RCR Extra: Beckham

My two favorite sports are baseball and soccer. As you might have noticed, soccer in this country has been getting a lot of air time lately and I feel very strongly about exactly what is being said during that air time.

Some thoughts:

1) The next person to say that Beckham won't "save soccer" in America gets my foot up their ass.

Here's a question: what happens if Beckham sucks? Will the millions and millions of kids who play soccer every weekend suddenly stop? Will the phrase "soccer mom" be replaced by "basketball mom"? Will sales on mini-vans plummet? Beckham won't save soccer in this country because soccer doesn't need saving. If it did then it wouldn't be so ingrained in our growing suburban society.

2) The next person to compare Beckham coming to the MLS to Pele coming to the NASL also gets my foot up their ass.

Where to even begin with this idea? The most obvious is the simple fact that Pele was the greatest soccer player who has ever lived and Beckham, while good, isn't. But that's probably not even the biggest distinction to make in this horrible comparison.

The NASL INTRODUCED a sport to America. There was no such thing as youth soccer when the NASL came along. Part of the reason they imported so many player in from other countries is because there simply weren't that many native Americans who even knew what the game was, let alone were able to play it. The MLS has a feeder system in place, basically because the NASL led to the establishment of the largest youth oriented sports movement this country has ever seen. If even a tenth of a percent of the kids playing soccer today go on to play pro, that's a thousand people at least. The NASL didn't have that. It's also why the U.S. National team actually makes it to the World Cup tournament.

3) The next person to say Beckham wasn't worth it gets my foot up their ass.

It's frightening when a man who used to run around the field looking like the lead singer for the Spin Doctors makes more sense than any reporter or writer around. As Alexi Lalas pointed out, they signed Beckham because he will give the L.A. Galaxy a chance to win. As he's also pointed out, they've already earned back what they will pay him in sponsors, endorsements, and ticket sales.

People seem to forget that Los Angeles isn't Portland (aka, a city that had an NASL team and failed). The market for soccer here is so large that we actually have TWO teams (Chivas USA being the other). Unlike most cities, our teams even have their own soccer-specific stadium. David Beckham is not going to make or break either the L.A. Galaxy or the MLS.

4) The next person to say Beckham has to play Saturday night gets my foot up their ass.

While it would be nice if Beckham's highly touted premiere actually happened on Saturday night, there's no need for it if he's hurt. It's an exhibition game, so if his goal is to help the L.A. Galaxy win, this game is meaningless. Yes, it would be nice to see him face off against Chelsea, but unlike most sports you RUN for 90 minutes in soccer, and a sore ankle isn't going allow for that.

Besides, people should be watching that match regardless. It's freaking Chelsea, for god's sake. They came in second in the Premiereship. Their owner is a Russion tycoon. It's the cold war all over again. L.A. should get shelled -- even with Beckham -- but it will be great to watch.