BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It's a lesson taught early in SportsSpeak 101. Don't holler too loudly when things are going well for your team.
The Chicago Fire are enjoying their best start ever, going 5-1-1 through the first seven games of the 2008 season. They have allowed just three goals, and one of those was an own goal. They have had seven different players score for them. Their reserve team is undefeated.
To put it mildly, things are going well. But you don't crow too much when the season is not yet one-third over.
But it is also difficult not to admit that these are good times right now for a club that has had a history of good times in the past.
"We have a good team and we are playing well together right now," said forward Chris Rolfe. "We don't have any stars or egos to deal with, especially Temo (Cuauhtemoc Blanco). He wants to be one of the guys and fits in well with us. It is something that should keep going. I don't see any reason for it to stop. We are getting great production from every guy out there."
Added midfielder Logan Pause: "We are back to being a cohesive unit and it is really exciting right now."
The Fire take their three-game winning streak into a game Saturday night against the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park. It is their last MLS home game until June 7.
One pleasant aspect to the Fire's hot start is the health of the team. While veteran defender C.J. Brown has been out from the start with a hip injury, coach Denis Hamlett has had little trouble with players missing time.
When Rolfe was out early in the season with an ankle injury, Hamlett called on oft-injured veteran John Thorrington to play Rolfe's midfielder position. Thorrington rewarded Hamlett with three goals in two games.
When Rolfe returned to health, Hamlett put him in a forward spot, where he is most comfortable, and kept Thorrington in the lineup. Polish star Tomasz Frankowski suffered a minor ankle injury that made that transition easy, and Rolfe has stayed up top when Frankowski returned.
Thorrington removed himself from practice Thursday with a lower back problem. Should he be unavailable to play Saturday, Hamlett could move Rolfe back to the midfield spot and play either Frankowski or forward Calen Carr up top with regular starting forward Chad Barrett. Hamlett could also keep the forward starters the same (Rolfe and Barrett) and give rookie Stephen King his second start.
Brown practiced all week with the Fire, but is not expected to be available for selection for another couple of weeks, at least. Hamlett also is waiting on Paraguayan defender Lider Marmol to be available once his work visa problems clear up.
The Fire are playing a Houston team that finally won last week against Colorado, lifting its record to 1-2-4. But Hamlett pointed out that last year's champion had a similar slow start in 2007.
"They are still a good team," Hamlett said. "They went through the same stretch last yaer, they got a win and they ran off 11 in a row or something like that. We know they are a good team. You can't take them lightly."
Based on early results, it would be surprising if the Fire do not come out with another great effort against the Dynamo.
"This is a team that is trying to establish a tradition, an identity, a character and I think we are on the right track," defender Diego Gutierrez said.
"We are only just beginning this season," Blanco said after the Fire beat D.C. United 2-0 last week. "We have to keep working and getting better each day."
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