Fresh off their first victory of 2012 last weekend against Philadelphia, the Chicago Fire traveled to Commerce City, Colorado looking to build on their recent success and keep pace near the top of the Eastern Conference table. The match started out with some early fireworks, as both clubs had a go at net in the opening 15 minutes, but after that the match seemed to slip more and more into Colorado's hands. The Men in Red certainly had their fair share of opportunities to put the ball in the net, but they just couldn't beat keeper Matt Pickens. 

The match went in to halftime drawn at 0, but you had a feeling that the Fire were going to have to seriously pick up their play in order to come away from Colorado with any points. They did neither of those things, and lost 2-0 to a beatable Colorado Rapids squad.

One of the more exciting benefits of being a season ticket holder is the bonus games. Every STH package contains tickets to "bonus games" that are unknown to anyone when the tickets come out. So, naturally, there's always a little anticipation to see what bonus games the club has in store for their supporters every season. Last year saw the Fire take on some marquee clubs in Mexico's CD Guadalajara, and of course the English Premier League powerhouse, Manchester United. 

With a new season comes new bonus games, and new anticipation over what top flight clubs we may get to see this year. Of course, as a Chelsea FC supporter, I'd love to see the Blues in Toyota Park or Soldier Field, but when it comes to seeing premiership level talent, I'm not picky. Aston Villa will be visiting Toyota Park on July 21st to take on our Chicago Fire. This match should be a great experience for everyone involved, players, supporters, media, everyone.

The Chicago Fire opened up the 2012 season in Montreal and as become tradition, they opened another stadium as visitors. As soon as the schedule was out, the Section 8 message boards lit up. Supporters immediately started to plan how they were going to get there for the game. This ranged from helping each other find rides or cheap flights and hotels. Hearing how great these road trips have been in the past, I decided to join in for my first real road trip.

In a scene that has become all too familiar to supporters of the Fire, the team walked away from their first meeting with Montreal Impact drawn at 1. 

In front of more than 50,000 Impact supporters, the Fire helped Montreal open up their home building as the expansion franchise played its first MLS home match. After losing on the road in Vancouver last week, Montreal looked to get off to a fast start to please the home crowd. The match was pretty uneventful in the first half, with the Fire missing a few decent scoring opportunities, and Sebastian Grazzini picking up his first yellow card of the season. 

The Chicago Fire announced another big international signing today as the team introduced the German World Cup veteran, Arne Friedrich. This signing will give the Men in Red even more depth and veteran experience on a backline that may need to step up at times during the 2012 campaign - with the expected international absences of starting GK Sean Johnson. 

As we gear up for the start of the 2012 Fire campaign, there are plenty of preseason articles that can be written. And don't worry, they will be. But I feel the need to take a break from the traditional and give you something truly inspirational and flat out awesome. 

Jeff Krause is a Fire blogger who does some work for Total MLS and Chicago Fire Confidential. If you've never read his stuff, you really should - he writes some great articles about the Fire. He's also an awesome dude. Like most of the people in the Fire blogging community my first interaction with him was via Twitter. Before I took my first trip into the press box last season, I asked him for some advice and he (along with a couple other awesome bloggers) made me feel right at home in the press box. He's Fire through and through, and now he's taking it even a step further.

I'm sure by now everyone has had a chance to look at the 2012 schedule for the Fire. As you all know, the MLS has introduced unbalanced schedules this season in order to accommodate the Montreal Impact. I've broken down the Fire schedule so that we can see just how unbalanced it is.

Ever since Best Buy declined their option to come back as the shirt sponsor, there has been much speculation as to who would replace the electronics giant. The team kept saying it would not rush into anything and would take the time to find the right sponsor. The search took all of the 2011 campaign and the club went without a sponsor. This past Monday night, news leaked about a new deal in place.

        With the Major League Soccer SuperDraft now complete, Hook n Ladders is prepared to come back from its own offseason. The next couple posts will review what has happened since our break. First up, our International Signings

We've heard the Marco Pappa rumors a number of times before. We first posted them during the waning days of the summer transfer window, and at one point we even posted that there was speculation out there that a deal had been done to sell Marco Pappa to FC Twente. Obviously that rumor was false, and Pappa finished out the 2011 campaign with the Fire, turning it on a bit down the stretch. Once the summer transfer window closed and Pappa was still in a Fire kit, I believed it would be his last season at Toyota Park. I wrote numerous times about how I thought he would leave for Europe during the winter, and the Fire would be rewarded a handsome transfer fee for him. I continue to maintain that if Pappa left this club we would be alright, he is not the guy who was to do it all anymore, and we have plenty of quality players on the pitch. 

Last week we wrote yet again that FC Twente had contacted the Fire again to discuss the availability of Pappa's services, and once again Fire supporters everywhere braced for the moment when the club announced that the midfielder had been sold to another club. But hold on, because according to Frank Klopas, he hasn't had any contact from the league of FC Twente about Pappa. Sam Stejskal had the opportunity to talk to Klopas yesterday and he claims that there is no discussion about a possible move, whatsoever.