the goal of another three points against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday (8:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
Magee assumed the iconic role of Chicago's own Ferris Bueller for KICKTV's latest groundbreaking release, which caused quite a stir – and attracted well over 300,000 YouTube views since it debuted on Wednesday.
“Getting to work with some of those other guys, Omar Gonzalez was great, Sydney Leroux was awesome, and obviously doing funny scenes with Thierry Henry is something I won’t forget,” Magee told reporters at Toyota Park on Thursday.
And while Magee is unlikely to follow in the acting footsteps of former players like Vinnie Jones and Eric Cantona, the Chicago native was happy with how the project turned out, and the positive reviews it garnered.
His Chicago Fire teammates were, as you might expect, less impressed.
“My teammates were all pretty negative and making fun of me. We don’t let each other off the hook much, they were laughing more at us than anything,” Magee added. “But all my family and friends loved it, and thought it was the coolest thing they’ve ever seen.”
For now, the focus returns to game action, as the Fire look to build on the momentum gained from two US Open Cup wins and the capture of four points from two difficult road trips to Kansas and New England.
“We’ve been a little too patient throughout the season,” Magee reflected. “There are some positives – we’ve lost the least amount of games in the East, which is amazing. I sleep better when we don’t lose, but we’re starting to put the work in in training and realize that patience is out the window and we have to win now.
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“That starts Saturday, and when you’ve only won three games halfway through the season, it’s time where you’re looking at any given week, you could fall out of the picture. Halfway through the season it shouldn’t be that way, but we’re definitely going to find out who we are [in the games ahead].”
Yallop, who also praised assistant coach Clint Mathis for his impressive role in the clip, must plan without Patrick Nyarko (knee) for the visit of playoff rivals Philadelphia, while new recruit Razvan Cocis is not expected to return to Chicago until early next week.
“Winning breeds confidence no matter how you play, but now we’ve got to come in on Saturday and build on what we just did,” Yallop said. “I’ve not been surprised by the last few results, we haven’t lost in six games, and while there have been some draws in there, it feels good not to lose a match. But now that we know what it feels like to win, it feels way better.
“I’m excited about this Saturday, I think we’ll find out where we’re at.”
