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12.12.2007
Beckham mania?: As a devoted follower of European football (i.e. soccer), I've been reading rumors about a possible David Beckham move to the United States for years. The gay-friendly metrosexual icon finally made those rumors come true when it was announced on Thursday that he'd signed a staggering $250 million/5 year deal to leave Real Madrid and play for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS (Major League Soccer).
I think the whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen, to be honest. First off, Beckham's best years in the top flight of international football are way behind him --he's a bench warmer in Madrid these days-- so we have a repeat of the Pele/Franz Beckenbauer thing in the 70's, when those aged stars came to America to play in the nascent North American Soccer League.
Great, has-beens coming to grace us poor Americans with their diminished skills against inferior competition. Oh, and make piles of money too. I've already read of at least three other has-beens now being interested in the MLS. Of course, it's a long way, quality-wise, from Real Madrid to the Galaxy, so Beckham probably becomes the best player in MLS right away. The money figure being bandied about is staggering; it makes Alex "Payrod" Rodriguez' baseball contract seem puny in comparison.
Then there's MLS itself. Frankly, I think the quality of play is pretty poor --it's like watching second division clubs in England-- but the league, which has prided itself on slow but steady growth with mostly American players, changed it's rules about foreign players to attract Beckham. There's all this talk being bandied about regarding "branding" and
"international name recognition" and all that marketing babble, but as this quote from an article I read makes clear, not everyone will buy that bill of
goods: "He's rubbish. And if you're rubbish, you go to the States". As Monty Python once said "Cruel, but fair".
The real eye-rolling part of this
involves Beckham's wife, Victoria, formerly known as Posh Spice of the Spice Girls. She wants an acting career, you see, and where else better to do that than Los Angeles? *sigh* Another talent-free actress (she admits that herself) clogging up the freeways here. Great.
Beckham will finish out the season for Real Madrid after his contract runs out at the end of June and join the Galaxy immediately after that; the Galaxy season starts in April and ends ca. October. Despite being cynical and sarcastic about this, I do hope it works out for all concerned, especially for MLS. I have no illusions about the real football ever being more than a niche sport in this country, but if anyone can bump it up to the next level, it's David Beckham. It's too bad I don't find him attractive in the slightest..... --Jim Allen
