Going by the RBNY forums the RB fans feel this could well be the death of their club. I guess this is what comes of having franchises instead of clubs. No one switches clubs, but a shiny new franchise...
I don't think they are being secretive, just desperate to expand their brand for commercial reasons. Not sure how much room there is in the US for another "favourite" EPL team. If you look at baseball, how many teams genuinely cross over into mainstream culture over here, probably only one, the Yankees. I have to bow to the knowledge of @KidFlash who seems very informed about the Cosmos and there intentions, but I just hate that Man City can buy there way into something over what looks like to me a team that has some history and heritage in the US. Surely whatever the background of how the Cosmos are run, they would have an easier time of generating interest in them. Who in the US knows much about Man City? Just my two cents. I was lucky to have watched the first ever MLS game of the then NY MetroStars at Giants Stadium back in 1996 and always thought they missed a trick not using the Cosmos brand. Some of the MLS teams have used the same names, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps.
Sorry if I came across a little forceful in my responses, as that wasn't my intention.
I think there's plenty of room for EPL fandom here. I know a Facebook friend who's part of a Spurs group in LA, for example. The fact that games are on in the morning due to the time difference helps immeasurably. There is some question of just how much of this is going to be Man City USA - the press conference is going on right now. It might be simply a nicking of colors, as MLS rules would prevent this new team from simply being a reserve club. (Besides, they've tried that in LA with Chivas USA, and that team is a disaster, waiting to be sold and moved.)
Apparently whoever had the Cosmos brand in 1994-95 wasn't willing to meet MLS' price, as people in the know have said that the league tried to buy the rights, but failed. Seattle had huge groundswells of support for the NASL name. The Seattle team was going to be named something else, but there were so many write-in votes for Sounders that they changed plans.
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I think there's plenty of room for EPL fandom here. I know a Facebook friend who's part of a Spurs group in LA, for example. The fact that games are on in the morning due to the time difference helps immeasurably. There is some question of just how much of this is going to be Man City USA - the press conference is going on right now. It might be simply a nicking of colors, as MLS rules would prevent this new team from simply being a reserve club. (Besides, they've tried that in LA with Chivas USA, and that team is a disaster, waiting to be sold and moved.)
Apparently whoever had the Cosmos brand in 1994-95 wasn't willing to meet MLS' price, as people in the know have said that the league tried to buy the rights, but failed. Seattle had huge groundswells of support for the NASL name. The Seattle team was going to be named something else, but there were so many write-in votes for Sounders that they changed plans.