A little proof-positive would help Fire truly begin to believe

By Orrin Schwarz

It’s normal to be optimistic when preseason training begins.

But at the start of the Fire’s 2011 preseason training, an over-the-top, can’t-wait-to-start kind of enthusiasm seems AWOL. This is guarded optimism.

Maybe that’s what happens when you don’t really have a game-changing forward, though a couple of signings are still expected.

Maybe that’s what happens when your club missed the playoffs last season for only the second time in its history.

Maybe that’s what happens when you’ve reconstructed your roster so much the new faces outnumber the familiar faces.

“We had a really tough year last year and you guys got to see it all,” newly appointed captain Logan Pause told the media Tuesday after training at the Bridgeview Soccer Dome. “And it was hard, especially (because) this is our livelihood and we want to win. We want to win the right way, and when we’re not it’s hard. Factor all that in, of course there’s going to be change. We just try to move on and hopefully have a successful year this year.”

Before you believe you and your teammates can win, you have to introduce yourself to the guy in the next locker.

“I am very excited,” said second-year coach Carlos de los Cobos. “I am very excited because we have now new players with some special skills: about speed, about quick players. We will have a different team.”

Different? Definitely.

A championship team? A playoff team? Nobody really knows.

Everyone is saying all the right things, but how deep their belief really goes is anyone’s guess. Last season was humbling for everyone.

De los Cobos came to Chicago last year promising to play a different style of soccer, an entertaining style focused on possession. It didn’t happen last year. He thinks this roster is better suited to that kind of play.

“It’s not going to be fixed overnight,” Pause said. “It’s not going to be perfect overnight. We’ve got quite a few weeks of preseason for the staff to evaluate, for us to become more of a team.

“So yeah, it is a little bit of a fresh start, especially when you come in from such a tough year. You have to think of it that way. You have to learn from your mistakes. Hopefully, you don’t make the same ones over again and put that kind of stuff behind you and look forward to this year.”

Pause will have help leading the team. Newcomer Cory Gibbs is jumping into that role with both feet.

“Preseason’s the preseason,” the veteran defender said. “That’s how it is everywhere you go. Right now we have a lot of new faces, which makes it harder to jell, but in terms of us quote-unquote experienced players, it’s important for us to bring the youth on the same level and know what the coach’s direction is and to bring them on the same page.

“It’s all about communication. You just have to be honest with them. You sit them down and have meetings with them. You let them know, listen, this is what we’re trying to do this season, there’s no slacking off, our main goal is to win the championship, and it’s a definite possibility. We let them know that it takes hard work and dedication, and if we do the small things right.”

Gibbs said he’s getting “a good vibe” so far from the young players, that “everybody has a good attitude.”

And when the question comes, what should fans expect from this team, Gibbs interrupts quickly with his answer.

“Win it,” Gibbs said. “Simple as.

“This league is open, it’s an open league. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Some places are harder than others, but anybody can be beaten. ... Winning it is a fair possibility. Nobody in their wildest minds would have thought Colorado would have won (the 2010 MLS Cup).”

That’s the goal. It’s up to the 30 or so players who come back from Florida and South Carolina in mid-March to make it a reality.

“It definitely left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth,” Pause said about last season. “We’re eager as athletes and as an organization to prove that we are better than what we showed last year. Not only to ourselves, but to our fans here in Chicago and to the rest of the league.”

But first they have to prove it to themselves.