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Once In a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of The New York Cosmos

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Okay, so maybe I was too young to remember the nineteen seventies and era of the New York Cosmos soccer team. But, after seeing this movie I wish I had been around to witness the soccer extrazaganza that really was the New York Cosmos. This movie brilliantly captures everything of that time from the actual inception of the North American Soccer League to Pele's arrival with the Cosmos. Indeed the original footage of Pele's time in New York used in the movie, is truly incredible! Better still is the funny and triumphant saga of Cosmos owner Steve Ross' determination to capture Pele's signature over other interested parties that included Juventus and Real Madrid. This movie even goes one better with a fantastic soundtrack which includes the likes of James Brown, The Supremes, Diana Ross, The Jam and The Jackson Sisters. I would thoroughly recommend any soccer or general sports fan to check this movie out if not just to see and hear soccer greats Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto fondly recall their wonderful times they both experienced playing for the New York Cosmos.

In the 1970s, the New York Cosmos succeeded in bringing a significant amount of attention to soccer in the United States. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos features narration by Matt Dillon with interviews with many of the team's star players (with exception of Pele who wanted too much money) and footage of the team in action in the North American Soccer League as it chronicles the team's meteoric rise and fall that was mirrored by the league itself.

Once in a Lifetime does an entertaining job of showing how the clash of egos brought about the demise of the Cosmos and the animosity that still exists between certain key figures. It also shows how the hedonism of the day also contributed to the team's downfall. As attendance soared (they even sold out Giants Stadium - something that is unthinkable today), the players were treated like rock stars with their own table at the exclusive nightclub Studio 54 and indulged in all of the usual excesses - sex, drugs and alcohol. This documentary does for American soccer what 24 Hour Party People did for the Manchester England music scene - it captures the energy and excitement of a specific period of time with a cheeky sense of humour and with the help of a great soundtrack of classic `70s songs that properly establishes the tone of the decade.

"Stories of Pele" features additional interviews with contemporaries of the legendary player - those who played with and against him - recounting stories of his amazing prowess and passion for the game.

In a fantastic touch, there are highlights from several classic games in the Cosmos' career, including the 1980 and 1981 Soccer Bowl games. Fans of GolTV should keep their eyes peeled during the 1980 game for glimpses of a young Ray Hudson playing for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and who now commentates for football matches on that station.

Best of all is the very emotional "Pele's Farewell Game: October 1, 1977" that features highlights of the man's final professional match. There is some great vintage footage of this momentous occasion.

Finally, there is a deleted scene entitled, "Haitian Divorce" that examines another unusual way that the Cosmos made money. They were supposed to play the Haitian team who was jetlagged and disappeared before the match. So, the Cosmos found a bunch of guys who looked like them and had them play against the team!

In telling the story of the Cosmos, the producers of this film went beyond the fawning "those were the days" stories and went into the real story: the infighting, the behind-the-scenes deals, and how the Cosmos brought the NASL into the spotlight, only to see the NASL cut its own throat through overexpansion and television deals that should never have been struck, bringing the Cosmos down with them.

Growing up in New Jersey in the 1980's, I was vaguely aware that there was a soccer team called the Cosmos that played not far from where I lived. Unfortunately, I was barely walking and talking by the time Pelé had played his final game in Cosmos colors, and I missed out on the magic of their championship seasons in the North American Soccer League. "Once in a Lifetime" transported me back to the 1970's and helped me see what happened during the first heyday of American pro soccer.

Some of the first soccer footage you see in "Once in a Lifetime" is set to opera music - which is fitting for a documentary that unfolds like an opera. After a brief history of American soccer, the emperor arrives on the scene. Entertainment mogul Steve Ross' millions help to raise the NASL's profile from obscurity to unprecedented heights, but he seemingly only cares about victory for his own club rather than the viability of the league. The wooing of Pelé follows. He sweeps into New York like a god to sign a huge contract and sparks national interest in soccer by demonstrating his breathtaking skills on the soccer field.

Not long after, we meet the sympathetic villain of the piece, Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia, without whom the Cosmos would not have enjoyed their success. His bigger-than-life personality, however, brings him into some conflict with Pelé. Then, after the final curtain call comes for the great Brazilian, Chinaglia begins to assert himself within the organization, and his close relationship to Ross appears to lead to his running the team from the locker room.

