Could this be the start of a beautiful rivalry?
Bill Quigley over at The Fire Alarm has an excellent piece on the Chicago Fire-Milwaukee friendly on Saturday night. He points out that this match might just pave the way for a future derby.
Milwaukee is one of the sites currently getting the look over as a possible MLS home. The fact they are only 90 miles away from Chicago might just influence their decision.
"Which leads us to Milwaukee. Not only is the city just 90 miles north of downtown Chicago, teams from the two areas have always been big rivals for decades. The Brewers and Cubs have always played each other hard since the Milwaukee side switched to the National League a few years ago. The Packers (who used to play two games every season in Milwaukee) and Bears may be the best rivalry in the NFL, if not in US sports. Last year we got another rivalry when the Storm and Wave played some of the most exciting games in MISL last season.
If a MLS club is awarded to Milwaukee, both the expansion club and the Fire expect to have a couple of sold out home matches a piece each season. Fans from both cities will be more willing to make the two hour drive each way than make the long slog through the cornfields of Indiana and Iowa to get to a road game. In addition, the animosity between Chicago and its northern suburb (sorry, couldn’t help myself) should be enough to make sure that both teams will have a long and healthy dislike for each other."
Quigley also points out that much of the fizzle around the Brimstone Cup has gone out (also, since Dallas is no longer named the Burn, the name of the cup makes little sense).
All and all, Milwaukee would make for an interesting MLS home. It would also be nice to see another team in Texas for much the same reason. The more local rivalries the league has, the better. Everyone loves to beat his or her neighbor (why is that?).
Milwaukee is one of the sites currently getting the look over as a possible MLS home. The fact they are only 90 miles away from Chicago might just influence their decision.
"Which leads us to Milwaukee. Not only is the city just 90 miles north of downtown Chicago, teams from the two areas have always been big rivals for decades. The Brewers and Cubs have always played each other hard since the Milwaukee side switched to the National League a few years ago. The Packers (who used to play two games every season in Milwaukee) and Bears may be the best rivalry in the NFL, if not in US sports. Last year we got another rivalry when the Storm and Wave played some of the most exciting games in MISL last season.
If a MLS club is awarded to Milwaukee, both the expansion club and the Fire expect to have a couple of sold out home matches a piece each season. Fans from both cities will be more willing to make the two hour drive each way than make the long slog through the cornfields of Indiana and Iowa to get to a road game. In addition, the animosity between Chicago and its northern suburb (sorry, couldn’t help myself) should be enough to make sure that both teams will have a long and healthy dislike for each other."
Quigley also points out that much of the fizzle around the Brimstone Cup has gone out (also, since Dallas is no longer named the Burn, the name of the cup makes little sense).
All and all, Milwaukee would make for an interesting MLS home. It would also be nice to see another team in Texas for much the same reason. The more local rivalries the league has, the better. Everyone loves to beat his or her neighbor (why is that?).
Labels: Chicago Fire, MLS expansion
posted by Mike H at 9:30 AM
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