I wonder if David Beckham has ever seen Teen Wolf.
You know the story. Boy turns into wolf. Wolf becomes phenom. Fans love phenom for a spell, but suddenly start to miss boy. Wolf turns back into boy and wins the game on pure heart. Cue music. Roll credits.
Or something like that.
David Beckham is our soccer’s “wolf,” only with a lot less hair as we’ve had the eye-searing pleasure of seeing thanks to W Magazine. He’s been imported to enlighten us about the world’s game (though when have Americans ever followed the rest of the world?). I have no doubt that Beckham’s arrival will boost interest in the sport and merchandise vendors will be as giddy as Stiles surfing on top of a hardware van, but will it last?
The biggest boost will probably be to our sport of celebrity worship, with Posh’s US Weekly article count rivaling that of Paris or Lindsay, but what about the other players, both teammates and opponents alike? These men have been toiling for years, and yet it takes the arrival of a superstar to validate their efforts? Sure, they will certainly benefit because they’ll have the chance to play in front of bigger crowds and bigger crowds lead to more revenue and that just might lead to a raise, but they’ll probably never earn enough to hang with the Soccer Savior on the cheapest of his excursions and they deserve to be more than just Beckham’s supporting cast.
So once Becks has finished his tour of the country this year, once the vendors are done hawking their wares, once the novelty of the world’s best being on our soil wears off, what will happen next?
At the end of the movie, the wolf turns back into everyman because he can see the heart and soul of his game and his team were lost in the trappings of fame.
Can David Beckham really shed the aura of his celebrity on the American field? Can one man really make us fall in love with soccer?
If he succeeds, it will be a miracle. If he doesn’t, we won’t miss something we never had and this will all have been a delightful diversion before the American pastimes kick into high gear for the fall.
2 comments:
Kudos to HSPOV for bringing back "Teen Wolf." I thought that that segment of 8th grade had been erased from my memory. So thanks for that.
The global consensus is that Beckham is coming to a league that is inferior to other leagues around the world. And they (the royal “they”) are right. Major League Soccer cannot even come close to the Premiership in England, La Liga in Spain, or the Primera in Italy. Granted MLS All-Star teams can (finally) compete with the marquee club teams in Europe, but individual teams don’t stand a chance. This was evidenced last week when Chelsea played with the L.A. Galaxy, like a cat playing with a mouse before it tore its heart out.
Since its inception 12 years ago, Major League Soccer has continued to increase its popularity exponentially. Most teams now have brand new stadium complexes, and an ever-growing fan base. In my opinion, the main reason for this is that the MLS has done a fantastic job marketing to the non-white community, i.e. soccer fans. Any of you who have ever been to an MLS game, will notice that 75% of the crowd is non-white. This is not to say that American white people do not like soccer, but they don’t (save the racist emails please).
MLS has also followed the North American Soccer League model by signing world class players. In the 1970’s professional soccer in the US was a sort-of big deal with the NASL. That league distinguished itself by signing past-their-prime players like Pele and Franz Beckenbauer (and plying them with huge amounts of hookers, blow, and trips to Studio 54). In signing Beckham, the Galaxy have not only signed the ultra white white guy, they have recruited THE MOST POPULAR ATHLETE ON THE PLANET.
I know that I’m going to be stating the obvious, but David Beckham HAS to succeed in the MLS. There is no other athlete that can have the type of impact as Number 23 (a.k.a. Number 7 in Europe), either on or off the field. If Becks succeeds, it will be great for the game of futbol in the United States, and it will be a PR coup of epic proportions. Becks is coming to an LA Galaxy team that is near the bottom of the league (They possess a 3-5-4 record). They have a few good players in the whining Landon Donovan and the elegantly coiffed Xavier, but they lack team chemistry in the worst way. Becks needs to come in and provide immediate cohesion, which I believe he can do.
If Beckham is to succeed he needs to do 2 things:
1. Heal himself. Beckham is no good on a bum ankle. He needs to take about 3 weeks off, rest, and continue to endear himself to his team (by buying them iPods and such). Sorry to all of the MLS fans that have paid money to see him in August. You might have to wait.
2. Beckham needs to actually compete (not just play) in a majority of his games with the Galaxy, and be able to contribute. Despite his elder status at the age of 32, there is no one else on the earth that can truly be a factor in the midfield and on set pieces (free and corner kicks). If he can provide one goal or assist per game and perhaps lead LA out of the cellar and into the playoffs, it is only then that his status will be recognized.
If these two simple things happen, then perhaps other leading players from around the world could consider the MLS a viable option. How cool would it be if the MLS could seduce someone like an Henry or Ronaldinho from Barcelona, a Figo from Inter Milan, or even a Nakata, to help bolster the Asian contingent? Then and only then can the MLS compete with
Do I think that soccer can be more popular than football or basketball? Hell no. But I do think that with all of the scandals rocking professional sports in the US, now is the time for soccer to gain a solid foothold. And as other number 23’s have done in the past, maybe now is the time for Beckham to make his mark.
Ok, maybe I went on a little long….
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