At the height of the Cosmos' glory days, free-flowing money, superstar players, hedonism, Hollywood glitz and NASL championships were the norm. The rapid declines of the Cosmos and the league, however, mirrored the Roman Empire: too much excess and too much expansion. Still, the film does a service by reminding viewers that future for soccer in the United States isn't bleak; it may never reach the level of football, basketball and baseball, but it appears to be here to stay.

"Once in a Lifetime" features excellent bits from interviews with key characters in the Cosmos story: from the team's first coach Gordon Bradley to some of the greatest superstars of the game who donned the Cosmos colors, like Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer. More than a few members of the front office management also weigh in on the rise and fall of the club and the league.

The documentary makes good use of photographs, Cosmos match highlights and other video clips. The music video-style presentation and an excellent mix of `70s soul/funk, disco and rock perfectly match the changing moods of the film. Actor Matt Dillon's excellent narration complements the various highs and lows of the Cosmos. These elements all combine to give viewers a feeling of how New Yorkers and the rest of the nation experienced Cosmos-mania during the height of the league's popularity.

The extra features on the DVD are superb. Three edited Cosmos games give you a taste of the old NASL as it was originally presented on ABC. The "Stories of Pelé" program from ESPN gives you a better insight of what the uniquely gifted player meant to those who played with him and against him over the years.

I Believe In Yesterday. This reminded me of why I began to play the beautiful game and why my children play today. The passion, the scene, the happening that was the New York Cosmos and the NASL in the late 70's was inspiring for generations of US Soccer Players. Thanks for bringing back all of those memories and bringing me back to my roots.

The movie itself is highly entertaining and much better than the book. It still paints a picture as if the league never took off until Pele came along. Yes and no. Portland became "Soccer City" prior to Pele's arrival and Seattle and Tampa were certainly on their way.

I also think they overplay the Cosmos ruling NY angle (the NY Yankees were a pretty big story during the '70s when Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson ruled the roost) and the impact soccer had. The TV ratings nationally were abysmal even during the 1977-80 heyday.

That said, get the DVD! It has so many fascinating background takes on all that went on with the Cosmos and the NASL, it is both a fun ride and a cautionary tale of what excess can do ultimately to your "product."

The extras are not all that great. You get the 1980 and 1981 Soccer Bowls and the Pele Farewell Game vs. his old club team Santos (Brazil). They are basically 20-min. condensed extendo hilites and just emphasize how bad Jim "Village of Vancouver" McKay's toupe and play-by-play commentary was. Also, it seems the copies they got of the original tapes lacked lighting. I was constantly cranking up the brightness on my TV to "see" the action better.

And of all the Soccer Bowls, why 1981? That was a dull (and I'm not spoiling it really) 0-0 affair in which the Chicago Sting won in a shootout in rainy boring Toronto. Put the 1977 Soccer Bowl vs. Seattle on there as that was Pele's lone NASL championship (that I have on excellent quality video bought off some firm that did NASL game tapes in the '80s out of Natchez, MS, so it is out there available from collectors). Or throw on one of the many thrilling matches the Cosmos had vs. either the Vancouver Whitecaps or the Tampa Bay Rowdies to show the "real" NASL.

The Farewell Game is dull beyond belief. It's typical of friendlies (exhibition matches) so I was not expecting much. Other than seeing Frank Gifford as emcee in his ultrayellow Monday Night Football ABC blazer, it's really not worth adding here other than for historians.

If they ever re-release this DVD, whack on some better extras.

I worked for Warner/Cosmos for two years in the late 70's early 80's partly in Pele's office. This movie was a very accurate portrayal of the "scene". I especially like the Warner Executive's description of Pele's entourage. Schisto was a really nice guy and Pele was always the one bringing in those new very cute Brazilian players to the team, Marino stands out in my mind. I'm so glad they captured the offices and especially the doors of the elevators with the pictures of the Players on them and the BRIGHT yellow phones! No shots of the parties at the Stadium Club though after the games. That was where you would always see the players and the guests. Eric Heiden stands out most in my mind. He had thighs bigger than my waste. If you like Soccer and you like 70's Rock N Roll...you'll LOVE this movie! Very very very funny!

