July 2025 - Page 2 of 3 - Adamsonmedia.com

Bassett’s big idea

On July 14, 1985, the United States Football League concluded its third season with the Baltimore Stars defeating the Oakland Invaders, 28-24, in the USFL Championship Game.

That would be the original league’s final contest.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social**

While the circuit planned to move to a fall slate in 1986 – and go head-to-head with the NFL – it never made it that far.

The USFL had yo-yoed from 12 flagship franchises in 1983 to 18 in 1984 and 14 in year three. The last season featured an Eastern Conference (Stars, Birmingham Stallions, Jacksonville Bulls, Memphis Showboats, Orlando Renegades, New Jersey Generals and Tampa Bay Bandits) and Western Conference (Arizona Outlaws, Denver Gold, Houston Gamblers, Los Angeles Express, Invaders, Portland Breakers and San Antonio Gunslingers).

An antitrust suit against the NFL that netted just $3.76 was hundreds of millions of dollars shy of what the USFL needed to land a network TV contract and make the switch, so it joined the crowded graveyard of leagues that died young. (Jurors decided the NFL had, in fact, violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, but when it came time to award damages, they believed the USFL’s problems were more due to its own mismanagement than the NFL’s television monopoly).

John Bassett saw this coming.

When, in April of 1985, the majority of other owners followed the lead of the New Jersey Generals’ Donald Trump and opted to abandon the spring format, the money man behind the Bandits wanted no part of it. Only Denver Gold owner Doug Spedding sided with Bassett in a vote that went 13-2 in favor of moving to the fall.

Bassett announced that his franchise would withdraw from the USFL and become part a new multi-sport league which would include golf, tennis, indoor soccer and a few Olympic sports to go along with football.

“We’ve already got 10 or 11 teams,” Bassett said in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times on April 30, 1985. “They’re banking on winning a lawsuit that will give them TV. I presented them with a program to guarantee them a $1.5 million minimum profit or one of a maximum $9 million. They didn’t like it, because they had to give me control of the league.”

Spedding said cities that were already committed to Bassett’s venture were Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, London (England), Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia.

Bassett eyed additional international franchises for several Canadian cities as well as Paris, Rome and West Berlin. It was a bold idea.

“I’m just not going to sit back and be told what to do by a bunch of people who don’t know how to run a business,” Bassett said. “The United States Football League’s chances of being successful in the fall are very slim.”

While the World Football League was a monumental financial disaster, his Memphis Southmen (1974-75) always got paid and paid on time. That was also true with the Bandits.

“After three years, we’re the only team with the same owner, the same town, the same coach that hasn’t been moved, sold or gone out of business, so why should I go to the fall?” Bassett said in a New York Times story on May 5, 1985.

Yet, while Bassett was skeptical of the USFL trying to share a season with the NFL, Stars general partner Myles Tanenbaum thought a multi-sport league was outlandish.

“There will not be a league to even tempt success,” Tanenbaum said. “That’s my judgment. It’s like, ‘Why didn’t you like the movie? It never should’ve been made.’ None of it made any sense to me.”

Bassett claimed to have signed eight players for his unnamed gridiron organization, including a pair of first round draft picks. Among them were UNLV quarterback Randall Cunningham, Memphis State defensive back Donnie Elder, Alabama running back Ricky Moore, Wisconsin center Dan Turk, Colgate QB Steve Calabria and Virginia Tech tight end Joe Jones.

“They can talk to the NFL club that drafts them and if they get offered more, they can be released unless we match their offer,” Bassett told Associated Press.

While Bassett was battling the USFL, however, he was facing a much bigger battle with cancer. In February, 1985, he was diagnosed with a pair of brain tumors.

“I think the current frustration of this thing with the fall has caused the cancer to flare up,” he said in May. “I’ve decided I’m going to do only the right thing, and I’m staying in the spring because it’s right.”

Sadly, by July his condition had worsened to the point that he was forced to abandon his plans for a “Wide World of Sports” type league. He died on May 14, 1986, at age 47.

