MenInRed97

The regular season is over so John and Tim get philosophical sitting around The Bonfire. The duo break down the team's 4-3 Decision Day loss to the Columbus Crew at SeatGeek, and John, feeling literary, turns it into a synecdoche for the entire season.The two break down what they didn't like from the loss, including defensive lapses and a lack of passion, but try to find rays of hope, including a strong performance from Robert Lewandowski and the increased minutes seen in this one from André Franco. The two try to avoid getting into talk about the Fire's upcoming first round matchup against Charlotte, but can't help but look ahead to the playoffs and look around them at the Eastern Conference's playoff field.

Decision Day is upon us and the Fire have one more game to play – this one's their only regular season SeatGeek match of the season as they face a radically different Columbus Crew than the team they met in Ohio at the beginning of the year. John and Tim talk about what to expect from the Laurent Courtois-coached side. Then the duo – who may or may not be unofficial co-presidents of the French coach's fan club – are joined by a special guest. Official Friend of the pod Kevin Egan grabs a seat around The Bonfire for the second time in as many weeks to talk about what's at stake for the Fire and why they definitely want to host Charlotte in the first game of their playoff campaign. Then the MLS on Apple TV lead host makes the case for why this is the best date on the schedule ahead of his eight hour-long marathon in the studio on Saturday.

John and Tim are back to celebrate many a return.  The Fire return to their winning ways, Andre Franco returns to action, Jonathan Bamba returns to his early season form, and Robert Lewandowski returns to scoring!  The guys spend time winding through the plethora of attacking options Gregg has at his disposal and how he may deploy them come playoff time against Charlotte. They do take a detour to less positive stations, checking back in on the decision to bench Andrew Gutman for Noah Allen, which inevitably leads to John crashing out about - and stop me if you've heard this one -  roster building!This one has everything you could ask for, the good, the bad, the ugly, the epic highs and lows of Chicago Fire Football. Tune in to hear it all on the latest episode of The Bonfire!

Check out Andrew’s work for Backheeled here: https://www.backheeled.com/who-best-mls-spending-transfers-ranking-every-cso-designated-players/SUBSCRIBE TO THE HOTLINE: https://www.meninred97.com/#/portal/signupTim and John are joined by Andrew Clausen of Backheeled.com as the Fire battle back but settle for a draw in the last (scheduled) Soldier Field game of 2026. The trio talk the difference Griezmann has made for Orlando, both in this game and 2026, what that says about the Fire and Lewandowski moving forward.  After a bit of banter, Andrew then walks through his latest analysis for Backheeled breaking down the effectiveness of the top decision makers in MLS when targeting Designated Players.  He breaks down the methodology, some of the results and of course lets the guys know where Gregg falls in the pecking order. Then focus shifted to the upcoming game against the Colorado Rapids and what could be in store for the Fire as they take on a side that has gotten some good results in 2026 despite serious ‘flux’. Andrew breaks down the tactics of what Colorado wants to do while Tim and John discuss how the Fire may be able to take advantage of the structure (and maybe get a penalty off old friend Miguel Navarro). All this and more on the latest episode of The Bonfire!

After a decade of trying, the Fire finally head out of Atlanta with a win. John and Tim break down the Fire's 3-2 victory over Atlanta United, focusing in on why it might not feel like it's exactly time for a victory lap. From Robert Lewandowski's ongoing scoring drought to concerns with the defense and midfield, there are a lot of questions about whether the team is ready to meet the standards they've set o1ut for 2026. After talking about what they didn't like – and a few things they did, including Anzor Mekvabishvili's strong play in the second half – the duo turn to Wednesday's game against Orlando City, the Fire's final scheduled matchup at Soldier Field in 2026, as Lewandowski is once again set to face off against Antoine Griezmann.