We seem to have one do-or-die game every season.
Last year it was the MLS Cup Playoff game against NYRB, which, gracefully, was also the last game of the season for us. In recent seasons it’s come in July or August in the US Open Cup; the league campaign long since lost, the Chicago Fire go all in on the Cup, only to lose in the semifinals. Prior to last year— in which they suffered an early exit at the hands of FC Cincinnati— the Fire had earned four consecutive semifinal berths, only to lose each one.