By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

During the quarantine, I have decided to share some of the press passes I have accrued through the years. And they’re just not about soccer, but of many sports. Yes, I have saved just about all of them, which probably totals into the hudnreds, if not the thousands. To kick things off, here are two from East Rutherford, N.J. more than four decades ago.

Notice that the press passes don’t have any lanyards. One has string and on the other, the string had somehow fallen off. Heck, what do you expect after 41 years?

In the 1978 Soccer Bowl, the Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, as Dennis Tueart scored on either side of halftime as the hosts defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 3-1, to win the North American Soccer League title on Aug. 27, before a record crowd of 74,901.

In 1979, the Cosmos were eliminated in the semifinals and the Rowdies took on the Vancouver Whitecaps at Giants Stadium. This time Trevor Whymark did Tampa Bay in, connecting twice in a 2-1 win over the Rowdies in front of 50,699 on Sept. 8. The fans chanted, “Cosmos! Cosmos! Cosmos!” during the game.

Here is another story you might be interested in:

GETTING A PASS (DAY 2): The inside story of my Mexico ’86 credential

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.