Let me begin this post by first saying that I am not an avid fan of soccer. Sure, I got caught up in the frenzy of seeing the United States men's soccer team compete in the last World Cup. I even extended the moment past their elimination, simply to show support for my better-half's appreciation for the sport. But at best, soccer is nothing more than a recreational distraction for me. I live in the Washington D.C. area, where the D.C. United have won 3 Major League Soccer Championship Cups. But outside of Freddy Adu, I can't name one player on the team. Yet, I can come up with at least a dozen players' names from every team in the NFL. Even people in the US who never or rarely watch NFL games can name at least 5 players of the sport. Not so with soccer. As a whole the US does not share the rest of the world's love affair with soccer, very much like the US 's refusal to use the metric system. We even oppose referencing soccer as fútbol.
But we are a nation that loves sports, so many of us have taken notice of the "no name" MLS's attempt to court our attention to soccer by getting England's well recognized David Beckham to side with the LA Galaxy in California. Luckily, the press release for this information didn't occur during a simultaneous airing of the NFL play-offs or the premiere episode of American Idol; it surely would have fallen on deaf ears. Still many of us only noticed the announcement, because it was coupled with the fact that Beckham would be receiving $250,000,000 over 5 years for his services. Suddenly we are all interested, and googling David Beckham to find out why he is getting paid so much money to play a sport in a country that reluctantly recognizes its existence. On the day of the announcement 5,000 tickets were sold to the Galaxy's home opener game for a chance to see Beckham bend it. Now the media is taking great pride in reporting Beckham sightings. But what I want to know is how the hefty salary of Beckham is going to affect the morale of his team-mates, as well as other players around the MLS. These guys have been busting their butts trying to establish professional soccer in the US at a mere average salary ranging from $25,000 to $500,000 long before Beckham's coming. Beckham may be good, but he is but one player in a sport that requires many cogs. After a season in the US, Beckham may find that the thing he has bent the most is his fellow player's attitudes towards him, especially if his performance on the field doesn't add up to his price tag. The only thing the media likes more than a rise to popularity, is a fall from popularity. If that happens Beckham will be in the opening dialogue of every American comedian talk show host. But if he succeeds he'll get to be on Opra.
But we are a nation that loves sports, so many of us have taken notice of the "no name" MLS's attempt to court our attention to soccer by getting England's well recognized David Beckham to side with the LA Galaxy in California. Luckily, the press release for this information didn't occur during a simultaneous airing of the NFL play-offs or the premiere episode of American Idol; it surely would have fallen on deaf ears. Still many of us only noticed the announcement, because it was coupled with the fact that Beckham would be receiving $250,000,000 over 5 years for his services. Suddenly we are all interested, and googling David Beckham to find out why he is getting paid so much money to play a sport in a country that reluctantly recognizes its existence. On the day of the announcement 5,000 tickets were sold to the Galaxy's home opener game for a chance to see Beckham bend it. Now the media is taking great pride in reporting Beckham sightings. But what I want to know is how the hefty salary of Beckham is going to affect the morale of his team-mates, as well as other players around the MLS. These guys have been busting their butts trying to establish professional soccer in the US at a mere average salary ranging from $25,000 to $500,000 long before Beckham's coming. Beckham may be good, but he is but one player in a sport that requires many cogs. After a season in the US, Beckham may find that the thing he has bent the most is his fellow player's attitudes towards him, especially if his performance on the field doesn't add up to his price tag. The only thing the media likes more than a rise to popularity, is a fall from popularity. If that happens Beckham will be in the opening dialogue of every American comedian talk show host. But if he succeeds he'll get to be on Opra.
2 comments:
I was watching Access Hollywood, and they showed how paparazzi absolutely gushed over Mrs. Beckham, aka Posh Spice.
I do too feel for the guys that are already on the team. Let's just see if Beckham turns into the "T.O." of the soccer world...(no offense to T.O. for real)
randi523: T.O. is home-grown, playing a sport that Americans love. So the public and sport is willing to put up with a lot where he is concerned, myself included. But Beckham will be on a tighter leash. If he screws up, the media will be on him til' he's ghost.
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