The long wait is finally over: the Chicago Fire are headed back to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017! The Fire booked their ticket to the postseason in style with a 5-3 thrilling win in Miami over Messi and Friends following a dominant 2-0 home win over the Columbus Crew.  Meanwhile, Philip Zinckernagel broke Nemanja Nikolic’s 2017 club record for goal contributions in a season as he reached 29 on 14 goals and 15 assists with one match still to play thanks to assisting both of Jack Elliot’s goals in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Toronto FC. To what to the Fire owe their change in fortune? How much credit to Berhalter, Zinckernagel and others deserve? What should the expectations be for this team when the playoffs begin in two weeks? Alex is joined by Matt Doyle of MLSsoccer.com and AppleTV’s MLS coverage to survey the Fire’s strong season so far.