MLS' most important rivalry renews for a berth in final

Chicago won the regular-season series over New England 2-1, including a big October victory that greatly boosted the Fire's playoff hopes. AP

How do you stoke a great rivalry?

Years worth of intense playoff showdowns. A salt-in-the-wound rout. And, of course, a nasty stomp to the groin will go a long way toward spicing things up.

"I remember some pretty chippy affairs back when [Hristo] Stoichkov and [Ante] Razov we're [playing for Chicago]," said New England captain Steve Ralston, a veteran of all five previous Fire-Revolution postseason battles. "There were a couple of situations in the past that happened here. But we've all moved on from that, and there is a healthy respect for each other. That's a good thing. When you play each other as much as we do, there's going to be a rivalry."

Indeed, New England-Chicago may not be the most heated rivalry in MLS. But it has become the most important.

When the Fire and Revolution meet Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in the Eastern Conference final, it will mark the sixth time in the past eight years -- and the third season in a row -- the two franchises have collided in the postseason.

All five previous times, the winner of the Fire-Revs showdown went on to play in the MLS Cup final, and this time will be no different.

"Our rivalry comes from playing each other in important games. It seems that so many times we meet in the playoffs, conference finals, Open Cup games," Chicago captain Chris Armas said. "The games have been close. It's healthy competition -- there's a respect between the players and coaches on both sides."

But before the Fire and Revs join the Mutual Admiration Society, let's not forget there is a great deal of history here.

In 2000 -- the franchises' first postseason meeting -- Chicago sent New England home with a 6-0 thrashing in the final game of their quarterfinal series. Two years later, then-Fire striker Razov was red-carded for stomping on Revs defender Jay Heaps in the waning moments of New England's decisive 2-0 Game 3 victory in the quarters.

Chicago earned its revenge the following season by knocking the Revs out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference finals. The past three seasons -- playoff eliminations in '05 and '06, preceded by the Revs knocking Chicago out of postseason contention in the '04 season finale -- have belonged to New England.

What makes this rivalry truly special is how even it really is. Chicago holds a 19-18-6 edge against New England in all competitions, and the series is tied 5-5 in postseason play. In playoff series, the Revs took a 3-2 all-time advantage by knocking out the Fire last season in a penalty shootout.

Strangely enough, the word "respect" has been thrown around this week just as often as "revenge." (Though you better believe the Fire are thinking about it. "We want revenge," says Chad Barrett succinctly.) The bad blood of the early years of this rivalry has subsided a couple of notches ... but don't think for one second Fire-Revs has lost its edge.

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