What a waste of my time!!!

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Blistering performances.

The North American Soccer League (NASL) an abortive attempt to create a huge sports organization on par with other major league sports such as the NFL and MLB. Their premier team clearly was the New York Cosmos--a very, very high-priced collection of stars from around the globe. What's surprising to me is not that they won a lot of games but that they didn't win even more considering their bankroll. This film chronicles the history of this club as well as gives insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the Cosmos.When the film begins, the Cosmos are more like a semi-pro club at best. No one attends their games, they have no stars and there just isn't any interest. The same could be said for the rest of this rag-tag league. However, with the coming of big money from Warner Brothers came new life to the team and the rest of the league. With the coming of Pelé and other top world stars came a sudden interest by the public. In fact, there was so much interest that the league even eventually got their own network contract...and soon the league just fizzled.I found the film pretty interesting when it came to personalities. While the team had HUGE stars, it also had some huge egos. And, it was rather funny how decades later, folks associated with the team STILL hate the team's most productive star, Giorgio Chinaglia--who didn't do a lot in this documentary to get the viewers to like him! Overall, the film is worth seeing--particularly if you lived through the era. It's also a great show to watch to learn how NOT to run a league--as you'll see if you watch the film. Interesting.

"The rise and fall of the N.Y. Cosmos. The soccer team that brought Pele to America; against the backdrop of N.Y. City in the 70's. " The recently reformed New York Cosmos are thee American soccer franchise. In 1970's New York they were the biggest thing to hit the city since the Afro. A shining star for soccer in the worlds most Cosmopolitan City, they brought the game to a new audience. Unfortunately, the star collapsed almost as quickly as it was born, but it left a lasting mark on the American psyche. This is a really well told story about a piece of N.Y. City history and not just for those who are acquainted with the game. I wish there were more like this. 9/10

I loved this flick and in many ways it beats the book by a mile as the interviews esp. of Cosmos personnel (hey, they even interviewed the guy in the Bugs Bunny mascot costume!) but there are a lot of generalizations and misinterpretations because I think it was done by a Brit from a soccer point of view.First of all, the football (as in American football) footage in reference to 1977 he used was of the USFL (TB Bandits vs. Houston Gamblers), a league which did not start until 1983. So it was obvious NFL Films would not cooperate with his flick but this sort of "throw a generic football clip in" doesn't cut it with North Americans, Mr. Director. It's sloppy film-making.The claim that the Cosmos were #1 in the NY sports market at the time is preposterous. That era from 1975-81 was when the NY Yankees rose from a decade of poor play and poorer attendance to lead the American League every single year in attendance plus go to four World Series, winning two. Sure the Cosmos were incredibly popular but to suggest baseball was suffering in NY under the Cosmos' glare is laughable. Add to that both the NY Jets and NY Giants of the NFL had a greater average attendance per game than the Cosmos.Anyway, it is an entertaining film esp, for those of us who grew up with and loved the NASL. As far as the guy who wished Cruyff was interviewed. he must have been asleep as the Dutch great makes a great comment on the shootout in the film.Lastly, this whole Cosmos were ahead of the curve in having 14 different nationalities on one team like they invented that. The year before the Cosmos joined the NASL, the 1970 champion Rochester Lancers had players from 12 different nations in their squad. Even hockey (Swedes, Finns and Cezchs came over) or baseball (always had Latin Americans since the '50s) had that mix...it's our immigrant, no import quotas in sports history.

What a crazy laugh the New York Cosmos must have been back in the 70s! This is the story of one man and his dream to turn what was not much more than a pub team playing in a delapidated stadium into one of the best. Although the wheels came completely off in the early 80s it must have been huge fun whilst the show was on the road. As a football fan what would I have given to have Pele and Beckenbauer in my team (maybe even the crazy Chinaglia too), football is all about passion and dreams and the management team at the Cosmos delivered the fantasy in spades.The film runs at a slick pace and there are lots of funny moments, the Mick Jagger bit made me laugh out loud. If you love football go and see it, you won't be disappointed. If you don't you'll still enjoy it as this is as much about all the clashing egos as much as what the team did on the pitch.