For the first time since Sept. 29, 2019, the Fire will be in their traditional color when they host FC Cincinnati.
When the Fire host FC Cincinnati in their home opener on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+, 890-AM), they will be wearing red uniforms with a broad white stripe across their chest for the first time since September 29, 2019.
Coach Frank Klopas sees much more in the team’s return to its original colour scheme than just a fresh uniform for the upcoming campaign.
“I adore the colour red.” For me, that’s just the Fire,” Klopas remarked. “Red is just a [Fire] colour, and it takes me back to the good old days, to when this organisation was first formed. Upon seeing that jersey, I was ecstatic and delighted. And when you wear that jersey, it just has so much power.
The Fire adopted blue shirts and shorts at home, saving the red for their socks, as part of the controversial 2019 rebranding that coincided with the team’s return to the city. Not only did the move deviate from the team’s winning history, but it also ignored the significance of red to Fire supporters, giving the squad a more generic appearance and defying the custom of soccer teams adhering to their primary colour.
To be fair, the appearance wasn’t awful in a hoover or inappropriate for a premier football league. When the current logo for the 2022 season took the place of the hated Fire Crown badge, the blue uniform got even better.
It never seemed appropriate to be the Fire’s main equipment.
The players were ecstatic to wear the red jersey when they saw it, according to Klopas, because it’s a great colour and it’s obviously good to have that back. “Our supporters will also be thrilled. Along with that, our first home game of the new season in front of our supporters is something [I] am looking forward to. We just need to concentrate on our preparation and make sure we play with positive energy against a very strong team. We are excited.
“Everyone is thrilled about everything, but especially the jerseys.”
Mauricio Pineda, a midfielder and defender for the Fire, is one player who recognises the significance of going back to red. Pineda, a native of Bolingbrook, progressed through the Fire youth system while donning the same red uniform as the senior squad. However, he was playing for a team that had strayed from its core when he made his first-team debut in 2020.
The Fire have returned to their proper colour at last.
Pineda remarked, “Everyone is excited for the red, and we know the history this club has in that colour.”
A significant figure in that history was Klopas. During the team’s 1998 MLS Cup/U.S. Open Cup double, he donned the red, and he grinned when Kellyn Acosta and striker Hugo Cuypers received their new jerseys at a press conference in February.
Klopas is hoping the Fire can build on their opening 2-2 draw against Philadelphia and get one step closer to better times.
“We have a chance to demonstrate our abilities and the passion, effort, and hard work that the Fire supporters have come to expect through our performance and approach to the game,” Klopas stated. “Home is the best place to do it, especially with our new red jerseys reminding us all of the heydays of the past greatness.”
