Chicago Fire's Tom Barlow Is Ready for His Return to St. Louis

Tom Barlow is finally going to play soccer in St. Louis again.

The Chicago Fire’s forward is chief among those in the organization who are excited for their MLS-branded “Rivalry Week” matchup against St. Louis City as he will be playing his first professional match in the city he grew up in.

Barlow, 28, grew up in the St. Louis area and was a member of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club while starring for nearby Chaminade College Prep, where he was named Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year after his junior season. The prospect of playing a MLS match in St. Louis has always excited Barlow even back to when St. Louis FC was the professional team in town.

“St. Louis FC started coming around a little bit as I got a little bit older, but I had a couple of buddies that played for them,” Barlow told On Tap Sports Net. “So yeah, I always checked in with them to see how they were doing and yeah, it's been cool. I know. They're always pushing for a pro team. And then having the USL team and now the MLS team, the city is really excited about it.”

Barlow joined the Fire in the offseason after spending his first six seasons in the New York Red Bulls organization. He’s trying to bring some of the structure he learned there with him to Chicago as his new side has struggled out of the gate in 2024.

“We had a lot of success out there. And, you know, the culture is really good. There's a winning culture too. And so I think, coming here and trying my best to help the team in any way possible to try to win some games and get us on the right path to success and then making the playoffs and all that sort of thing. That's one of our goals this year.”

Family and friends will be in the stands at CityPark on Saturday to cheer on Barlow, but that’s not the only familiar face he'll see in Missouri. Barlow’s former RBNY teammate and golfing buddy Tim Parker has become a mainstay in the St. Louis backline while the two have recently bonded over becoming fathers since they first met.

“He was one guy that I got along with really well at Red Bull and, you know, we play a little golf together outside of soccer and all that sort of thing. Such a great guy and also a new dad, too. So he's got that going on. So I think he's liking St. Louis and I know they love him there.”

The on-field results for Barlow and everyone with the Fire have been subpar in 2024. Chicago only has two wins, one of which was lucky, and hasn't scored a goal in its previous four matches. Despite not registering a goal himself in 2024, Barlow remains confident that his team can break out of their rut.

“I think I think any player on any team, I think there's certain spells you go through where teams or players are struggling to score goals. And I think right now we're kind of in that spot. So it's something we've been working on quite a bit. Our coach has been helping us out. We've been doing a lot of finishing after practice. So I think it's just the, you know, mentality that the next one's gonna come and we just got to be ready for it and trust in our training and our preparation and the next one is going to go in. So hopefully, hopefully we put a couple in this weekend and the floodgates will open.”

What's On Tap Next?

Who: Chicago Fire vs St. Louis City SC

Where: CityPark, St. Louis, Missouri

When: May 11, 7:30 PM CT

How to Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+