No one who played US youth soccer in the 70s doesn't have at least a vague memory of the New York Cosmos, and a clearer recollection of the team's franchise player, Pele. Most probably can't relate, however, the historical significance of that team, and can't appreciate (or believe) how huge American soccer was for one, shining moment, as the 70s traded in their sequins for the early 80s. Once In A Lifetime shines a bright and admiring spotlight on the team, and narrates the remarkable conflation of events that almost put American soccer on the world's stage.

The Cosmos were the brainchild of a Warner Brothers bigwig named Steve Ross, created as the soccer equivalent to New York's Mets (the "cosmopolitan" to their "metropolitan"). And while Ross and most of his co-financiers didn't know a lick about the world's greatest game, they at least recognized its potential success in the US if marketed correctly, and they knew enough to listen to fellow record execs and worldly soccer fans Nesui and Ahmet Ertegun (former president of Atlantic Records and "the world's greatest record man," R.I.P.). Thus began the fascinating rags-to-riches tale of the Cosmos, who went almost overnight from playing on fields spray painted green and strewn with broken glass, to starring on national television and selling out major football stadiums nation-wide, all facilitated by the signing of freshly retired Brazilian star Pele and prime-of-his career Italian star Giorgio Chinaglia. The quickness with which events transpired is best told by some of the Cosmos' lineups: for example, nowhere else and at no other time could soccer's greatest player (and highest paid athlete ever, at the time) have shared field time with Shep Messing, a hayseed who'd posed for Playgirl months earlier. The pre-international phase Cosmos were literally playing alongside their heroes, and probably had to quit their day jobs as the North American Soccer League (NASL) grew.

The pace of the documentary is great, with plenty of soccer clips, paparazzi-shot photos and news conferences, and funny interviews featuring a lot of suits trying vainly to reconcile events remembered differently. The Cosmos' ascent to celebrity, the NASL's rise and fall, and the players' egos and rivalries, each are tales unto themselves that don't need embellishing. Once In A Lifetime wisely takes a hands-off approach in that regard.

Matt Dillon was an interesting choice as narrator, but gives the film a gritty feel as the team's earlier hardscrabble days are recalled. The DVD extras in particular are outstanding (to the soccer fan, anyway): a couple of NASL championship games, and Pele's retirement match in which he played a half apiece with the Cosmos and his Brazilian team Santos. Incidentally, Pele decided not to be interviewed for the movie- this could have detracted more were there not so much great stuff already included; as it was, it somehow added to the man's mystery and legend, and fit just right.

Once in a Lifetime tells the story of the rise and fall of the North American Soccer League through the story of the New York Cosmos. The Cosmos were the brainchild of Warner Brothers Chairman Steve Ross. In order to keep the Ertegun brothers (Ahmet and Nesuhi) recording for his Atlantic Record label he decides to become the owner of a professional soccer team. This was unheard of at the time as soccer was virtually unknown in the United States.

The film follows the rapid rise of the team with the acquisition of Pele (the highest paid and most famous soccer star of all times. Pele is followed by a group of other stars( notably Georgio Chinaglia, who becomes the villan of the piece) and the Cosmos it seems cannot be stopped.

As soccer gets more popular the team moves from its home on Randalls Island to Giants Stadium. Alas the league grew too fast and television contracts proved to be too elusive and the entire empire came tumbling down on its own weight.

For what it's worth this is an interesting documentary that is well worth a view by both fans and non fans alike.

The disc contains compressed highlight reels of major matches and interviews with those who surrounded Pele, but no interview with the great player himself.

Worth a rental just for old times sake. Also look for a great soundtrack of the hits of the day.

Why the world's most popular sport has never truly taken on in the USA is still a tad baffling, but this excellent well-researched documentary describes how soccer very nearly got a foothold in American popular culture in the 70's/8o's via the New York Cosmos, and why internal politics and commerce stopped soccer becoming the major American sport it should be. Let's hope David Beckham's recent transfer to LA Galaxy might get American interest in soccer snowballing again.