The Cat’s Meow: Once In A Lifetime, the Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos. (Crowder, Dower, 2006)

Right. I hope this will eventually turn into a running feature. In The Cat’s Meow, I hope to discuss whatever football related films I have seen or books I have read, with you, my readers. These particular books or films do not have to be very recent. If you have seen or read the film or book on hand, please tell me what you thought of it in the comments. Tips are also very welcome.

Once in a Lifetime details the story of the Cosmos from its humble beginnings in the late sixties towards its eventual glitter and glamour induced demise in the mid-eighties. This in itself makes the film an interesting document for those of you to whom this period in North American Soccer (uhm…sic.), remains a bit of a mystery.

The film focuses largely on the efforts of media tycoon Steve Ross and his efforts to establish football as a legitimate sport in the United States. Realizing this would take quite the spectacle to do so, Ross embarked on a mission to bring in one of the most spectacular player of all time; the recently retired Pelé.

From there on out, Once in a Lifetime is, above anything else, a detailed account of a power struggle within the New York Cosmos. All the main players, except for Pelé, have their say over who or what eventually killed of the Cosmos. Some say it was de facto president/forward Giorgio Chinaglia, others say it was the weight of the NASL collapsing on itself. The emphasis on this particular part of the organisation of the Cosmos draws attention away from the broader rise to popularity of football in the United States during this period.

One particularly interesting story is about the arrival of Brazilian legend Carlos Alberto, which coincided with the New York Blackout. “As light came back over New York City, the Cosmos where everywhere”, Matt Dillon narrates. There are obvious reasons for this explosion of interest – Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto to name two – but the exact cause of this apparent overnight boom of infatuation with football is never truly explained.

However, even while sporting an at times annoying Seventies aesthetic – yes, we get it: seventies music and those cheesy colourful titles - this documentary does successfully convey what the Cosmos have actually meant for football in the United States. Not only at the time they dominated both the league and fan attention, but also in the long run. So while it misses out on giving a more complete impression of the state of U.S. football at the time, it does shows the roots of modern United States football. It may provide more questions than it answers, but at the very least it’s one of the more interesting and crucial pieces of the puzzle.