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Whatever it takes to move the MLS to the next level.
Besides the fact that he is at the top of his game right now.
You have absolutely no diea what you are talking about. Do you watch international soccer?
What part of his game do you find lacking compared to when he was younger? Really curious.@ Beckham being at the top of his game!
Whatever it takes to move the MLS to the next level.
How is he not? Please explain this.
He looks bad how? When has he looked this good before? With who? Manu or when he first got the Real Madrid? Was it with England? Where was he better?
I can't understand some of the articles I read about him on some sites stating he is past his prime. Its amusing because when word came around in he was going to leave Real there was tons of speculation on where Beckham, one of the premier players who was in his prime would go. Then it became clear he wanted to go back to the EPL but only if it was Manchester. Then it came down to him going to the MLS and suddenly he is past his prime. I don't understand how a player went from his prime to has been in the span of about 1 month. I don't watch a lot of Spanish league soccer but I catch enough and I haven't seen him losing a step.
I think people are simply annoyed by him and vent that into negativity for his talent.
Last edited by Evan; 07-18-2007 at 07:58 AM.
Beckham certainly had a resurgence with Real this year. Of course, that came after he was dropped off the national team and benched by Real.
The main issue with Beckham is can he pave the way for the MLS to be able to attract players in their prime who would otherwise be in the Premiership or La Liga or what not. This is a much different situation than when Pele joined the Cosmos 3 decades ago. You have a well run league with TV contracts, corporate sponsor depth, soccer-only stadiums, etc... Plus you also have a country which has seen a great improvement in the 'infrastructure' of the game in this country...soccer youth leagues, collegiate soccer, etc. And the country has a rapidly growing Hispanic population. Plus I would say that the access that fans today enjoy to football content from the net as well as satellite and cable football only channels has helped to foster interest in this country.
It seems like some of the carping about Beckham is driving by an underlying fear that the MLS will improve and a byproduct of that will be that the US will continue to improve in international play.
I honestly stopped really watching becks when he left Man U. I always thought he was a bit overrated at most spots on the pitch, but was a uva set piece guy.
I know he had a piss poor showing in the world cup, and was fighting coming off the bench in REAL.
I assumed by those two facts that he was declining.
Ill admit i definately could be wrong.
I think the diff style of play hurt his game a bit.
Personally I don't like him and I am thankful ManU said no thanks. I just find the turn around in perception mind blowing once it was decided he was going to MLS.
lets talk about wayne rooney!
Beckham could still be with Real. They wanted him back and contacted the Galaxy to that end. Anyways, I think most are missing the larger point, which is not about the greatness of Beckham's game, but rather using his celebrity to raise the attractiveness of the MLS to other stars who are perhaps in their prime.
lol....
I love him. I don't want him to change a thing.
I just dont see that happening. There are very very few teams out there that make enough money, much less willing to pay people like the rooney's, henry's, owen's, etc of the soccer world. Plus there just really isnt any history in the MLS...it doesnt mean as much to these guys as it does competing in the big cup races in europe.
Perhaps history is being made. There will be more viewers for the MLS with Beckham on board worldwide and that means more $ flowing into the MLS coffers to spend on talent.
My local paper's opinion on why Beckham can't sell soccer to America.
List at end of article on other "Sports Busts"
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bec...698-sport-most
Beckham likely can't sell soccer in U.S.
RANDY YOUNGMAN
My apologies for raining on David Beckham's parade, but even if his swollen ankle ever permits him to return to the field and honor his reported five-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Galaxy, there's a very good chance he'll eventually join the list of the biggest busts in the history of pro sports. (And I'm not talking about the Lingerie Bowl.)
If Beckham, one of the most recognized athletes on other parts of the planet, has come to Southern California to try to turn soccer into a major team sport in America, he is doomed to failure.
"My real goal is to take soccer to a different level here," he said at his introductory news conference Friday at The Home Depot Center. "If I can do that, then I'll be very proud of that. If I can't, it won't be for want of trying.
"Hopefully, it's going to encourage other players to come over to the States to be a part of this, because I think, potentially, soccer in America could be a lot bigger than what it is at the moment."
No offense to Beckham, but I've been listening to people predict the soccer boom in America since the 1970s, when the now-defunct North American Soccer League showcased such international stars as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia, Johan Cruyff, Trevor Francis, George Best, Rodney Marsh and Oscar Fabbiani, all of whom together couldn't spark national fascination with the world's most popular sport.
I saw all of them play in person, and, yes, I was amazed by their considerable skills. I'll never forget the day I saw Francis, then playing for the Detroit Express, score from 35 yards out on a bicycle kick — that means with his back to the goal, leaving his feet to kick the ball back over his head — against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Can't decide whether that was the single greatest goal I've seen or whether it was Wayne Gretzky scoring from behind the net, by whacking the puck off the back of a defenseman's skate, to help the Kings upset Toronto in Game 7 of the 1993 Western Conference finals.
I also watched the Rowdies and New York Cosmos draw sellout crowds at Tampa Stadium and Giants Stadium, respectively, in the '70s. Even so, the sport never took off nationally, perhaps because most of the stars were part-timers on loan from their foreign teams and there weren't enough great American players back then. But the predicted booms in the '80s and '90s didn't happen, either.
Soccer, for whatever reasons, is an acquired taste, featuring nuances and intricacies not tied to scoring, and one mega-star isn't going to change that. Ask Pele.
I do believe Gretzky primarily was responsible for the expansion of NHL hockey to warm-weather cities in the U.S., but Beckham's skills are not likely to capture the imagination of our scoring-obsessed sports fans.
