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David Beckham - Page 2

He is getting old, but he will help the sport's popularity as it still needs to take as much hold as Baseball and American Football does in the US. Maybe it is more of a 'cosmetics' approach rather than acquisition of skill.

Beckham David

If Pele' couldn't bring US soccer (football for the rest of the world) out of the shadow of the other popular sports, I fail to see how Beckham is going to do it. There will be a few more soccer jerseys sold and a few more people will go to Galaxy games, but other than that, I can't see much more coming of this.

He says that he wants to get the children interested in playing soccer. Well, US kids are already playing soccer a lot. It is when they get to high school that soccer becomes a far less popular sport. But for kids in elementary school, soccer is probably the #1 sport played. I know it is all we played when I was in elementary school a LONG time ago.

Soccermoms is a term coined in the US for mothers that drive minivans full of children to go play soccer. There are a lot of them too...at least until the kids get to highshcool age.

Beckham will make a lot of money and play against some seriously inferior talent (and I am from the US), but the big benefit as stated is that he will be close to a ton of modeling jobs and loads of big endorsement money. He has become a rather small fish in a really big pond and coming the US will allow him to once again be a big fish in a small pond in the sport.

David Beckham Sports & Fashion Music Movies

Vincenzo, I have been to US high school and I found that soccer (as you guys call it) was pretty popular, and that was years ago. I guess it is all based on the State with the more cosmopolitan ones taking note of the importance of the game. However, back to Beckham... if he focuses on the teens then he can make an impact, better yet he is going to a cosmopolitan State so that is a good start.

Page 2 Beckham David

I wish I had more hope on this than you do JB. I actually am from St Louis, which is a very popular location for soccer in the US. While I was growing up, it was still the soccer capital of the US (least that is what it was called). However, even there, soccer was on par popularity wise with wrestling and maybe close to baseball, but was far behind basketball and football. That still holds true for most of the country.

When Pele' came to the US to play, it wasn't just him suiting up for New York. Actually, New York fielded a former all-star team with Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia, George Best, Gordon Banks, Rodney Marsh, Carlos Alberto and Eusebio on the team at times. The NY Cosmos used to play in front of 70,000 people. That is hard to believe now! However, when Pele' retired, US soccer did too.

As jaded as US teenagers are now, I think they will see this as Beckham cashing in. IMO, Freddie Adu has a much better chance at bringing in the fans for the long haul. Freddie could potentially be the "Tiger Woods" of US soccer (that is if he stays in the US league).

All that said, I wish Beckham the best. It is estimated that he will make approximately $1 million per week (endorsements and playing money). That is not a bad deal and if it makes him happier...even better.

Beckham David

Well, the fans of Galaxy are going crazy. Tickets for two seasons have been sold in 4 hours!

David Beckham

He has a new nickname now: "Marilyn". Why? Well, his wife Victoria went blonde because of their trip to sunny California this summer (they also bought their house in Beverly Hills). But because (for some STRANGE reason) they love to copy each other's look...David went blond too! Extra blond and is constantly teased by other players.

Pictures and story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1773

David Beckham - Page 2

I have to agree with the two Vinnies on this one - Vincenzo and Vinnie Jones. Beckham went for two reasons, the money and celebrity. Sure, he doesn't need any more wealth but who would honeslty turn down such a ludicrous amount of money to kick a ball around a field. Secondly, the guy craves celebrity. In recent years, Beckham has been better known for his celebrity relationship with a former Spice Girl than his football. He loves the attention and the fact that he is better known than many footballers who are far more talented and reverred ont he pitch.

Beckham won't do much to improve the popularity of the sport in the US. I believe this is for cultural reasons. I dont think Americans like football, it is not an American type of game. Kids will play it because it is safe and fun to play but adults will not support it regardless of how much money they pour into it or who plays in the US league. If Pele and Beckenbaur cant kindle interest Beckham has no hope. America is good at a lot of sports but it is quite bad at football given its size. This is no accident. People in the US arent interested at the right age. Vincenzo hit the nail on the head. Beckham may hoentsly believe he can change this, but it will take a lot to convince the masses. The US hosted a World Cup and have probably gone backwards since then.

David Beckham Movies Music Fashion & Sports - Page 2

Los Angeles catches Beckham fever

David Beckham and his wife Victoria get star treatment as they arrive in LA to begin their new lives in the US.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/a...cas/6896860.stm