Chicago Fire Home Opener

I generally do not attend many Chicago Fire games during the season. Their games are usually scheduled on Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons. Saturday nights are normally off limits for sporting events and since I live right by Wrigley Field, Sunday afternoon games sometimes compete with a Sunday afternoon Cubs game. However, today the Fire was home on a Sunday afternoon and the MLB season had not yet started.

Pre Game Dining
I invited my friend, FOXSoccer.com columnist Jamie Trecker, to the match. We met Sunday morning at Purgatory Pizza – a relatively new pizza place in Wrigleyville. A couple of months ago, I read in the RedEye (a free edition of the Chicago Tribune) that Purgatory Pizza had an all you can eat and drink Sunday hip-hop brunch. The brunch was amazing! In my opinion, all you can eat pizza and beer for $13 (upgrade to liquor aka Bloody Mary or Screwdriver for $6) is a great brunch.

Obtaining Tickets
We arrived at Toyota Park and parked in the media lot with Jamie’s national MLS credential. Since Jamie had a national credential, I was able to receive a day-of-game credential for the game.

The Game
The Chicago Fire defeated the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on a fluke goal when Wilman Conde played a long ball that was held in the air because of the severe winds. The ball dropped to the field, as Marco Pappa shot the ball from eight yards outside of the penalty box, which hit the left goal post, rolled along the goal line and happened to cross the goal line before hitting the right post.

At halftime, Jamie and I decided to sit in the press box for the second half since the weather was 37 degrees and raining – which probably kept many people from attending the match. The home opener attendance was announced at only 11,633.