Opinion | Right Field: New York Cosmos' star is faded but still distinct
Pioneering American club that once drew international attention - thanks in no small part to Pele - still has entertainment value
It was early 2011 and the New York Cosmos were little more than a nostalgic whim, an entity in name only. They had no players, no manager, no stadium and no formal league affiliation. But they had Pele, and on a winter day in Hong Kong he was all they needed.
Pele was coming to the Cosmos for an unheard-of-figure of US$5 million
The most famous footballer ever, he was smaller in person, as larger-than-life legends tend to be. He was 70 now. However, the encroaching years had hardly robbed him of the effortless stride befitting an elite athlete. In fact, there was a bounce in his step and why not?
In his post-playing career, Pele had become the most celebrated pitchman for Viagra. Back in the mid-70s, Pele shocked the sporting world by emerging from a brief retirement to play for the upstart Cosmos in the largely anonymous North American Soccer League (NASL). It was a massive coup and came at a considerable cost.
At the time, slugger Hank Aaron was the highest-paid baseball player in the game, making US$200,000 annually. Pele was coming to the Cosmos for an unheard-of figure of US$5 million in a convoluted personal services contract that included three years of playing.
Despite being 34 years old, his sheer charisma and talent would make this one of the most significant signings in the history of sport as the Cosmos would set attendance records both in the US and abroad.
Long before the current star-studded era at Real Madrid, the New York Cosmos were the original Galacticos. But as Pele, recently named honorary president of the new Cosmos, sat on the dais in Hong Kong that day, he knew those halcyon days were a couple of generations removed. He also knew it would take more than Viagra for the Cosmos to rise again.
