The Fire are back at Soldier Field this Saturday for a matinée – appropriately against CF Montréal. John and Tim talk Montréal's season opener in what they could only call a "thumping," who will likely be back from injury for the Fire and talk about formations and tactics for the home opener. They also shout out the imminent return of the Boys II Men In Red, as Fire II take on Inter Miami II on Friday.

John and Tim welcome MIR 97 Founder Matt Shabelman around the Bonfire to review what went wrong in the Fire's first action of the 2026. Houston recovered in the second half after Hugo Cuypers open his account in the first half.

Get in your Hot Takes for the first Hot Takes LIVE of 2026, Live on the MIR97 YouTube page the last Thursday every month: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfa69MnIXpPxQIRybHC9dq_xyMMh-IO3S9-4bynf3C9WiCNmA/viewform

John sits down with Tim and Joseph Lowery of Backheeled.com to kick off the 2026 campaign as the Fire travel to Houston to open the season on Saturday. Omari Glasgow is loaned to Monterey Bay FC in the USL. The Fire release their new home kit that maintains the classic look of the club. Then, the guys preview the 2026 Chicago Fire season.

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The Fire head to the Coachella Valley Invitational and open the last stage of preseason with a 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy as Mbokazi sees his debut for the Fire.

John and Tim pull a chair up to The Bonfire to recap a quiet week in FireLand.  Puso Dithejane will join the club for the next stretch of preseason. Pumas make a bid for Philip Zinkernagel, but are rejected by Chicago. MLS exports more players to Europe while continuing to acquire more talent this transfer window. Apple TV and MLS announce reductions to Spanish language broadcasts; where's the content? MLS signs partnership with Polymarket, an online, prediction market.

John and Tim bundle up around The Bonfire while dreaming of being in Florida while reviewing two preseason wins for the Men in Red. Fire are sitting on $5.1M in GAM, what does that mean for the club in 2026?

John and Tim are joined by Drew Vanderploeg from the Home & Away pod to cover the upcoming (!!) preseason match against SKC. Kellyn Acosta moves to Europe after a lackluster stint in Chicago. At the same time, Puso Dithejane joins from TS Galaxy F.C. from South Africa's Betway Premiership.

Correction: the Fire played Fortaleza EC during the 2025 preseason and will not being playing them in 2026.

John and Tim gather around the bonfire to kick off Season 4 with a mailbag! First, Raphaël Wicky returns to MLS as the next head coach of SKC. Justin Reynolds also moves to SKC, looking to secure more minutes. Guti makes his debut for Chivas and gets an assist. What would adding Robert Lewandowski mean for the roster build in 2026?

John and Tim chat about the signing of Finland international midfielder Robin Lod who appears destined to start the season as the Fire's #10. Mbokazi impresses in AFCON loss to Egypt with performance against Mohamad Salah.

John and Tim sit down to talk offseason Chicago Fire football. Robert Lewandowski in talks to join Fire in summer 2026. MLS Next Golden Boot winner Jason Shokalook signs first team contract.