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.

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The 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 Fire
Tim 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.

The Fire's continue their winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Portland – their second in a row over the Timbers but also just the second in the teams' respective MLS histories.
John and Tim talk about all that's working well for the Fire who are on their first five game winning streak in a quarter century, and find themselves singing about some (relatively) unsung heroes in Robin Lod, Maren Haile-Selassie and Sam Rogers, who was starting in MLS play for the first time since February and had a strong performance.
After that, they switch gears to talk about the Fire's upcoming game against Orlando City, but mostly, hone in on why they think that Antoine Griezmann might be a budding Florida Man.

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The Fire stay perfect! Berhalter's side extend the win streak to 4, and finish as the top team in Phase 1 of the 2026 Leagues Cup. John is joined by Apple TV Match Analyst Neil Sika to talk to recap the tournament and talk the return to league play as the Fire face off with Portland Timber in Soldier Field on Saturday.
Will the Fire keep the good times rolling? Or will Marti Cifuentes begin his tenure with a win in league play?