By the time his five-year contract expires, the catch-phrase "bend it like Beckham" likely will have been replaced by "spend it like Beckham."
It won't be his fault, and it won't be fair, but Beckham likely will join these lists of sports' biggest busts, taking his place alongside "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, the XFL, Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football," Bode Miller, the Ducks' "Iceman" and the Angels' Rally Monkey:
Heisman flops:Charlie Ward, Eric Crouch, Andre Ware, Gino Torretta, Danny Wuerffel, Ron Dayne, Desmond Howard and Ty Detmer.
NFL:Ki-Jana Carter, Ryan Leaf, Tony Mandarich, Brian Bosworth, Lawrence Phillips, Todd Marinovich, Art Schlichter, Rick Mirer, Ricky Williams and Russell Erxleben (the first and perhaps last punter/kicker drafted in the first round).
NBA:Chris Washburn, Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie (the guy drafted ahead of Michael Jordan), Bo Kimble, Jon Koncak, Stanley Roberts, Roy Tarpley and Kwame Brown.
Baseball:Brien Taylor, Todd Van Poppel, David Clyde and Michael Jordan.
Feel free to send me your nominations.
And good luck to David Beckham. He'll need it.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
If you expect that Beckham will somehow raise soccer to the point where it supplants baseball, basketball, or football in the US, then yeah, that's an easy column to write.
MLS > NASL, for starters.
2007 US > 1970s US for soccer.
vbookie?
ummm.....yeah....that's why Michael Jordan is still considered the most popular and marketable athlete of all time in America...despite the fact he hasn't played in years.
It has nothing to do with Beckham's skin color, it's because he's good looking and has a celebrity wife. Period. That's the only reason for all this attention. In fact, I'd bet the five most popular and admired athletes in American sports history are black. I'm sorry, but you're just spewing crap. If you harbor your own racial tensions to deal with, do so, but don't apologize for the rest of us.
So far.. I was right ;-)
Well, he played less than 15 minutes in a meaningless game, which is exactly what I expected. I still think they should have saved him for next week or later.
He played as good as a person can in 13 min on one ankle.
and he'll keep playing like this on twoBeckham can't do without a great supporting cast. Geez, Beckham has always been just an above average role player, and that isn't going to change simply because he moved to the US.
He started warming up towards the end of the 1st half, so my guess is that he will play most (if not all) of the second half tonight.
DC 1 - 0 LA Halftime
Then the rest of the world is a bunch of suckers for making him out to be a superstar for the last ten years. Another reason for the U.S. to blow off soccer entirely. But seriously, sounds to me like you just don't like the guy and you are VASTLY underestimating his talent on the soccer field (pitch). I'll be charitable and give the rest of the world the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are just blowing a load of smoke, instead of assuming the they've has been worshipping a non-talent for all these years.and he'll keep playing like this on two
And please don't answer with how he rates right now. We know he's not at his prime and there is a Beckham backlash. Doesn't change the fact that he was lauded for all those years as being a fantastic soccer player.
And NOTHING is going to change America's at ude toward soccer. It will always remain a minority sport that kids play, but adults will never watch on a pro level. We've got our own sports thank you very much.
And give the MLS some credit. They obviously aren't on the scale of the other organizations, but they are full of soccer devotees who dedicate their lives to the game despite the little recognition they get in their own country. So they can't compete as well as France, Italy etc. on a global scale (although I do believe there was a draw against Italy in the world cup and they made it to the quarter finals?) so they can't be all bad. Please stop being so snide.
Wrong Jelly. The only things that have made Beckham the star he is today are his wife and his good looks. In fact you can pretty much thank the english tabloid for making him. The man never was, is or will be anything more than a good role player. Everyone in the soccer world knows this.
But seriously, sounds to me like you just don't like the guy and you are VASTLY underestimating his talent on the soccer field (pitch).
and just to be clear, I wasn't trying to be snide. The "save the mls" bit was in response to an earlier comment by someone (can't remember whom exactly). My point is the problem the MLS is facing right now is not something one player is going to fix. It has to do with what American's like, and apparently that doesn't seem to be football.
yes, I'm the one being snideAnd NOTHING is going to change America's at ude toward soccer. It will always remain a minority sport that kids play, but adults will never watch on a pro level. We've got our own sports thank you very much
You're right that you know more about the sport as I would rather have a root canal than be forced to watch it. HOWEVER, there are a gazillion sports writers (non-American...American writers stick to our own sports by and large) who know more (dare I say a lot more than even you!!gasp!!!) about the sport, who sing Beckhams praises and consider him an elite athlete. That has been the case for years. It is not just England that follows him. When I was in Panama, Germany, Portugal, Italy and Spain, Beckham was covered heavily and I saw Beckham shirts all over the place, same thing as much of Europe. So you hate the fact the an Anglo-Saxon is one of the biggest stars of soccer. Get over it. It's not just an English thing and it didn't just start when he started going out with that e Tramp.Wrong Jelly. The only things that have made Beckham the star he is today are his wife and his good looks. In fact you can pretty much thank the english tabloid for making him. The man never was, is or will be anything more than a good role player. Everyone in the soccer world knows this.
and just to be clear, I wasn't trying to be snide. The "save the mls" bit was in response to an earlier comment by someone (can't remember whom exactly). My point is the problem the MLS is facing right now is not something one player is going to fix. It has to do with what American's like, and apparently that doesn't seem to be football.
yes, I'm the one being snide
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