Movie Review: Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

Aug 3, 2013; Hempstead, NY, USA; New York Cosmos former player Pele is led by security through the crowd during a ceremony before a match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

Since MLS Multiplex receives part of its name from the world of film, it would be alright to talk about a few soccer movies, right? I mean they have more than one film festival devoted to soccer. Now we take a look at “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos“.

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Sitting on the couch this weekend, I decided it was high time to finally take the time to watch the highly recommended Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos. (Available on Netflix.) It documents the rise and fall of the Cosmos, a team that rocketed into stardom, and then rocketed straight out of existence.

The documentary begins by talking about how the World’s game is different from other sports that are played and watched in America. I’ve heard countless theories on the subject — this one stating that U.S. viewers don’t have 45-minute attention spans — but I don’t think any of them have summed it up perfectly. There is no one reason why Americans have ignored soccer for so longer, there are many. Even though it lasted for such a short time, this movie shows what it could be like if the U.S. caught club soccer fever.

The New York Cosmos started off as amateurs that called themselves professionals, actually the whole North American Soccer League was like that. The movie only tells us that the players weren’t true professionals, never quite giving an example of their play. There are shots of them practicing or scoring a goal, but what is displayed well is the conditions of how poor the initial club was. With less than 100 people watching their games, the Cosmos played on fields where grass was sparse, dirt and broken glass weren’t.

Once they move their games into the Meadowlands Stadium, the movie makes it seem like every game is a near sellout, which is untrue. The average attendance of those prime years of Cosmos soccer averaged around 42,000, a slight variation from the 60,000 to 70,000 that the movie showed. That being said, those numbers are amazing. The Cosmos did break attendance records during some of their bigger games with numbers that current MLS teams are still trying to pull (however, stadium size is limiting today’s teams from doing that). Only the Seattle Sounders can compete with the numbers that the Cosmos drew back in the early 80’s.

Several former players, owners, sports writers, and front office people were interviewed for the film, and definitely add context to the movie that would have been missing without them. Their opinions, comments, and stories bring fun and levity to the history lesson. Unfortunately, the film sometimes lulls in action all for the purpose of introducing more people who were influential to the organization; although necessary, these moments could use some editing. Some of the best moments come when talk moves to Giorgio Chinaglia, a polarizing Italian striker, who many weren’t fond of. It’s interesting to hear the story through their eyes, and the movie is at its best when multiple interviews are used at the same time.

This is a movie that I highly recommend. It’s a modern(-ish) day parable of how success can be so fleeting; here today, gone tomorrow. And don’t think that you have to be soccer fan, or even a sports fan to enjoy this movie, it really is a story of the personalities involved and the business of owning a team. Go watch it.

For a rating, I give it 4 out of 5 Susan B. Anthony’s.