New Jerseyans will remember the heyday of the New York Cosmos in the 1970s and 80s. Once the linchpin of professional soccer in the U.S. and home to many star players from around the world, the team and its league ultimately went bankrupt. After several attempts at a reboot over the years, the club – or at least its name – is back, and the Cosmos (don’t call them New York Cosmos) will play home games at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson starting in 2026.

I am attracted to this story for several reasons. For one, I attended many Cosmos games at the old Giants Stadium with my father, who played semi-professionally in Europe following the war. Although many of the Cosmos’ international players (i.e. most of them) struggled to play on a rigid astroturf field that bounced their passes and hurt their knees, it was the closest thing to world-class soccer you could see outside of Europe or South America in those days.

For another, Hinchliffe Stadium overlooks the Great Falls and has a storied history, including Negro League baseball.  When I lived in the neighborhood as a student in the late ’70s, it was in pretty raw shape; there were trees growing through some of the bleachers. Recently, a lot of money went into refurbishing the stadium as a sports and performance venue, and hopes are high as to what it could mean for Paterson and its fortunes.

Finally, the gentleman who has been hired as Vice Chairman of the Cosmos, Giuseppe Rossi, is  not only a former star player in Europe’s top leagues, he grew up in nearby Clifton, NJ and is the son of my final homeroom teacher in high school, Mr. Fernando Rossi, who was a warm, engaging man with a dapper Italian fashion sense.

Wishing the Cosmos, Hinchliffe Stadium and Paterson the best on this idea.