The good news is that Sela Sport, the new owners of the New York Cosmos, have finally paid Blau-Weiss Gottschee the $210,000 they owed them for the Cosmos Academy, albeit 120 days overdue. I wonder if they included interest and legal fees? And, given that they will owe them another $250,000 on Jan. 1, 2012, do they plan on paying that as well? If so, will it be on-time, or at the end of April 2012?
Don’t get me wrong – this is good news. But there are still plenty of unanswered questions about these new owners. After all these troubles, from the failure to pay their bills to their protracted and ill-communicated change of ownership, the news that Sela Sport finally made good on what they owed Gottschee is like learning that your girlfriend stopped cheating on you. Yes, it’s welcome news, but why did it happen in the first place? And is this indicative of the way they do business?
Look, I’ve made no qualms about being a Cosmos fan – ever since I was a kid, growing up in rural New York in the 70s. And using this blog as a platform, I have done everything I could to help support that organization’s quest to enter Major League Soccer as the 20th franchise here in New York City. With the exception of the Borough Boys, I can’t imagine anyone happier to have them back in the running.
But I felt completely gutted by the way Sela Sport treated Gottschee, a pillar of the New York City soccer community. And, quite frankly, I wasn’t too pleased with the position in which they put the surviving Cosmos staff, leaving them to take the heat for their apparent indifference. It was a lot to ask – especially from an overseas ownership group that doesn’t seem all that concerned about honoring contracts.
But is news of the payment enough to put the Cosmos back in good-standing with New York City soccer fans? I certainly wouldn’t rush to make that judgement.
Welcome Back, But Not With Open Arms
All of these changes, crowned by Sela’s 120-day delay in fulfilling its contractual obligation to the Cosmos Academy, have left a bitter taste in the New York Soccer community. Keep in mind that we’re talking about kids here, many of whom left their pay-to-play clubs for a chance to participate in the Cosmos program. There are other Development Academies in the area, including one that already offers a clear path to play professionally: the New York Red Bulls. But these kids – the ones Sela left dangling for three months – chose the Cosmos Academy. And, frankly, for that alone they deserve better than the treatment Sela gave them.
As a result of this bizarre turn of events (the abrupt change in leadership, the failure to fulfil contracts, and the cloak of silence Sela hid behind), the Cosmos have become a joke to many. Those who cared were crushed. And those who were curious have since moved on. A year of hard work, reviving the brand and raising hopes for a 20th franchise, was shot down in a few weeks of feeble silence. The luster of the Cosmos brand has faded as that prolonged silence – and the subsequent savagery on Facebook and Twitter, as well as in the media itself – has left even the most diehard fans reluctant to sport their Cosmos gear in public.
Sure, Paul Kemsley was viewed as a tad arrogant, and may have rubbed some the wrong way. But Sela Sport? They certainly have started off on the wrong foot – and went knee-deep. In the New York City soccer community, their reputation is right down there with that of Carlos Tevez and Sepp Blatter.
So the news is good, but all is not well in Cosmos Country. While Sela’s senior execs may be hitting it off with the folks at MLS, Garber & Co. aren’t the ones who are going to be buying Cosmos tickets and gear. The fans are the ones who will determine if Sela’s Cosmos live or die in this town. And, right now, fans here in NYC don’t seem too pleased with these new owners.
Lessons From The Last Owners
In America, the individuals and organizations that are most admired do what they say and say what they do. They communicate clearly, to all constituents, and deliver on what they promise. I think it’s fair to say that Kemsley’s Cosmos made a lot of promises that they didn’t deliver on.
Plus they did some strange things, like the Asian Tour, the Opus project, and the Scholes Testimonial (not to mention scheduling a friendly in Las Vegas of all places). Worse yet, they did a poor job of communicating the rationale for these things.
On the communications front, the Cosmos will certainly need to re-establish some credibility with the fans and the media. The fans were repeatedly assured that the Cosmos had the resources to build a stadium and purchase an MLS franchise. Many now feel duped, suspecting that Kemsley and crew were more interested in pet projects than keeping their eyes on the proverbial prize. Similarly, the media have been consistently fed statements that all is well, while the entire board was being replaced in a protracted buyout deal that ended up with litigation over the fate of the kids in the Cosmos Academy. Clearly all was not well.
Rumor has it that the folks at Sela Sport were fed up with the flamboyant approach taken to marketing the club. Giant billboards in Times Square might have seemed like a good idea to an Englishman, but any New Yorker can tell you that they were a complete – and expensive – waste of money. New Yorkers don’t go to Times Square. And if we have to, we certainly don’t look up at the bright billboards. Eyes on the prize, folks.
The whole velvet rope approach to marketing may work well for an elite vodka brand, but we’re talking about a soccer team in America. Hipsters may be nostalgic for the infamous Cosmos after-parties at Studio 54, but those people aren’t going to buy season tickets. They’ll show up to see a celebrity like David Beckham, but they won’t be there in the stands on a rainy day. And they sure as hell won’t stick around when the team starts losing games.
