So if the Cosmos truly are folding, where do we as fans go? Support no one? Switch to NYCFC or the NJ Energy Drinks? A brutal reality.
I'm sure the support will be spread amongst the NYC clubs. The lower league teams in the CSL, NPSL, PDL might get a boost. Lower league soccer might be all the soccer they want/need. Some of the 'hardcores', might 'repent' and join the NYCFC/RBNY supporter groups. The game experiences at RBNY have improved and NYCFC isn't bad either. When I take my son to his 1st US top flight game it will be RBNY or NYCFC. The team won't make a difference to him or me at that point. It will be entertaining, he will go to the bathroom at least 5 times, people will wonder why I'm still wearing a Cosmos jersey with the misplaced crest. I thought the Cosmos, would have been his first game and to me that is brutal. The USSF decides next week about D2 status and I don't think the Cardiac Cosmos are gonna score this time
Stable how? Because they actually have some clubs that have been in the league for three years (while others have gone bellyup after one or two)?
To me it would depend on where you live in the area. NYCFC serves the upper sides, RB NJ and lower, and if you want to go non-MLS Long Island Express of the ASL in Garden City would be my pick. Personally I would probably go RB as the Yankee Stadium situation really irks me, among other issues.
I don't understand how a team with $400M for a stadium development goes belly up after just 3 1/2 years. Did they expect immediate large crowds and immediate government and popular support for a stadium? It seems that is what they expected.
Yes, that is exactly what they expected. They expected that the name would be enough to draw sell out crowds and eclipse MLS in the city.
As a fan of NYCFC who also liked the Cosmos, I would suggest that you come over to NYCFC. Let us remember that the two teams' histories are inextricably intertwined: NYCFC exists only because the Cosmos' act of not joining MLS when the opportunity was offered to them allowed CFG and the Yankees to take up that offer, and to pay the $100 million for the expansion team that eventually became NYCFC. I have long maintained that NYCFC fans and Cosmos fans ought to have a relationship of harmony, friendly rivalry, and mutual respect. (This, despite the violent behaviour by some Cosmos fans against NYCFC fans at a U.S. Open Cup match at Hofstra.) If fans of Liverpool and Everton can have "the frendly derby", then surely fans of the Cosmos and NYCFC can manage to respect one another. The main reason that Cosmos fans should come to NYCFC is that both NYCFC and the Cosmos are about a kind of authenticity. NYCFC because it is owned by the owners of one of the world's most ambitious clubs in Manchester City, and also because it entered MLS at a time when teams were enjoying increased independence, so the Man City connection could be put to some practical use. And, as we all know, the Cosmos are authentic because they rejected MLS entirely and attempted to operate as a real independent club rather than surrender their logos and other marks to MLS. Our two clubs' fans have in common a contempt for the Red Bulls, a team which will forever bear the stink of early MLS. Originating with the risibly unwieldy name "New York/New Jersey MetroStars", and playing in a league with goofy rules (no draws!), hideous logos, and multiple-team ownership, the team alienated far more local fans than it attracted. The sale to Red Bull and the change of the team's name to that company's name was just another offence which made the team look ridiculous to serious New York fans, notwithstanding the improving state of MLS. The Cosmos' decision to go it independently in the new NASL has not turned out as had been hoped. It is easy to say now that the club made a mistake in not acceeding to MLS's rules and paying the expansion fee. But the Cosmos' owners had a desire to be owners of a soccer team, not to be branch managers of an MLS branch office; so they tried to make a go of it in the NASL. For various reasons -- the main one being that the team's home games had to be played out on Long Island on an unsightly field -- it didn't work. Still, the fans of the team can hold their heads high. I rooted for the Cosmos in all games except those against NYCFC; and I am proud that the team won three titles. They came in doing things the right way; and they are going out doing things the right way. A recent piece on Empire of Soccer mentions that Savarese is busy trying to find clubs for his players, and that the team did its best to help its players advance, even allowing Walter Restrepo to move to the Philadelphia Union on a free transfer. Business people will sneer at the Cosmos having left money on the table; but football lovers will admire the fact that this club had its ethics straight. The folding of the Cosmos is very sad; and the fans have every right to lament this loss. I lament it, as well. But I hope that Cosmos fans will see that NYCFC is carrying on the legacy of the original Cosmos, and that that team has touched the New York City's soccer fans to an extent that comes closest to the level of the old Cosmos. The team draws nearly 30,000 a game, and sometimes more. To see people on the street and in the subway with NYCFC apparel is not uncommon. (Sometimes it's me!) So I as a fan of NYCFC say to Cosmos fans: come aboard! Please support New York City's team, a team with a passionate and growing fanbase. NYCFC fans and Cosmos fans unite!
