Giorgio Chinaglia dies

[NoHoJoe]

Former New York Cosmo Player and internationally famous soccer star Giorgio Chanagli has died. He was 65

Today we are all Cosmos fans!

[missouri tigers]

What a sh**y day to die on.

[NJTank]

What a sh**y day to die on.

John McSherry agrees wholeheartedly

[Gothamite]

Today we are all Cosmos fans!

does that mean we can have our team back, finally?

[connriv]

Shea Stadium

[waltere]

Shea Stadium

Chinaglia actually has died though

[oddball]

Former New York Cosmo Player and internationally famous soccer star Giorgio Chanagli has died. He was 65

Today we are all Cosmos fans!

Actually, no we aren't. Just because your "favorite" player dies, doesn't mean people are all "fans" of your team or ever will be. When Reggie White died, I didn't all of a sudden think, "Well today, I'm a Packer and an Eagle fan." I thought, "Well, that's sad."

[Gothamite]

It's a joke, a meme that swept these boards a couple years ago. In the face of every tragedy, or even setback, "Today we are all [insert nickname or location or group identity here].". The sillier the better.

For my own part, I loved Chinaglia when a was a kid. My opinion of him has sourced somewhat in recent years as I learned more about the behind-the-scenes drama with the Cosmos, and even more so with the very scummy business ventures he was associated with. I had hoped that he might find some public redemption in his work with the new Cosmos.

[infrared41]

It's a joke, a meme that swept these boards a couple years ago. In the face of every tragedy, or even setback, "Today we are all [insert nickname or location or group identity here].". The sillier the better.

All of which is lost on nohojoe (as well as oddball apparently.) Nohojoe seems to think "today we are all..." is some sort of solemn tribute.

[Gothamite]

Instead of a mockery of one.

He should have said "today we are all overbearing, insufferable Welshmen who speak English with an Italian accent."

[STL FANATIC]

It also remains an awfully large distortion of what was actually said... but fun is fun (if that's fun)...

[Gothamite]

Wait, what's a distortion?

[pmoehrin]

For my own part, I loved Chinaglia when a was a kid. My opinion of him has sourced somewhat in recent years as I learned more about the behind-the-scenes drama with the Cosmos, and even more so with the very scummy business ventures he was associated with. I had hoped that he might find some public redemption in his work with the new Cosmos.

I'm kind of along the same lines.

The documentary ESPN did a few years back really painted him as a huge prick and that was the only guy they really dumped on and reading about all of his off pitch issues it seems like it probably was fair to paint him in that light. Really struck me as a European soccer version of Pete Rose.

[Gothamite]

I don't know if I'd go that far. Rose is a very special brand of scumbag.

I'm not aware of Chinaglia being involved in any on-field bad behavior other beyond ball-hogging and some showboating.

Chinaglia's crimes were all in his post-playing career.

[STL FANATIC]

Wait, what's a distortion?

The meme was always based on something that was never said. Not in that manner or form.

[Gothamite]

Sort of like "Beam me up, Scotty" or "Just the facts, Ma'am."

EDIT: Wasn't it said in exactly that manner and form?

[STL FANATIC]

Sort of like "Beam me up, Scotty" or "Just the facts, Ma'am."

Yessir. I just dislike it because it makes fun of me (not that many even know that anymore) and for something I didn't actually say. But such is the way these things go... I also think it's typically in a very much "meh" taste, but to each their own. Other than this, I never really complain, I just cringe when I read it.

Perhaps I've been wrong all along about where it stemmed from. You could be right, Goth...

[Gothamite]

Sorry, STL, I never knew that it was associated with you. I always thought it was about the VT thing.

But back to Chinaglia, here he is with the Cosmos:

Love those socks.

[pmoehrin]

I don't know if I'd go that far. Rose is a very special brand of scumbag.

I'm not aware of Chinaglia being involved in any on-field bad behavior other beyond ball-hogging and some showboating.

Chinaglia's crimes were all in his post-playing career.

Most of the people I've ever heard talk about Chinaglia will say he was a great soccer and beyond that have nothing the least bit positive to say about the guy.

He was the best player on the Italian National Team and was kicked off the squad. And a huge reason for him staying on the Cosmos for as long as he did was that no team in Europe wanted him. He constantly undercut coaches and would sabotage nearly any offense strategy where he was not the primary goal scorer.

As far as his crimes are concerned, he wasn't convicted of anything until after his playing career was over but well-established ties to mafioso type figures and his standing with them may or may not have been another motivation for him coming to the US.

Bottom line I guess is great soccer player, terrible human being and I'm not sure how many people that knew him are really mourning his death.

[Gothamite]

Shame when you have to say that about another human being, isn't it?

He sabotaged the Cosmos as well, undercutting the coach until his own hand-picked choice could be installed. Then there was the Champions World tour he helped run, which brought global teams to the US but dissolved in a cloud of shady business practices.

I'd still put Pete Rose in his own scumbag category, unless there's any evidence that Chinaglia threw or influenced games.

The big upside to his de facto ownership of the Cosmos is that when the league folded Chinaglia's assistant ended up with the trademarks, trohpies and archives, making a rebirth of the team possible now. Ironic enough that he would have saved the legacy, if MLS can get that deal done.