Pride night at the Chicago Fire had been scheduled for several months prior. The political atmosphere (a fractured nation after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday) within it was held was anything but planned.
Only 10,384 (or at least that was the official number announced) showed up to see the Fire beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0, but those that did heard a very socially relevant and important message. (in addition to seeing, arguably, the Fire’s best performance of the season).
#Pride Night @ChicagoFire
Still nil-nil with the Philadelphia Union as the stroke of halftime nears. #cf97 #PrideMonth pic.twitter.com/HZGG26ao7g— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) June 30, 2022
As you can see from the tweet above, the Chicago Fire included re-coloring the seats in the hues of the rainbow flag, which is the symbol of the gay rights movement. The colors spelled out #cf97 the team’s official hash tag.
Additionally, the Soldier Field PA announcer made the following statement, emphasizing the values of tolerance and inclusion, prior to kickoff. Most importantly, the audio message emphasized that “reproductive rights are human rights.”
The message was then repeated in full en Espanol.
It’s #Pride night @ChicagoFire
And the first home match since #RoeVsWadeOverturned
Thus, an important special message on the @SoldierField jumbotron tonight from#cf97 #PrideMonth #Pride2022 pic.twitter.com/F8qJSIRP4U— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) June 29, 2022
This stance echoes the statements made by Megan Rapinoe, the USWNT, the NWSL and other soccer stars around the world. Roe reversal was something that an overwhelming majority of Americans did not want, and our nation has seen a strong backlash against this rogue Supreme Court.
As for the match itself, it saw another shutout for Gaga Slonina, a big moment for Federico Navarro (who scored the match’s only goal), some creativity (albeit squandered) from the designated player Xherdan Shaqiri and a host of stellar defensive performances.
It all added up to a rare victory, and it’s one that’s extremely impressive when you consider that it came over the side that’s leading Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference
“the effort is always there, the consistency will come,” said Chicago Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson after the match.
“I’m proud of the boys.”
The Chicago Fire are now just 7 points out of the final playoff slot in the conference, with half the season remaining. If they can make performances like tonight a regular thing, they’ll start drawing much better than what they did tonight.
We’ll be back later with more Chicago Fire player and coach quotes
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.