CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 19, 2020

C.J. Sapong

Press Conference

Orlando City 4, Chicago 1

Q. What's the mood of the locker room right now? What's it like being a player on this team? Are you guys upset? Are you guys upset? Are you guys optimistic? I know the results aren't going your way, but what's it like being a player right now?

C.J. SAPONG: We're all upset. We're upset we're not getting the results we feel we deserve, but there still is an optimism when we look back at games and we come ff the field, while it stings more knowing that you had your chances and that it might have been mental lapses at moments in the game; we still understand that we have quality and we have the ability to turn these results around.

Q. Coach Wicky was basically saying that it was only so long that it could be called unlucky and those unlucky moments are going to stack up. How do you view that? Is it a matter of feeling unlucky? And I think it's especially present when you guys have two posts, two goals called back, penalty kick. How do you view that?

C.J. SAPONG: Yeah, I think anybody that's watching that game says that that's unlucky. I believe that energetically, you know, there's always an opportunity to approach the game with an optimism and obviously as the results don't go your way, that's harder and harder to do.

If you look on the flipside for them, you have a goal goes in off the post. You have a goal that takes a deflection and trickles in. They get two goals disallowed for the opposing team. It's easy to say that there was luck on their side. You know, luck is they say when preparation meets opportunity, so that's where we have to do our due diligence and keep preparing the right way, and then when we get the opportunity or we get those chances, we put them away.

Q. On the one hand, how does it feel for you to be back, back on the field and back with the team, but is this a bittersweet thing for you, knowing you're back with the team and on the field, but now that you're not able to be with your family in the way that you were able to over the last month or so?

C.J. SAPONG: Yeah, all that is quite the whirlwind. I think we've all kind of had to be malleable in 2020 and for me, I'm in a situation where I was able to see my daughter come into this world, and while I ensured that things on that front are as safe and secure as possible, I'm here with the team and trying to bring impact and energy on to the field. Once the off-season gets here, I'll be able to really just soak in the family time. But that's what's my fuel and motivation right now.