by JAKE NUTTING
OP-ED: The “Kings of New York” mantle is usually reserved for derbies among the city’s three professional teams — but we may have to make an exception after this weekend.
New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls were on the verge of meeting for a heated Eastern Conference final in the MLS postseason, but both teams saw their seasons come to an unceremonious end after posting losses in the home legs of the semifinal round on Sunday. The Red Bulls were halted with a 2-1 loss to Montreal Impact, while NYCFC suffered an even more humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of Toronto FC.
The night before, though, there was one New York team that was able to take care of business in the postseason.
Coming from behind to erase a one-goal deficit, the New York Cosmos prevailed with a 90th-minute winner from Yohandry Orozco to dispatch Rayo OKC and advance to the NASL’ championship final.
It’s the second straight league final appearance for the Cosmos, and their third overall in the four seasons in the modern NASL. The Cosmos have never failed to reach the postseason and have already hoisted the league’s Soccer Bowl trophy twice in three years. They’ve also been stellar in the regular season, finishing top of the table the last two years and setting a new single-season record for points each time.
The only problem for the Cosmos? No one seems to care.
Try as they might, the Cosmos have faced an uphill battle like they never have before, both in relevancy and stability. They cannot shake the stigma of playing below MLS in the second division, in a market where countless entertainment options exist. That has been established. But the uncertainty of that second division does the team no favors, either. For all the achievements on the field, the Cosmos front office and the NASL in general have struggled to carve out their niche in a quickly-transforming soccer landscape. The continued hemorrhaging of teams from the competition certainly hasn’t helped that cause. But on a local level, the team has failed to make inroads with the New York soccer market as well.
Sunday’s postseason exits may be a bitter pill to swallow for the MLS teams, but their front offices can at least take solace in the healthy crowds they pulled to their respective encounters. NYCFC have managed to stabilize their following this year, consistently producing big crowds at Yankee Stadium. Likewise, the Red Bulls ticket sales grows year to year.
The Cosmos can only be so lucky. Combined, the Red Bulls and NYCFC drew 52, 669 to their respective conference semifinal matches. In comparison, 16 Cosmos regular season home games at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium have totaled just 60,403 tickets sold.
In the absence of stars on the level of Raul or Marcos Senna, the Cosmos saw a 25 percent dip in attendance from last year and finished with an average below 4,000 tickets sold — their lowest average in four years. Making matters worse, the team has little hope at capitalizing on this weekend’s final like they did last year with a respectable crowd of 10,166. Scheduling issues and poor relations with Hofstra have forced the team to schedule the NASL’s marquee match at 2,600-seat Belson Stadium — hardly a venue fitting of the New York’s postseason kings.
Waiting beyond the final for the Cosmos is an offseason full of uncertainty as the team faces a serious crossroad. Head Coach and Technical Sporting Director Giovanni Savarese is reportedly drawing significant interest from MLS teams and from clubs overseas. Savarese is unquestionably the architect of every postseason — an on-field achievement the Cosmos have earned since their reincarnation in 2013. It is difficult to imagine the club without him.
Just as pressing, if not more so, is where the Cosmos will call home next year. The relationship with Hofstra has soured to the point where the team is earnestly seeking a new home for next year, with Brooklyn’s MCU Park topping the list of potential venues.A move into New York City proper could alienate some of the small but dedicated base the team has on Long Island, but it would offer them the opportunity to hit the reset button on the last four years and start making strides toward relevancy in the five boroughs.
Yes. Times are bleak. And that makes the on-field success all the more impressive. Despite all the off-field uncertainty and angst, the Cosmos continue to perform where it counts — a credit to Savarese and his players. That focus has earned them a trip to the Soccer Bowl where they host Indy Eleven in St. John’s underwhelming Belson Stadium — a final obstacle in a year of hurdles.
In many ways, 2016 has been a year of change for the Cosmos. The club is facing their most existential offseason of the reboot era.
But for the fans, the lone constant they can count on is the team’s performance. Savarese’s men have set the standard for postseason success in this market, and this weekend’s results are just another reminder of that success.
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