For many players on the Chicago Fire roster, last Saturday’s preseason opener was just a simple tune-up match before the season gets underway. It was a friendly, played on a field outside an Orlando resort, with trees and a road nearby. Play-by-play man Tyler Terens set up shop at a folding table to call the match solo for the club’s website. It was a long way from a Sunday night Soldier Field match on national TV.
But for a few guys on the Fire, it marked the first time they saw any meaningful match minutes in more than a year.