No simpleton...that was not what was bought. What was bought was the legal entity itself, the same one that has been kept active since the mid 70's, including all assets and holdings of the company. In 2010 Kemsley acquired ownership of the New York Cosmos (not just a name or trademark), similar to an investor buying a majority stake in an existing business. The entity itself has been kept alive ever since 1985, it never folded, disolved or ceased to exist. Pepe continued to run the New York Cosmos until 2010 and paid corporate taxes, and used the New York Cosmos entity to further some of his own camps and such.
Come on, the Cosmos for 25 years were nothing more than a file folder and a check attached to a triplicate form sent to the revenue department of the State of New Jersey every so often.
I'll give you that the name and identity wasn't just hijacked by some opportunists -- it was just bought from Pepe for the right price by some opportunists. I'd be a little more convinced if the new Cosmos didn't feel like they were on a foundation of mud. It'll take a few stable years to convince me that they're some stable organization carrying the legacy, but hey, there are a good six or seven thousand people who are fully committed to what's going on, which are pretty solid 2nd division numbers, so some folks have bought in.