Went to see Once In A Lifetime: The Incredible Story Of The New York Cosmos the other day. And a fun football themed documentary it was too, showing the passions of people keen on bringing football to a nation that didn’t care. Or maybe did care. The big gaping hole in the entire film is that big gaping hole in many football themed programmes. The fans.
The thesis was that the Cosmos became huge, selling out Giants Stadium (70,000 people) regularly. Then when the TV deal went tits up, it died. From 70,000 to not existing within two years. What happened to the fans? The people who went to see soccer? The people who wanted to see it in the 80’s? There were tantalizing hints about kids following the game (a photo of kids welcoming Beckenbauer featured the later captain of the US national team). But as this was seen as an artificial following to be built up, perhaps it was easy to dismantle a national football set up. But I wanted to know how the fans felt. They were the ones who were being let down. At least they have the Metrostars now (mind you I can’t say Metrostars without saying in in a Gateshead Metrocentre way).
Instead the film rather played a cheap joke on Pele cos he wasn’t being paid enough to turn up for the film!