No doubt this is what MLS needed. A big name who could possibly draw people in even if he is past his prime. Whether is has any major effect is still questionable. I tend to agree with KJo, Americans are a long way from being big futbol fans. I like the sport, I appreciate the amazing skills it takes to be a great soccer player. The problem is most Americans were not brought up watching soccer, sure a lot of kids played at some point but here is more of an activity and less of a competitive sport. I see a lot of similarities with Baseball in Europe and Soccer in America. I have heard countless Europeans say that baseball is boring, the same as I have heard tons of Americans say soccer is boring. I think the key is in the details anyone can apperciate a Pujols 500 ft home run or a Steven Gerrard 40 foot rocket in the top corner. The details are really what matters, people say nothing happens in baseball, but a lot of the nothing is what makes all the difference. The outfielder shading one direction, a base runner taking a good secondary lead and that is lost to someone who was introduced to the game later in life. I see a lot of the similarities in futball that American just miss all the important details and miss a lot of the appreciation for the game.

It is somewhat amusing that there's a British sportsman in the US earning $50,000,000 a year and nobody cares.

You say "English sportsman" and I get an image of porkpie hat, pipe, jacket with patches on the elbows, and over-under shotgun over the crook of the arm. Not exactly Beckham, right?

"He is coming here to be a soccer player," said Tim Leiweke, president of sports and entertainment giant AEG, which owns the Californian team.

"He's not here to make him and (wife) Victoria king and queen of the entertainment industry in LA."

Er, wrong.


And Beckham revealed that he had spoken to actor Tom Cruise... about his decision to move to the US.

"Obviously I asked him for his advice because he is a very wise man...."

Yeah, I suppose wisdom is relative.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6256125.stm