Resurrected New York Cosmos Supported By Maple Syrup-Wielding Superfans
By Adam Cecil
This past Sunday, the New York Cosmos played their opening game of the 2014 season against the Atlanta Silverbacks, their opponent in last year’s Soccer Bowl. As the Cosmos scored again and again, the supporters behind the home goal cheered. The Borough Boys had brought a huge cardboard cutout of Pelé’s face. La Banda del Cosmos came in with a drum line, marching the entire length of the stadium to their seats behind the goal. The Cross Island Crew brought flags and banners. It was unclear who brought the confetti, the fire extinguishers filled with green foam, and the smoke bombs. What was clear was their passion for the New York Cosmos, a soccer club who currently called Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium home.
You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t been following the resurrection of the New York Cosmos. Founded in 1971, the original Cosmos team were well known for signing international stars Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, and Franz Beckenbauer. Attendance declined after Pelé’s retirement, with the club finally folding in 1985, but the name of the team remained renowned. Desire for a resurrection was steady throughout the ’90s and early 2000s, especially with the rise of the MLS, finally culminating in the club’s return in 2010. The New York Cosmos play in the second division North American Soccer League, itself a rebirth of the original first division League that the Cosmos played in during their original run.
The Borough Boys, La Banda del Cosmos, and the Cross Island Crew are the three biggest soccer crews supporting the New York Cosmos, making up what they call the “Five Points,” a large support section behind the home goal. They’re the fans who brought banners, flags, confetti, and smoke bombs. I was there behind the home goal, but I didn’t travel with any of the main crews. Instead, I came with a group of friends from my high school back in Vermont, who were collectively and affectionately referred to as the “Vermont boys” by several members of the Borough Boys — the two groups had previously gotten to know each other via the Internet. Despite being an internationally recognized team, Cosmos supporters are local; often born and bred New Yorkers, a lot of Cosmos fans are older Latino men who remember the team from their glory days in the ’70s and ‘80s.
However, the Vermont boys were quickly accepted by the Borough Boys crew, despite never having met before in real life. Patrick Infurna, senior at Castleton College, told me that he and his friends first got involved with the crew through Facebook. “Even [online] they were such a welcoming group,” he told me, “which made it so much easier to attach myself to [the Cosmos].” Daniel Infurna, Patrick’s older brother, brought a box full of homemade pints of maple syrup to give to the crew. It was in Daniel’s sugaring house that the Vermont boys burned a copy of the New York Post featuring the newly released logo for the New York City Football Club.
Let’s back up. The New York Cosmos have been pushing to be allowed into the MLS ever since they were reformed in 2010. Last year, it was announced that instead of the New York Cosmos, a new New York team would be joining the MLS — New York City FC, owned by Manchester City FC owner Sheikh Mansour, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and the New York Yankees. This didn’t go over well with the Borough Boys. Cooper Babbitt, another Vermont boy and soon-to-be freshman at Middlebury College, explained it this way: “Cosmos fans reject the idea of a foreign club making NYC their satellite home and refuse to support an organization whose owner supports laws putting people to death for being gay.” Noticing the copy of the New York Post that first published the New York City FC logo, the Vermont boys took it back to the sugaring house and filmed themselves burning it. Afterwards, they posted it in the Borough Boys’ Facebook group. At the Borough Boys’ tailgate party before the game, many members of the crew recognized the Vermont boys from their video. One man told Jeff Bruce, junior at Castleton College, that the video “went more viral than you know.”
The video tapped into a major theme of Cosmos support — New York authenticity. Cosmos fans have rejected the first New York MLS team, the New York Red Bulls, even including the line “we don’t drink the Red Bull anymore” in one of their chants. More important than New York authenticity, however, is just how much they love soccer. To many fans, Red Bull’s buyout of the MetroStars in 2006 marked the end of that franchise being focused on the game. The Cosmos aren’t about selling an energy drink — it’s all about soccer, plain and simple. Anyone — from Vermont boys to newfound Norwegians — are more than welcome to join the crews in the Five Points supporters section. For many fans at the Cosmos game last Sunday, it wasn’t just about supporting their team; it was about restoring the love for American soccer that they used to know.
Oh, and the score of last Sunday’s opening game? Cosmos won, four to nothing.