Forty years later, it’s fun to think how all of this might’ve played out. As much as I was a fan of Bassett (he brought the World Hockey Association to my hometown of Birmingham), the multi-sport league approach did seem a bit ridiculous. But I’d have loved to see him take the reins of another spring football league and watch how far it could go under his watch.

The USFL, of course, planned to start the 1986 season with eight teams – the Outlaws, Stars, Stallions, Bulls, Showboats, Generals, Renegades and Bandits (under new ownership). Had the league gotten a windfall in the lawsuit they would’ve certainly had a fall season – and it likely would’ve been a disaster.

Taking on the NFL wasn’t just a case of flying too close to the sun – it was tantamount to attempting a landing. While the National Football League wasn’t the juggernaut then it is now, I’m convinced its 28 franchises and multiple network TV deals would’ve crushed the competition. The whole reason the USFL was formed to begin with was to avoid such a no-win situation.

Then again, we’ll never know.

Regardless, that era was a fun time to be a football fan. And I’ll always admire Bassett for his fighting spirit – and belief in spring ball.

The cat and the door

Noel had spent the past half hour racing up and down the steps, stopping only briefly to loudly meow at the door leading to the garage. Cam had been trying to play word games and relax over his morning cup of coffee, but finally rose from his chair and figured it was time to investigate.

“Noel, buddy, what on Earth’s the problem?” asked Cam, easing down to sit on the top step while carefully placing his cup on the hardwood floor. “Come here, big fella … tell me all about it.”

The gray and white feline galloped up the steps and butted his head against Cam’s knee, rolling over to expose his belly – briefly – before charging back down. This time he stood up on his hind legs and pushed on the door with his front paws, chirruping the whole time.

“OK, OK,” Cam said. “What’s say me and you check things out, huh? Is that what you want to do? Maybe there’s a chipmunk down there, or even a squirrel. I guess either one could get in while I’m raising or lowering the garage door. Of course, if it’s another cat, well … I don’t want to get in the middle of a fight.”

Cam slowly opened the door and flipped on the light switch. He paused for a moment in an effort to detect any strange sounds, but there were none. Oh, the humidifier was humming away as usual, but that was completely normal. His Honda Accord was parked in its usual spot, the work bench was cluttered with some of his wood burning efforts, and the shelves on the side of the garage were packed with everything from Christmas and Halloween decorations to old kitchen appliances and lamps.

Cam carefully eyed the area and saw no signs of animal activity. If there were any present, they were doing a great job of hiding.

He assumed Noel had followed him into the garage, but instead the cat was standing at the entrance, his tail standing straight up and slightly curved at the top. He was trilling and staring wide-eyed at … well, nothing.

The man walked back toward the stairwell, turned out the light, closed the door and locked it.

Noel looked at him and then fixed his stare on the door again.

“You critters are weird,” he said. “You’ve been carrying on all this time trying to get to whatever you think is out there, but then you’re too scared to find out for yourself. Why don’t you come up here and sit with me? You could probably use some more skitches.”

Cam made his way back up the stairs, reached down to pick up his cup, and returned to his chair in the den. He remembered a quote by Eleanor Farjeon – “It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can’t see” – and smiled. Whatever Noel was seeing was apparently for cat’s eyes only.

Meanwhile, at another house …

Leon had spent the past half hour racing up and down the steps, stopping only briefly to loudly meow at the door leading to the garage. Mac had been trying to play word games and relax over his morning cup of coffee, but finally rose from his chair and figured it was time to investigate.

“Leon, buddy, what on Counter-Earth’s the problem?”

Backing the Cosmos again

Six years ago, I wrote a column titled Where the Cosmos go, I’ll follow. Well, it looks like I’m following them to Paterson, New Jersey, and the United Soccer League.

The latest iteration of the brand has been revived in USL League One, which occupies the third tier of the American soccer pyramid (along with MLS Next Pro). The announcement came on Thursday at historic Hinchliffe Stadium, with new majority owner Baye Adofo-Wilson on hand. (He replaces Rocco B. Commisso, although Commisso will retain a minority stake).

