Great for all soccer fans, us or international

Now we finally know the truth behind what went wrong with the first football organization that had great potential back in the early days. We now know who destroyed this beautiful team. Anyways, I give it 4 stars only because there were no Pele interviews! Albeit after watching this documentary, you will know why he may not have wanted any part in it. I showed this film to a few current and retired professional football players from south america and they loved it! It is a great history lesson and it is well filmed.

New York Sports Story

It is a doco of a New York football team and world stars having made it popular Pele among them.

It is interesting for funs especially.

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If you are a fan of the Cosmos, this is a must have documentary. I love how it shows the legacy of what this team left for American youth programs. Thanks Pele'!

Great documentary for sports fans

Even for fans who remember watching the New York Cosmos, it is hard to imagine that at one time the best soccer players in the world were not on Manchester United or Real Madrid but in America playing in New York every week. This documentary tells an amazing story that has a Cinderella begining and a Hamlet ending, but during the journey it was something to see.

I enjoyed seeing the interviews with the players and the owners. I was especially moved by the videos of Pele and hearing more of his story. Watching his goodbye game in which he played a half for the Cosmos and for the Brazilian team Boca Juniors (I think that's the name) was inspiring. It is Pele's goodbye speech that literally serves as a climax to this documentary.

What comes through most in this documentary is a shared love for soccer. Even though the league was mismanaged and out of control, it brought a love of the game to many in the USA. For that we can ever be thankful.

Bombastic, inaccurate and, like the NASL, almost but not quite

The movie itself is highly entertaining and much better than the book. It still paints a picture as if the league never took off until Pele came along. Yes and no. Portland became "Soccer City" prior to Pele's arrival and Seattle and Tampa were certainly on their way.

I also think they overplay the Cosmos ruling NY angle (the NY Yankees were a pretty big story during the '70s when Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson ruled the roost) and the impact soccer had. The TV ratings nationally were abysmal even during the 1977-80 heyday.

That said, get the DVD! It has so many fascinating background takes on all that went on with the Cosmos and the NASL, it is both a fun ride and a cautionary tale of what excess can do ultimately to your "product."

The extras are not all that great. You get the 1980 and 1981 Soccer Bowls and the Pele Farewell Game vs. his old club team Santos (Brazil). They are basically 20-min. condensed extendo hilites and just emphasize how bad Jim "Village of Vancouver" McKay's toupe and play-by-play commentary was. Also, it seems the copies they got of the original tapes lacked lighting. I was constantly cranking up the brightness on my TV to "see" the action better.

And of all the Soccer Bowls, why 1981? That was a dull (and I'm not spoiling it really) 0-0 affair in which the Chicago Sting won in a shootout in rainy boring Toronto. Put the 1977 Soccer Bowl vs. Seattle on there as that was Pele's lone NASL championship (that I have on excellent quality video bought off some firm that did NASL game tapes in the '80s out of Natchez, MS, so it is out there available from collectors). Or throw on one of the many thrilling matches the Cosmos had vs. either the Vancouver Whitecaps or the Tampa Bay Rowdies to show the "real" NASL.

The Farewell Game is dull beyond belief. It's typical of friendlies (exhibition matches) so I was not expecting much. Other than seeing Frank Gifford as emcee in his ultrayellow Monday Night Football ABC blazer, it's really not worth adding here other than for historians.

If they ever re-release this DVD, whack on some better extras.