3 key questions as new era dawns for Chicago Fire
It's not just a new year for the Chicago Fire, it's a new era.
In fact almost everything about the Fire seems to be new. The owner, the logo, the technical staff, much of the roster and more.
The stadium? Well, that's both old and new; the Fire is back at Soldier Field for MLS games for the first time since moving to SeatGeek Stadium in 2006.
But after a decade of failure, what does the Fire have to do to earn new results on the field? Here are the three primary questions facing the Fire as they prepare for Sunday's season opener at Seattle (2 p.m., ESPN).
1. Will they come?
A stadium might not win or lose any games for a team directly, but the atmosphere matters. Soldier Field seats 61,500. The Fire was last in the league last season in attendance, attracting 12,324 to SeatGeek Stadium. The Fire says it has sold more than 30,000 tickets for the home opener March 21 vs. Atlanta. The club attracted 36,444 fans to its first home game its first season in 1998.
Ticket sales for other games at Soldier Field are rumored to be slow. The club declined to comment on season ticket sales.
If fans don't follow the team to the lakefront, the players will notice. They won't have much of a home-field advantage. It could get hard for players to get enthused for games in a stadium that sounds like a mausoleum.
2. What kind of coach is Raphael Wicky?
The new coach doesn't have an extensive resume. He's young, just 42, and last coached a U.S. youth national team.
He needs to show he can handle men. He needs to show he can keep control of a roster of professionals fighting for their careers.
He needs to show he can develop successful tactics.
And with six homegrown players on the roster, the Swiss national needs to show he can develop young Americans. He should focus on Djordje Mihailovic, Jeremiah Gutjahr and Mauricio Pineda, the three homegrowns most likely to contribute this season.
If Wicky loses the locker room, the Fire will lose its gamble on him.
3. Who are these guys?
Only 13 players return from the Fire roster that finished the 2019 season.
Gone are the most recognizable players from last season, including captain Dax McCarty and designated players Bastian Schweinsteiger, Nemanja Nikolic and Alexsandar Katai.
The team has filled the DP slots with forward Robert Beric, winger Ignacio Aliseda and midfielder Gaston Gimenez. Midfielder Alvaro Medran is a Targeted Allocation Money player.
They are earning big money and they need to be special. If those players are just average, the Fire will remain irrelevant in Chicago and MLS. There's little a strong social media campaign can do to overcome weak results on the field.
Sporting director Georg Heitz worked quickly to sign players this off-season after taking over in late December. The Fire now counts 26 on the roster.
Still, expectations are low for this team. BetOnline.ag lists the Fire as 40-to-1 to win the Eastern Conference. Only Orlando City has worse odds.
Even the league website doesn't expect much from this group, putting the Fire 22nd in its power rankings out of 26 teams.
If those predictions are in the ballpark, the Fire will miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 seasons. There's nothing new about that.