Before the glamour, Messing reportedly taught at Westbury High School, trained with the Cosmos and returned home late at night. The club’s struggles reflected the wider state of American football, where players faced limited money, preparation and public attention.
Then came Pele’s arrival in 1975, alongside the financial backing and ambition that changed the Cosmos’ trajectory. Messing described the jump from college and Olympic football to sharing a dressing room with Pele as almost impossible to process.
“I had to pinch myself,” he said.
The quote captures more than personal disbelief. It reflects how quickly American football moved from the margins into the sporting mainstream.
The Cosmos soon became a showcase for elite international talent. Pele was joined by Giorgio Chinaglia, Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer, while the team moved from small crowds to packed Giants Stadium nights.
Messing recalled a dressing room shaped by different languages, personalities and football cultures. He said his role extended beyond goalkeeping, describing himself as an “interpreter, shop steward and peacemaker”.
That mixture created tension, but it also gave the Cosmos their identity. They were not merely a successful club; they became a piece of popular culture, appearing in major advertising campaigns and reaching audiences far beyond traditional football supporters.
Pele’s farewell match against Santos in 1977 marked the beginning of a decline that eventually engulfed the Cosmos and the NASL. The boom had been spectacular, but it depended heavily on star power, commercial momentum and an unstable league structure.
That remains the central lesson of the Cosmos story. Celebrity can open the door, but sustainable football requires strong foundations.
The next storyline to watch is whether modern American football can preserve the spectacle while building the lasting infrastructure the Cosmos era never fully secured.