The life of the Cosmos began slowly in the early 1970’s, as the team was hardly big enough to fill its small accommodation playing in Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York’s East River.  Before too long, however, the Cosmos had the talent to fill the likes of their new home field, the recently completed, 78,000+ capacity Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. What began as a modest group of players in a young, seemingly semi-professional league would soon become a soccer power that North America, and in many cases the world, had never seen before.  With Warner Brothers Entertainment backing the financial side of the team, the Cosmos were able to attain the best players money could buy and they always produced quality line-ups whenever they took the pitch.  The team’s full name “Cosmopolitans” hardly begins to describe the gigantic stature and even larger ego of the soccer behemoths that became the Cosmos. Some of the most noticeable names in European soccer began to don Cosmos green and yellow, among them Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, and the god of them all, Pelé, who ended his majestic career with the club from the Big Apple.  During the team’s height in popularity from 1977-1980, the Cosmos averaged well over 42,000 in attendance, much of which can be attributed to the great desire to see Pelé’s final professional seasons and Giorgio Chinaglia’s stunning and flashy ability to put the ball in the back of the net.

It appears though, that just as quickly as they rose to prominence, the Cosmos fell from soccer grace and fame.  With the fall of the Cosmos came the fall of soccer in North America, as the NASL and the Cosmos both folded in 1985 and all of a sudden people in the states were left with a void in the realm of professional soccer.  Not until the world’s largest tournament, the World Cup in 1994, would Americans get a true taste of soccer on a grand scale once again.  The World Cup was followed in turn by the development of a domestic league in the United States (Major League Soccer), which over the past 15 years or so, has grown and developed by leaps and bounds in the face of constant difficulties and criticism.  Despite these challenges, the league has grown to 15 teams, with that number increasing to 18 teams by 2011.

The point of this article, however, is not a sales pitch for the growth of Major League Soccer and it is certainly not a statement of the league’s talent in comparison to the great foreign leagues of the world.  MLS, despite the strides it has made, is still ages away from reaching the talent levels of the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, or the Bundesliga.  This article is written, however, to raise an argument for the revival of the greatest soccer superpower to ever play in North America.  The team of which I speak is, of course, the Cosmos.

The first criticism of having the Cosmos join Major League Soccer is obvious; New York already has a team in the Red Bulls, so what would be the good of adding a second team to the city while there are plenty of other cities fighting to add their first team in the league?  As sport enthusiasts know, the greatest rivalries include teams fighting for supremacy within the same city.  With a place like New York, starved so long for a team to represent the full flavor and vibrancy of the city, the Cosmos would be a perfect solution.  Not only would they be able to form a rivalry with the already established Red Bulls, but also they would truly be New York’s team, a way for the city to relive its wonderful, although brief, soccer history.  Reviving the Cosmos would allow older soccer fans in the city to experience once again the team that won over the Big Apple with its flair and grandeur.  Younger generations of fans would be exposed to a team grown out of the majesty of its past while starting anew to form its future.  The Cosmos could be the lifeblood in developing New York into a truly great soccer city.
Another argument that has emerged against the introduction of the Cosmos into Major League Soccer is the idea that the league is reluctant to embrace the roots of the NASL, which for many, was associated with the failure and reluctance of the United States to develop a competitive and popular soccer league on par with the other leagues of the world.  This argument, up until recently, seemed like a valid point in preventing the Cosmos from becoming an active team once again.  MLS, however, has slowly and gradually begun to embrace its past in the NASL with the addition of Seattle Sounders F.C. in 2009 and the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps (which will begin play in 2011), all of which were former teams of the NASL.  With the addition of NASL teams to the current MLS, why can’t the Cosmos also join the league at a future time?  The recent revival of NASL team names in the MLS expansion furthers the possibility of the New York powerhouse perhaps joining the league in the future.

The rights to all things Cosmos are owned by Peppe Pinton, who, although previously reluctant to see the Cosmos come to life again, has changed his tone to one of support for the team.  Pinton originally thought that MLS was not ready for the Cosmos name and he did not want the young league to tarnish the name of the once great franchise.  Now that the league has had almost two decades to develop and grow, Pinton, in a recent interview with thisisamericansoccer.com said, “The Cosmos have a brand name that will make millions for a franchise. I don’t want to knock any other franchises out there, but name one for me today in the U.S. that has reached the level of magnitude that the Cosmos reached. It’s been a long time, but people still know it all over the world. If I am a soccer investor, I would like to embrace this.”  In his view, North America and the world are once again ready for the Cosmos on a grand scale.

As a native New Yorker myself, I would love the addition of the Cosmos to Major League Soccer. In recent years, soccer in the city has been represented by first the Metrostars and currently by the Red Bulls, and although these squads have played valiantly, they are not the soccer clubs New York needs.  New York needs a team to represent the city itself and all that soccer has meant to the Big Apple in the past.  The Metrostars and Red Bulls have been more regional teams, representing New York, New Jersey, and the greater metro area, whereas the Cosmos are the team of New York City. I hope that with the expansion of Major League Soccer in the coming years, a plan for the reemergence of the Cosmos comes to the forefront of discussions.  The greatest cities of the world are represented by their own soccer clubs and it is time that New York City gets a team for itself, one that will live up to and surpass the Cosmos name of years past.  If a team with the pedigree and history of the Cosmos were to ever play professional soccer again, it would give MLS a new perspective, one that shows that the league embraces and respects the game’s past in this country.  As for now, American soccer fans can only sit and hope that one day the team that changed it all can once again take the pitch.  Hopefully, that day is sooner rather than later.