Dylan was driving me crazy at home after the Cubs game, so I put him in the car and drove to Toyota Park for the Chicago Fire game. I had every intention of putting Dylan to bed and hang out at home. But, at this point in his young life, the Ultimate Sports Baby loves to wander around. And, he is safer doing so at a sports stadium than our home. So this was another opportunity for him to do so.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I pulled into the Toyota Park parking …

For the past two seasons, I have attended the Chicago Fire home opener. This year was no exception especially since the game was on a Saturday afternoon. Under normal circumstances I would bring the Ultimate Sports Baby with me to an afternoon game, but the temperature was in the 30’s which is too cold for him to attend.

Pre Game Dining
Since I did not have the Ultimate Sports Baby, I decided to go to one of the bars around Toyota Park. I ended up at The Krash Inc. located at 7122 …

It was a rare Saturday afternoon game for the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park – meaning the Ultimate Sports Baby and I were off to the game since Nicole would appreciate her usual nap after teaching skating on Saturday morning.
We arrived late to the game since Dylan napped later than I thought and we hit unexpected traffic on I-55 heading to the park. Arriving late is always nerve-wracking since there will be a lack of tickets on the secondary market (especially free tickets). I would never want to pay full …

In a rare Sunday night game at Toyota Park the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls played to a scoreless draw. However, the names on the field were the reason the game sold out and 21,868 were in attendance – the largest crowd ever for a Fire game at Toyota Park.
On the pitch for the Red Bulls was Mexican captain Rafael Marquez and Thierry Henry, while the Fire debuted Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo. Castillo came into the game in the 56th minute to a standing ovation and fireworks.
Beg, …

Two weeks ago I attended the Chicago Fire game in a luxury box. For $5, I received parking, a luxury box ticket and unlimited food and drinks. A deal that is nearly impossible to beat. However, with no official “deal,” I came close as close as I could to equaling that deal last night in my second visit to Toyota Park this season.
Beg, Borrow and Deal
I was already at a severe disadvantage since I had to pay $15 for parking. But, I knew I would find a cheap ticket. I …

A few weeks ago, I wrote about attending the Chicago Bulls game with students from my Masters program at Northwestern University. That night, I wrote that I had to pay more than I normally would since we were attending the game as a group.
Last night, the “group” experience benefited me greatly. This time around we were attending the Chicago Fire’s home opener at Toyota Park versus the San Jose Earthquakes. However, we had a luxury box with unlimited food, drinks and parking included for only $5 – essentially free when …