By Stephen Brandt

Twitter : @KingKennyfanlfc

THE PAST

I’m a football fan obbessed with a club that doesn’t exsist anymore, well not in a league format. Yes last year the club was resurected from the dead, but the spirit and the love isn’t there anymore.

What am I talking about? The New York Cosmos of the old NASL in the U.S.

Why do I like a club that sparked the fan interest in my country back in 1970s, and then went away? Why do I like a club, that peaked before my mind came around to sports? Well, my undergraduate degree is in history, and I love old stuff. Plus Pele is the most amazing player on this side of the world, Maradona fans will hate me for that. Three Soccer Bowl titles, countless records, and players who are still talked about. Yup, I’ll sign up for that. Plus green is a cool colour.

They showed the world that you can buy top talent and be amazing for a while and win the cups, get victories and earn national praise. Being from an area (upstate New York), we’re used to seeing things in multiples. In the Early 90’s American Football team the Buffalo Bills went to four straight Super Bowls.  So for a person looking into a new sport, a club wining mulitple title can be key. I don’t want to sound like a glory hunter but rooting for a bad team stinks.

The documentary ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is something that every football fan should see, because it shows what big time football clubs, and leagues do to spark the interest from the fans and the media. Plus it shows how clubs will spend and spend and spend until a league falls apart. The Cosmos with the Warner Communications money behind them transferred in so much talent like Beckenbauer, Alberto, Pele, Chinaglia.

Why do I continue to love a club that wasn’t around? Because  of players like Pele, Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Roberto Cabanas, Giorgio Chinaglia and Johan Neeskens who all wore our teams colours.

THE FUTURE

So the Cosmos are back!

What a good thing, we hope. The MLS (Major League Soccer) hasn’t awarded the franchise it’s 20th’ spot,  but there’s a lot of hope they will. They just had their first match in 25 years, albeit a testimonial against Manchester United for Paul Scholes. Do we know that they will be back full time? No, but today’s world is full of uncertainties, however we know one thing, the Cosmos of the old are dead. They won’t be in a league that will let them transfer in the top stars of today. The stars, or the great players will be in management Pele, Girgorio, Carlos Alberto, Cobi Jones, Shep Messing and Eric Canatona are all a part of the club. The past was great and hopefully the future will be bright.

Posted on August 12th, 2011 by scott
Filed under: My Team & I