The NASL has always made the claim to be an innovator. Even in its first incarnation, colored balls, shootouts, exploding scoreboards and cheerleaders were all part of the play to get America interested in “The Beautiful Game.” In many ways it was way ahead of its time, speaking to an audience that was not yet ready for professional soccer. Then came the long term investment by USA Soccer and the deep pockets of the then-single-entity Major League Soccer, and the game grew. The NASL’s biggest brand asset, the Cosmos, remained a soccer household name, and when NASL came back, back came the Cosmos, back on Long Island eventually, spurning MLS to try and lead NASL back to prominence. Be the attacker brand in the upstart league and see where it goes.
In several ways, the Cosmos in their latest iteration have worked hard to find ways to engage fans and help re-grow the NASL, which has tried to find its niche a step below the now mature and more mainstream brand of MLS in North America. They went back to their roots and took the team around the world. They have tried new promotions and sought to bring in name players to try and entice a diverse population to turn out in support, despite being in a market that now has not just one MLS team but two, with NYCFC now set up and running at Yankee Stadium for now. The Cosmos looked east to two boroughs, Queens and Brooklyn as more fertile and team-friendly ground, while continuing to try and gain a foothold in the value soccer real estate further east. They have played matches in Brooklyn at the home of the Cyclones this season, looking to lure in a diverse crowd who may not want to traverse to The Bronx of across two rivers to Red Bull Arena, and have tried to show if they can’t be the biggest soccer show in town, they can be first in many ways.
The biggest and most effective first came this past week, when, along with all of NASL, the club went to Cuba, beating Major League Baseball to the punch as the first team and league to set down some roots in the country since President Obama lifted sanctions against the island nation. Now they were not the first team to take on Cuba since last fall; Cuban athletes were in New York just two weeks ago wrestling against Team USA in Times Square, but they were the first to go that far south, and with it scored some great exposure and brand recognition for the effort on a warm Tuesday night.
Now the effort didn’t just happen overnight. It took a little luck and a lot of planning and diplomacy by both the club and NASL, and when Cuban soccer officials ended up in Jamaica for an Under-23 tournament, with Cosmos Coach Giovanni Savarese and his coaching staff a meeting was set, and the plan moved forward.
Amidst the great press coverage; the game fell in a lull before the start of either the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals, the club and the league talked glowingly about how this will not just be a diplomatic gain for both nations, it will grow soccer both in the States and in Cuba, where the sport is trying to take hold against the national game of baseball and is trying to find its way. It also served as a nice compliment for the NASL’s growing engagement in a Latino community that will also now have a Miami franchise next season, something which MLS has been challenged to launch since awarding rights to a group led by David Beckham. Again NASL brought the buzz and had a first in South Florida.
Is all of this more style points than substance? Does it move the needle to get more fans and eyeballs and brands involved with the Cosmos in New York or with the league with casual fans? Hard to say. What is easy to say is that first is always better than second, and new and historic beats traditional, at least when you are trying to win the day in the engagement business.
For the long term it may not matter as much, but for the short term the Cosmos and NASL found a way to get the media world focused on them, even with the storm going on with FIFA. Great points for style and hustle for one of soccer’s still iconic brands, no matter what league they are playing in.