The Cosmos men will begin play in 2026, and a women’s side will be added in 2027.

“Since acquiring the New York Cosmos in 2017, our primary goal has always been to preserve the rich history of America’s most iconic soccer club,” Thomas Larsen, the Cosmos’ outgoing general manager, said. “It is extremely gratifying to know that new generations of fans will be able to experience the excitement of Cosmos soccer at a revitalized venue overlooking the New York City skyline and within a league structure that rewards on-the-field success through promotion and relegation.”

As I’ve said many times, the link between the Cosmos of Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Anton Beckenbauer, etc. – and all revivals of the club since – is really a link in name only. It’s kinda like if you go to a Quiet Riot concert in 2025. Yeah, you’ll hear Cum On Feel the Noize and you might even turn your cell phone’s flashlight on when you do, but it won’t performed by any of its original members.

That said, I simply don’t care.

The Cosmos dazzled me 50 years ago in the original North American Soccer League, and I’ve cheered on clubs repping that name and symbol in the second NASL, National Premier Soccer League and National Independent Soccer Association.

And with apologies to no one, I’ll proudly do it again. “Cosmos” is the trigger that takes me back to my early days as a soccer fan, and the three blades on the shield still resonate more than half a century later.

It’s even more exciting for me because I was starting to believe they were gone for good. The NISA Cosmos “paused operations” in 2021, and I got the feeling that pause might be permanent.

Commisso, in 2018, proposed a $500 million investment in the United States Soccer Federation that would revive the NASL and introduce promotion/relegation. But U.S. soccer officials are joined at the hip with Major League Soccer and weren’t interested. So, Commisso helped fund the NASL’s antitrust lawsuit against the USSF and MLS in 2017, purchased Serie A side ACF Fiorentina in 2019, and the Cosmos seemed to be forgotten.

Erik Stover, however, disagrees with criticism aimed at Commisso.

“I want to really thank Rocco Commisso for this moment,” said Stover, who is the CEO of the League One Cosmos and held that same role with the previous club from 2012 to 2021. “This wouldn’t be happening if Rocco didn’t come to us and say, ‘We want to have the Cosmos on the field again.’ There’s been a lot of criticism of Rocco in recent years, but he showed a lot of courage and spent a lot of money to stand up and fight for what he believed in.

“I think very strongly we wouldn’t be talking about the possibility of promotion and relegation in the USL if he didn’t put up that fight.”

Ah yes … pro/rel. It’s the clarion call of many an association football aficionado, and it’s coming to USL. And that means while the Cosmos will debut in League One, they have the opportunity to climb the ladder. Although the USL Championship is currently the top level in the organization (and second tier on the pyramid), a Division One league is planned and could begin play as early as 2027.

Thus, sporting merit can eventually lift the Cosmos to the top rung of the USL. If and when that happens, they’ll be “major league” for the first time since 1984.

But, first things first. They have to build a team, and that team will be stocked with up-and-comers instead of world-renowned superstars. That’s the responsibility of Head of Soccer Giuseppe Rossi, a native of New Jersey who had a long international career with the likes of Villarreal, Fiorentina and the Italian national team.

“Our focus is to win, but also not to forget about the development of these young players and give them a platform to develop their talents,” Rossi said. “We’re going to field winning teams with local talent, and we’re going to do it at an incredible stadium that I think is going to become an iconic American soccer venue.”

I’m not gonna lie – domestic soccer has largely been an afterthought for me in the last few years. Aside from following Chattanooga FC (I became an “owner” in 2019), I’m far more interested in what’s happing across the pond.

I’m gonna watch Celtic FC every time I can, and some of my biggest viewing decisions are choosing between a Bundesliga or Premier League match. Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United have my loyalty in those respective circuits.

But with the Cosmos back – and with the USL opting to go big and bold with pro/rel – I’m gonna start paying much closer attention.

I might not be seeing Pelé, Chinaglia or Beckenbauer, but I’ll be seeing players wearing the badge that made me first fall in love with an American soccer club.

And that’s reason enough to turn on my cell phone’s flashlight.