There are plenty of soccer fans in New York City. They may not be interested in the latest Umbro line, but they are very interested in soccer. And anyone who followed the Cosmos over the past year had to be troubled by the club’s ratio of nonsense to soccer. Again, they failed to keep their eyes on the prize, and the prize is soccer.
Which brings me to the Cosmos Copa, one of the things that Kemsley’s Cosmos got right. It’s about the soccer, you see. Sure, it’s out in Queens, which isn’t as hip as SoHo. But that’s where a lot of the fans are – the loyal fans, who will support the club through good times and bad.
Why should Sela Sport keep the Cosmos Copa NYC? Have a look back at some of the coverage. This tournament taps into every major ethnic community in the city, which are the people who will buy season tickets, show up in the freezing rain, and keep filling those seats even when the Cosmos are at the bottom of the table. Plus it’s a great showcase for the amateur soccer talent in the city, and therefore a good springboard for strengthening the squad being grown in the Cosmos Academy.
I’m glad Sela Sport finally saw the light on the Cosmos Academy. It remains the foundation of the dream that was – and still could be – the resurrection of the New York Cosmos. While the original NASL squad of the 1970s was a collection of expensive all-stars, fielding a team in MLS will require homegrown talent, as the designated player rule puts a tight cap on all-star purchasing power.
There are 8 million people in New York City. And the quality of the kids playing soccer in this town is staggeringly good. The talent is here. It just needs to be nurtured, developed, and given a path to glory. That’s the future of the Cosmos.
Building a Bridge Over Troubled Water
So now that the Sela has finally made good on its financial obligation to the youth of New York City, how will they go about repairing the damage to their reputation? How will they regain their credibility?
For the kids still in the academy (a few already jumped ship in the wake of uncertainty) and their parents, how can their faith in the organization be renewed? How will the Cosmos Academy be able to attract new talent, given the neglect and near-abandonment everyone witnessed? And why should fans back a side that effectively shut them out, and then left the youth of their city – the future of soccer in NYC – dangling due to apparent indifference?
I don’t know what sparked all this turmoil. Did Sela Sport make a mandatory capital call, with Kemsley and the others walking away, forfeiting their equity for refusing to reinvest in the club? Or did Kemsley and crew squander the funds available, leaving the Cosmos Academy out in the cold, with Sela Sport stepping in to save the day as soon as they could? And if that’s the case, what took them so long to make good on their contractual obligation to the kids?
I don’t expect the new owners to dish the dirt. But they would be wise to offer some sort of explanation for why they left their kids – and their fans – out in the cold. They might want to defend what, in the absence of any such explanation, appears to be their dishonor.
I say this all with respect. The new owners may not want to hear it. Sela Sport may think they already know what’s best for the Cosmos. But they’ve only been in charge a month, and already they’re making their predecessors look like candidates for owners of the year.
Frankly, I’d be happy to tell Sela’s side of the story. Who is Sela Sport? Why – despite their best intentions – did the transition go so brutally? What are their plans for the future of the Cosmos? And how can the fans help?
But given what little I’ve seen of Sela so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if they simply ignored such questions and adopted a policy of “business as usual.” They may try to remain aloof and ignore such obvious concerns, thinking they can purchase loyalty by selling new scarves and hosting velvet-rope events. But that didn’t work out too well for the last owners, now did it?
Beautiful. Perfect. I love you Dobens.
Am i missing something here, yes it took Sela sports too long to pay, but was it not in PK hands at the time to make that payment that was missed? If i am a Seal sports i do my best to find out where the checks are going to go after i take over so i don’t blame them for doing there Home work on this. I applaud them for continuing payments for something that should be free(Sports Clubs) for every kid in the U.S.A. ! I have problems with clubs like this that only let in elite kids with parents that have big check books, what about the inner city kid’s there the real ones that lose out ! That’s where the real problem is.
You raise an interesting point. It’s not clear exactly when the changeover started. We do know that the current Cosmos staff have said that it took far longer than expected. Was this in the works before Aug. 1? It certainly is possible. Just as it’s possible that Sela (which apparently already had a stake in the Cosmos) asked for a freeze on spending, which ultimately may have led to the change in ownership.
But that still wouldn’t necessarily let Sela off the hook. Even if the deal wasn’t fully completed until the end of October, they surely would have made a thorough review of the books long before then. And a $500,000 sponsorship agreement isn’t something easily overlooked. They clearly would have known that they were acquiring this financial obligation, when it was due, and what it was for. In fact, according to Cosmos staffers, Sela had acknowledged this financial obligation and promised to make good on it. The question remains, what took them so long? Also, will they make the second payment ($250,000 due on Jan. 1), and will it be on time?
As for your concerns about kids who may not have the means, fear not. Because of the Cosmos sponsorship deal, the Cosmos Academy program is free to anyone who has the talent to make the teams. However, because Sela had failed to pay that fee on time, the program actually reverted to the old pay-for-play model for a few weeks.
And, for what it’s worth, there are a number of quality pay-for-play youth soccer programs in New York City that routinely offer significant financial aid to kids who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to play. It’s far from perfect, but I am genuinely impressed by the work that many of these youth soccer programs are doing – along with non-profits like America SCORES NY, FC Harlem, and South Bronx United.