That was very well written. So now I'm going to try to "entice" you, a Cosmos' fan in nowhere land, to become a RB fan. That is going to be near impossible because Cosmos' fans have always had a great disdain for the Red Bulls, particularly for the team name and the New Jersey location. Exercise in futility begin-- The Red Bulls picked up in 1996 where the Cosmos left off in 1984. They played in the same stadium. They probably would have been named Cosmos except that Peppe Pinton was, you know. They have represented NYC since 1996 in the highest level of USA soccer. They now have their OWN premier soccer specific stadium, best in the USA. The team has had great success during the last few regular seasons but unfortunately has a habit of "choking" during knock-out tournaments when other teams increase their defensive pressure. It is what it is. Our owners have big money and spend it. They don't falsely pretend to have money like the Cosmos' owners. We have a great atmosphere at our home games and we have a good time before and during each game. As for the owners- Red Bull GmbH. They are a big company. What about Time-Warner in the old days? Being in the competitive energy drink business, they do most of their marketing by owning sports entities in highly active sports. Their big competitor, Monster, prefers the standard Madison Avenue type of advertising. Being that they are in business to make money, I do not find it a "crime" that they name their team for themselves. I have gotten used to it, but I cheer them on, as most fans do, as the "Metros". I do respect others who think that their nickname is improper. When I go to a game, I go to support the players, not the corporation. But I do realize that this is the modern day, and a successful team needs big, big bucks to be successful. Good luck and whatever you decide, support US soccer!
Well I think one way that either of those two franchise could score some points with Cosmos fans would be to save the franchise and start up a USL club with the name like Phili did with Beth Steel.
Sounds good in theory, in practice, the FO of the Cosmos probably burned the USL bridge along with MLS. Garber was quoted as saying there won't be three NY teams in NYC, which could be interpreted as that the Cosmos won't be an affiliate club. RBNY already has their B team.
and I think that everyone should become supporters of the Long Island RoughRiders: https://liroughriders.com/rough-riders-soccer-team-proposes-brentwood-stadium-for-sccc/
If RBNY wanted to (a big if), couldn't they simply rebrand their B team? Of course, to name them Cosmos, they'd have to buy the Cosmos name first. Maybe the that name could now be bought cheaply, or maybe Sela would jack up the price in the manner of Peppe Pinton. And maybe RBNY wouldn't want to anyway, since the Austrian guys bought the team to advertise their drink, not to advertise the Cosmos.
You have to stay in context with what I wrote specifically in the post that you quoted. This has more to do with one of my earlier posts although the FO is not a factor in anything that I wrote. As for the quoted post, nothing there refutes the possibility that I posted. The existing, ie soon to no longer exist, FO burned their bridges and in my example this would be moot since that FO would not be running the team. Also the USL option has nothing to do with anything that Garber is quoted as having said regarding MLS. And lastly, although this has nothing to do with the post that I made but Garber has been quoted as stating alot of things which have changed after a year or two. I doubt Garber would turn down a third NY area team if they offered enough money (including paying off the existing NY clubs to waive their rights) and already had a stadium deal finalized. This is incredibly unlikely (like a hundreth of a percent since this would probably require an incredibly wealthy entity with local political ties and if such an entity existed it would have already bought one of the existing NY teams or even have already bought the Cosmos), but not impossible. This would require an immensely wealthy entity with a major hard-on to create a third NY MLS team. It's kinda like trying to find exotic matter to power an Alcubierre drive; theoretically it could exist, but likely doesn't.
In this case, it would no longer be their competition since they would own it. Why is this even a question?
I would just add, as someone who was allied to the Borough Boys basically right up to the time the Cosmos made the fateful decision to go NASL rather than MLS. Just remember what the goals of the MLS2NY movement were. Search on the NYCFC board here on BS for posts that predate the "Cosmos Are Back" and take a serious look at just how much NYCFC has evolved into the club we dreamed about then.
The landlord for the Cosmos' offices is trying to evict them. http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/cosmos2.php?article_id=46640
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/dec/13/new-york-cosmos-nasl-staff-laid-off-problems An interesting article with O'Brien seemingly saying the Cosmos have a future. I wonder if they plan on taking a year or two off while they try to form a new league? Cosmos to buy the NASL brand?