The only people that have been full of crap is MLS...selling out NYC AGAIN to a franchise using the city to promote a separate brand. Shameful.
Not based on any facts but I would image Wilpon is pretty hacked off with the situation of the Yankees being involved with NYCFC right under his nose. Maybe to extract his revenge he might be tempted to come to a deal with the Cosmos with a view to upgrading the NASL generally and offering a rival league to MLS.
Will they change their name to "Long Island Boys" now? Also they need a history lesson. The Cosmos made their history playing in Giants Stadium. Which I believe is in New Jersey. A minor fact, but not when you are waving the New York, New York flag. Basically it sounds like the Cosmos smoozed them, so they are going down with the ship. It doesn't matter. There will be numerous large supporter groups for NYCFC over the next couple of years and the Long Island Boys are irrelevant now. The Cosmos will fail this supporters group. But they deserve it. NYC soccer fans got what they wanted. A MLS team. I think Mr. Wipon is more hacked off at his terrible baseball team and cares more about upgrading that than spending a large part of his dwindling fortune to elevate a minor league soccer league for no real reason. He might as well burn the money. Some people really need some perspective.
They wanted an MLS team in NYC. We will have an MLS team in NYC. They wanted an MLS team in 1 of the 5 boroughs. We will have in 1 of the 5 boroughs ( Bronx or Queens ) . They wanted a soccer stadium near a subway station. We will have a temporary stadium ( Yankee or Citi Field ) near a subway station and Garber, Bloomberg and the NYCFC will prove to assure us a permanent sss near a subway station. They wanted a serious group for a great team. We will have 2 serious and rich groups. Now after 6 years they will follow the Cosmos in Long Island and in a second level league. Forza NYCFC !!!!
The Borough Boys sold out, sorry. Let's get a REAL supporters group to back these guys. The fact that Man City and the Yankees are buying into this club FULLY knowing about MLS league structure tell me that they are actually committed to the slow, sustained growth of the sport so that it can be viable hundreds of years from now. The Borough Boys decided to hop over to the side of hype, flash, no substance, and cheap cash-in that doesn't actually benefit American soccer. That's too bad.
So the guys who want to support a soccer team with long history and heritage in New York despite the fact that it is in the second division are the sellouts? Rather than guys who support the shiny new first division team backed by an Arab Sheikh, tied to the identity of an EPL team? So if the owners of Paris Saint Germain were to buy the MLS Sounders and call them Seattle FC, switch colors to PSG colors and use it as a feeder team, you'd be the first guy in line for season tickets? I guess anyone who would support a NASL Seattle Sounders team that spun out in that scenario would be a bunch of sellouts too.
Got to say, this is a pretty sad statement coming from a Sounders fan. I recall you were a second division side for a while and when MLS gave you an expansion they tried to prevent Sounders from being the name. I recall assisting on a nationwide campaign with Sounders fans who wanted to protect their tradition and history. They did the honorable thing and stood by what they beleived in and fought for it. But when fans in NYC chose to fight for their history and tradition against MLS, they are losers, sell outs and greedy little bitches?!?!!? Seems you've forgot your own history already. Sad really.
The Cosmos of today have nothing to do with the Cosmos of old other then sharing a name and colors. The Cosmos of today seem to be prioritizing selling t-shirts rather than pushing the club to the highest level it can attain. Which is the MLS. To me, it seems the only purpose of the modern Cosmos from the very beginning was for profit. If they really cared about history and bringing back the old Cosmos, they would have done everything they possibly could to get in the MLS. Instead they seem content sitting in D2 selling all the t-shirts they possibly can.
...you do realize that the reason Cosmos isn't a part of MLS is due to the fact that Cosmos wanted to keep their brand all to themselves, right? Their brand (and milking "their" history for all that it's worth) is obviously their primary concern, and not with putting out a top-level soccer organization. Go and watch Spaceballs if you want to know the real reason why Cosmos will be coming back as a second-division afterthought.
