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An old friend of the Fire returns as Kevin Egan joins John and Tim around The Bonfire. The lead MLS on Apple TV host and former Fire broadcaster talks about why he's excited by Chicago's resurgence. Talking about his experience in the summer of 2013, when Mike Magee joined and made the Fire a must-watch (and can't-lose) team through through the summer, Kevin tells us why he believes this is "the most exciting time ever to be a Fire fan." He then says why he thinks Saturday's showdown in Atlanta is a "must-win" game for the Fire as they push for playoff positioning, making Saturday's matchup key to the team's ambitions this year.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE HOTLINE: https://www.meninred97.com/#/portal/signupIn their last test against a top team before the playoffs the Fire fall to New England 1-0.. but still manage to clinch a playoff spot!Andrew Gutman returned, Andreas Hanche-Olsen debuted, and the Fire may have found themselves on the wrong side of some questionable officiating yet again. Tim and John get together to break down the consistent issues that keep popping up, If the Fire are really set up for success in a playoff run, and what the attitude inside the locker room might be. All this and more, on The Bonfire!

For the second game in a row, the Fire can't seem to stop themselves from counting down from 11. This time, it's Captain Jack who's sent off after getting two yellows against the Philadelphia Union, his former team, and for reasons to dumb to get into, he'll miss the Fire's two next games. Down a man, the Fire couldn't hold onto the lead that Maren's absolute beauty of a goal gave them. John and Tim break down a performance where the Fire didn't show enough backbone to a playoff spot before looking forward to the possibility of a revenge game against the Revs this Saturday.

We're back - in more ways than one. John is back around The Bonfire, proving to all the doubters that he is, in fact, still alive, and he and Tim break down a pair of impressive wins for the Men In Red. There's a lot to like in the victories over Vancouver and New York City, including the play of Maren Haile-Selassie, fresh off a new deal that will keep him in Chicago for the long haul. John and Tim break it all down as they keep one eye on the impending arrival of the white-hot Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.

The Bonfire is once again burning. Ahead of the Fire's match against Vancouver at Soldier Field, Tim is joined by Joe Chatz to preview the match. With John currently doing whatever the exact opposite of a vacation is, the duo wax poetic about Puso Dithejane's first international goal for Bafana Bafana, before casually mentioning that Robert Lewandowski got a hatty and a yellow for country. The latter matters because it means that he'll be back in Chicago and set to join his Fire squad as they take on the team at the top of the west.

The Fire went to Nashville looking for their first win in the Music City.... and left disappointed. It continued a downward slide by the Fire that's extended a month at this point, as the team's now winless in seven games.John and Tim break down the performance, but they spend most of their time focusing on what's not clicking with a squad that once looked like it was about ready to go toe-to-toe with teams like Nashville.

Former Fire assistant Marko Mitrović came to town and snapped the Fire's undefeated streak, turning it now into six straight without a win. Alex joins John and Tim around The Bonfire to break down Thursday's 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution as the trio talk about what didn't go right on Sunday before switching focus to a tough date in Nashville on Saturday.

A club-record crowd were at Soldier Field to see the Chicago Fire once again take on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami and once again, the GOAT was unable to score against the Men In Red and the teams landed with a 1-1 draw, with the Fire's goal coming from a beautiful Lewandowski strike.So naturally, John is pissed as hell. It might be because it was a draw, marking the fourth time in a row where the Fire had a draw in league play. As Tim tries to talk him off the ledge on that one, the two debate what isn't clicking with the Fire as they head into the toughest stretch of the season, starting with a discussion of the next team on deck, with Marko Mitrovic's New England Revolution coming up Sunday.

It was an absolute goal fest on the shores of Lake Ontario. Maren Haile-Selassie got his second brace. Lewandowski scored and set up one of Maren's goals and Walker Zimmerman couldn't stop himself from helping Gregg out for old time's sake by adding an own goal. That would have been great except for the fact that Josh Sargent scored a hat trick and Derrick Etienne Jr. added a stoppage time goal that kept the Fire from all three points in the Battle of the Great Lakes.With John out on the IR, Joe Chatz joins Tim to make sense of it all as they look towards the Fire's upcoming game against Inter Miami and the battle of Barça alums coming up at Soldier Field on Wednesday.

It looked like the Fire were set to have a quiet end to their transfer window. Then this week happened. Recording hours before the transfer window closed, John and  Tim bring in Alex to talk through the flurry of moves, from those that were expected (like acquiring Johan Gómez) to those that weren't (signing Philip Zinckernagel to a new, shorter-term deal that sees him become a DP), to those that, as of recording, haven't officially happened yet (Noah Allen to the Fire).Join the trio as they break down all of the moves and what it means for a Fire roster that is striving to compete for trophies.

Subscribe to The Hot Line Newsletter HERE: https://www.meninred97.com/#/portal/signupThe Fire remain winless in Seattle, notching their 3rd draw in 9 attempts at Lumen Field since the Sounders joined MLS, but that doesn't mean the day was without victory.Robert Lewandowski turned heads with two big goal contributions, but was only the tip of the iceberg. Maren Haile-Selassie, Sam Rogers, and Die D'Avila all turned in Man of the Match quality performances as a late equalizer sealed a point for the FireTim and John talk, Seattle and a bit of transfer panic as the deadline is only days away without the major move needed to get the Fire over the line in the Eastern Conference and into Concacaf Champion's League contention.

Hot Takes LIVE is so, so back. Matt is joined by Alan, the-Pole-with-the-goal, and John from The Bonfire to talk all things FIRE now that the World Cup is over and Club soccer reigns supreme. But that doesn't mean an end to international matches! John says the Fire laid an egg against Monterrey, do you agree? Lewandowski is scoring goals for GGG, but nobody seems to be celebrating like it's a success. Will Franco or Bamba have a DP spot next season?

The Fire are out of the Leagues Cup courtesy to a 2-1 loss from Hugo Cuypers and CF Monterrey. To help break down what that means and the state of the Fire for the rest of the 2026 season, John and Tim talk to Fire legend Dax McCarty about what he saw last night at SeatGeek Stadium.

The Fire's win streak is over but the undefeated streak continues after a heavily rotated Fire squad gets a point against the Red Bulls in New Jersey. John and Tim break down the issues from the 1-1 draw, but the real focus is ahead: The Fire's next game is against CF Monterrey in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal. The duo break down what to expect from Hugo Cuyper's and a very strong Rayados squad including other familiar faces to MLS watchers.

The Fire continue their winning ways. It may not have been a picture-perfect victory but it was still a victory. It was also David Poreba's first MLS start as he sets up an assist after making it into the XI with his Robert Lewandowski, his favorite childhood player who sealed the win with a strike from the spot. Puso Dithejane's emergence is the main story, however, as he once again found the back of the net. John and Tim break down what they liked – and didn't – from a hot muggy night in Orlando.