On the coaching sidelines, Armas uncovers the passion
For 10 seasons, Chris Armas patrolled midfield for the Fire, making it safe for his offensive-minded teammates to go forward as he snuffed out so many opponents' attacks.
Fans fed off his passion on the field, his relentlessness, his burning desire to win.
He was to the Fire what Ben Olsen is to D.C. United, Steve Ralston to New England and, tellingly, nobody has been in New York or Dallas.
One season after retiring as a player, Armas is learning his new role as an assistant coach. Talking to him, it's easy to see how well the job fits him. He's thoughtful, giving interesting and in-depth answers to questions, and he speaks passionately about the game that has given him so much and intelligently about its intricacies.
Just like when he played, Armas never takes the easy way out.
"It was a little bit strange at first, accepting that I'm not a player anymore and putting on that coach's cap," he said before Saturday's 0-0 game against San Jose. "I was always having the player's cap on. I'm comfortable in the role now. Getting past the initial part of it and how the players look at me, I realize I'm on the other side of the line.
"I'm enjoying it. It's been great. It's challenging, it's rewarding at times, it's frustrating, all those things I knew it probably would be. No matter what anyone says, you really can't prepare for it. You have to be in that role to truly understand it. It makes you look at the game a bit different."
As much as this 35-year-old would love to be on the field, and as much as Fire fans would love to see him in his familiar No. 14, his left hip just won't allow it anymore. The arthritis, bone spurs and labral issues prevented him from being the player he wanted to be, and there are only so many injections and anti-inflammatories one person can take.
"It was hard to do the easy thing, which was walk away," he said. "I love the game. I loved playing more than most things in my life, besides my family.
"Soccer for me is everything I have known. Boy, I miss playing. Therefore I have to on certain days lace them up and get out there (at practice). Neutral player or hop on a team, just to get my fix. That's what I call it, my fix. In all reality, it sets me back a little bit. A little bit of pain with the hip for a few days. It forces me to say no the next few times, but then I'll say yes. Hey, you need another player? I'll hop in."
But perhaps what's most telling is when you ask what has surprised him most about coaching.
"I didn't think I would share the same type of satisfaction or excitement in a game. You're coaching. Big deal," he said. "But when we score, man, I get up. I can't sit still on the bench. It's almost like when you have a child, when they do something good, you want to put it up on the refrigerator. These guys, when you work on things and you see it come off, you feel proud of the guys - 100 percent.
And there's the other side of the coin as well.
"A loss, what an empty feeling," Armas added. "Now as a coach when you win there's no real high, but you feel good. And then the low of losing, it's a terrible feeling. I don't like it. I never liked losing as a player, and I can say it equally as a coach. I'm not a sore loser. I just don't like it at all."
If Fire fans can't have his passion and work ethic on the field anymore, it's comforting to know, especially after a winless June, Chris Armas is spreading it along the sidelines.