Worth Every Penny

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So, if you haven't guessed yet, I'm going to talk about Beckham...yeah, that pretty douchey looking guy who plays some sport called soccer over in Europe. Yeah, him. The ones those Europeans always talk about.

Oh and he's also the guy who's getting $250 million to kick a ball.

...and the guy who might, sorry, who will actually make soccer a sport here in America.

Now, I know that Becks is a bit dodgy at this point in his career and his prime ended (and by prime, I mean his god-status) once he went to Madrid. He barely gets any playing time with such a stacked roster and he even got booted as captain (skipper?) of the England team, only to "retire" a few days after.

But still, despite his suckiness, I am convinced that this one British man who can still "bend it," a talent which doesn't seem to have declined with age, will take soccer beyond the level of AYSO in the States. Well, actually, I think he's already done that even if he's still a few months away from putting on an ugly Galaxy jersey.

Because now, the MLS actually exists. My dad was arguing that the whole $250 million thing was ridiculous because now every other player in the league will envy Becks' money (and wife) and widespread anarchy will ensue in a league that gets about 2 seconds of ESPN time a year. I explained to my dad that, just by talking about the MLS as he was, Beckham has already made himself worthy...or at least about $50 million of his contract. Before the signing, I doubt that more than 5% of sports fans had even thought about the MLS. But now, the Galaxy is selling season tickets like hotcakes and the MLS will actually be...on...television. Thankfully, he's more a celebrity than an athlete so that means MTV, E! and 12 year old girls are interested too.

It also won't hurt that Becks will be one of the best players in the league despite his age and dodginess*. His presence on the pitch alone will rise the awfully low talent level of the MLS along with the ticket sales. Although he can't single handedly turn the league into the Premiership, at least now foreign players/populations will actually consider the MLS as an option. Edgar Davids is supposedly really close to joining Dallas FC (who recently got Shaka Hislop). Chicago Fire was really close to signing Zidane. Unfortunately, he's a Colts fan. Ronaldo and Raul are also possible as members of the retirement home known as the MLS. Yeah, they're all old, but who's counting? Before Dave, the only name the MLS got was Freddy Adu, who's now seriously considering departing for ManU.

So yeah, I could go on ranting about how the MLS is going to be so much better and will actually get some good airtime, but I think Beckham's immigration goes much further than improving a dismal league. His celebrity status + Galaxy uniform = lots of Americans saying "whoah, grown men play soccer?"

I think Dave's salvation of soccer will be comparable to Jordan's resurgence of the NBA, which was looking at major downfall before #23 came to make the league what it is today. Irony: Beckham's current jersey number: 23. Not an irony: Beckham's got the MLS to deal with.

I'm not saying Becks will have the same impact as MJ. He won't. But I think that he'll just might be even more significant in a transition of American sports/culture...just not as directly.

Obviously, Beckham will get at least some more citizens across the nation to start tuning into at least some soccer games. Hopefully, these same citizens will start to actually grasp why the rest of the world loves the sport and then soccer won't just be limited to 5 year old kids. Kicking a ball will actually seem intriguing and "attacking midfielder" would eventually become a highly respectable occupation similar to "designated hitter," "point guard," or "XFL victim." Then, kids would actually start to see these soccer players just like they see any other player donning an NFL or NBA jersey. They'll look up to them and consequently attempt to emulate them. Most still won't make it past grade school playing soccer, but at least some more will.

So what I'm trying to say is: even if Beckham won't be on par with Jordan, the Englishman's presence will eventually allow for someone who can be. And sooner than later, we'll see some more Landon Donovans and Clint Dempseys. The States could then ultimately be top competitors on the global stage thanks to a footballer from the country that gave birth to the original colonies. For even more irony, it would be funny if America won the World Cup before England salvaged itself from decades of misery. I know it's wishful, but it's worth a laugh.

If none of this does happen - if no one even turns into one MLS game, if kids keep graduating from soccer after AYSO, if no American's change their view of the world's game - then I give up. I think SI put it best: "If Beckham can't sell soccer, no one can."

But I'll pray to Pele he can.




*dodgy - English for crappy. See Landon Donovan.