John Battsek - Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

In this episode we’ve got John Battsek. He is the producer of the documentary film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos. We get a behind the scenes look at what it was like to make the film, and we hear about how the perspective of different players often looked different from one another.

On this episode:
● How David first found out about Once in a Lifetime.
● What attracted John to the project of making a movie about the Cosmos.
● The influence of the Cosmos playing Chelsea in 1978.
● John’s preference to be in involved in many aspects of the film.
● Players that didn’t participate in the making of the documentary.
● Giorgio being portrayed as villainous in the film.
● The different views that different players have of the team’s history.
● Why the production of Once in a Lifetime was unique compared to other projects.
● Why the 1970s is the era of the NASL that people are most interested in.
● The NASL-style shootout and why John didn’t think it worked.
● Other soccer projects that John has been involved with.
● Jay Emmett’s sense of humor and his significant role in Cosmos history.
● The branding of the Cosmos and why it helps.
● Players that may have felt hurdled over in the team’s history.
● The effort to make indoor soccer popular in the US.
● New York’s blackout in 1977 and its effects on the Cosmos.