1998 MLS Champions
1998 U.S. Open Cup Champions
2000 Open Cup Champions

Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire is the newest professional team in town. In their debut season, they hardly looked like an expansion team, boasting the longest winning streak in MLS this year, a potential MVP in playmaking midfielder Peter Nowak, and one of the league's leading goaltenders, Zach Thornton. While most soccer enthusiasts expected the team to be assembled to attract Chicago's sizeable Hispanic population, most notably with the acquisition of flamboyant Mexican goalkeeper Jorge Campos, the major coup for the team was drawing on the city's rich Polish heritage with players like Nowak, striker Roman Kosecki, and striker/midfielder Jerzy Podrozny. Along with Czech defender Lubos Kubik, the "Eastern bloc" was been the backbone of the team's first seasons, evidenced further by the squad's near-collapse with Nowak's extended 1998 absence due to injuries.

The Fire also boast several unofficial "supporters clubs," and I am proud to be a card-carrying member of the Barnburners. We tailgate before games, make a heck of a lot of noise in the "standing section" of Soldier Field, get together to watch away games, and generally argue over soccer via e-mail all week.