Yeah, I'm going to call the guys sellouts who decide to support some third-rate, empty-promises, monopoly money rollin scrubs who are all flash and no substance; over the real ownership group with real money who are buying into a league who's goal is to continue to advance soccer in the United States SG by SG, stadium by stadium, city by city. The Cosmos took them for a ride, and instead of having the balls to stand up to them and say "screw you", they just bent right over and let them take care of business. That's hella lame. And you're comparing a Euro club buying an already existing MLS team with an already existing support base and sponsorship base, to a brand new expansion club that is completely starting from scratch? Come on, son.
Maybe sellouts isn't the term you are looking for? If anyone here is expressing a sellout mentality...
You are beginning to annoy. MLS never prevented Seattle from calling themselves the Sounders. It was Adrain Hanauer himself who wasn't sold on the name because he felt it was too associated with a minor league team. Remember, the Sounders were drawing 3 to 5k as a D2 club. But it easily won the fan poll and the rest is history. What NYC history and tradition? The Cosmos? You mean the team whose heyday was spent in New Jersey? And now has come back as a minor league team out on Long Island? That is who the fans in NY freaking City are fighting for? I don't think so. NYCFC is the only pro soccer team that will play in NYC and is partly owned by the club with the most history and tradition of any NYC team. The opinion of a few who long ago tied themselves to a minor league team out in Long Island are irrelevant. NYCFC will be NYC's team.
You sound like you have a horse in this race, as a NASL fan yourself you seem to be against supporters choosing to follow an NASL club. I'm a bit confused by your very real and outward hatred of Cosmos...what's the deal?
Its more complicated than that, far more complicated. I think your generalization may be the reason you are not seeing this through BB's perspective.
Guys with clubs like Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and FC Tampa Bay Rowdies listed tend to be among the most ardent Cosmos critics, but it's funny to see them out on this particular issue. I suppose they must live near those teams and see them as the highest division local options with no attachment to the history or something... ready to bolt the day the FC Brand Beckhams are announced for MLS in Miami or whatever. Because attachment to a team with history in the region regardless of the particular district they played in during a given season is clearly illogical.
While I respect you in coming out against the possible Manchester City branding and hope you campaign against it, as New Yorkers, why this continued fixation upon the NASL Cosmos? Surely you realise by now that they're not going to succeed or go anywhere? The best thing you can possibly hope for is that City/NYCFC buy the Cosmos brand and apply it to their club because the Sela Sports owned club is going nowhere. It wasn't going anywhere even if the NYCFC announcement and it's definitely not now.
Its premature to think they may not "go anywhere" and even if they are NASL for the foreseeable future....what is wrong with that? These supporters are not naive, they know full well that this Cosmos revivial could go horribly wrong or not make it...but without them it surely will and these guys are going to do everything they can to help it be a success, because they believe in it. I can't understand why so many "soccer fans" on these boards want to condemn a fan group for trying to support a team, even less that they are dedicated to support NASL. These guys were told they can have MLS, but it will be a Manchester city branded club, many of their members are former Metro fans that went through that before and would never agree to go with that again...they clearly would rather support MLS...but checked their conscious and went all in to try and help build a club they feel resonates with the region. Call them hypocrites if you must, but I think what they did knowing the possible backlash from rivals and MLS was brass balls.
The issue is that it's just not worthwhile any more, they backed the wrong dog and have been for months after nearly everyone on these boards told them that they had, despite all the shonkiness and unprofessionalism displayed by the Cosmos ownership. Now they have what they always wanted, a NYC based NYC franchise. They should finally cut their losses with the Cosmos project and begin working with NYCFC to make it a real success, they could form the nucleus of the fan groups for this team, instead of backing the Cosmos until it dies in a season or two (...and it will, it's just another FC New York (USL). The Cosmos name is not worth enough to back a franchise that'll be dead once NYCFC launches, when the Borough Boys could have a real influence on NYCFC.