Once in a Lifetime might have appeared in Chicago-area theaters for five minutes or so, but I missed it. Fortunately The Guy heard about it and Netflix came to the rescue. I had planned to blog about my impressions as I watched it. But it was too entertaining for me to engage in the usual multi-tasking: watching a movie while reading, doing a crossword puzzle, blogging, or mindless surfing. (We all know it’s not possible to do anything else while watching a soccer game).
I suppose the rest of the world knew this, but Once in a Lifetime is a documentary about the New York Cosmos of the ill-fated North American Soccer league of the 1970’s. I was ignorant of the NASL, even though I have loved sports most of my life and soccer for the past nine years. I knew that there had been a league populated by a handful of big international stars, but that was it. Such delicious irony! A one-time cliometrician–notice that my email is “clio….”–as in Clio, the Greek muse of history–is ignorant of football history!
My jaw dropped when I saw the footage of packed American football stadiums–full of Americans–going wild for the New York Cosmos. Even more amazing was the discovery that the Cosmos’ goalie, Shep Messing, had posed nude for a women’s magazine. Much of the film’s entertainment value comes from snickering at such seventies-style extremes–hair that was too big, colors that were too loud, and shorts that were too short. Aside from the hilarity of Viva centerfolds, disco music, and bell bottoms, this film was definitely educational.
Only the NY Cosmos were wildly popular. The team was owned by Warner Communications, whose CEO, Steve Ross, had become intrigued with soccer. The driving forces behind the Cosmos’ success were in fact Warner’s deep pockets and Ross’ obsession with popularizing the sport in America. He was indefatigable in his pursuit of Pele, who may never have been signed if not for the intercession of Henry Kissinger. Ross’ determination and hyper-competitive, hyper-confident vision indirectly factor into such success as MLS enjoys today. Even after the league went under in the 1980’s, fans kept a soft spot in their hearts for the Cosmos. Kids discovered that they loved playing soccer and supporters worked hard to bring another pro league to America. They were determined it could work with a more rational business plan.
That is because what succeeded for Ross and the Cosmos ultimately brought down the league. Paying big bucks to aging international superstars created a tremendous level of excitement in New York. Unfortunately, that excitement was accompanied by a big, fat helping of irrational exuberance. Alas, there was no Alan Greenspan around to talk would-be NASL owners out of silly plans to expand the league into every corner of the U.S. Soon there were too many teams chasing too few fans and…well, you can guess the rest.
After watching this film I understand why so many MLS fans were convinced that the Beckham signing was a recipe for disaster. There’s a logic to MLS’ caution in everything it does, from holding back on stadium construction to expansion to courting foreign stars. The film raised as many questions as it answered for me, though. Like why doesn’t the New York MLS franchise draw very well, given the Cosmos’ success?
If you haven’t seen Once in a Lifetime, by all means do so. Rent it for its anachronistic shock value, if nothing else. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t wrap my head around the fact that American soccer existed in the days before personal computers and cell phones. Or that President Gerald Ford once stood next to Pele and kicked around a soccer ball.
