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I was wondering given the fuss made in the UK media about the departure of the former England international football team captain at 32 years of age to play in Los Angeles whether Americans actually know who this guy is.
I’m curious because I know that Baseball is the US national sport rather than football as in the UK.
So…
Of course we know who he is. And while soccer (football to the world) isn’t quite the hyped-up mega sport of say football (American style) or even baseball for that matter; there is a strong contingent of soccer players and soccer followers out there that is very interested in this (and other) outstanding player(s).
Was a big photo of him in the paper yesterday, I think, laying on the ground holding his leg after being hurt in a game earlier this week – and we’re waaaaaaay across the country from L.A.
Hey, we have a team here in Toronto too ya know 😉
I respect him as an athlete, but man oh man, did he ever become the biggest cheer leader ever for any national sport here in North America.
Toronto doesn’t have any issue with our team, it’s so multi-cultural that we’ve sold out all of our games. The tix are as hard to come by as Maple Leafs tix. And that says a lot.
Of course his injury halted him from playing here a couple weeks ago, it’s good to see him earning his coin now.
Beckham is going to be a HUGE influence on MLS here in the States. Consider tonight’s game which pits the Galaxy against the New York Red Bulls. New York has averaged just over 11,000 fans at their last ten home games. Tonight’s game that number went over 60,000!
Major League Soccer has been growing in popularity, and as more world class players join the league (even towards the end of their careers), the sport will grow in popularity here.
The other factor that helps is that soccer (or football) is tremendously popular as a youth sport. When I was a kid, we never had soccer leagues, now they are at least as popular, if not moreso, than football or baseball leagues. So you’ve got a growing number of people who appreciate and understand the sport.
At any rate, I think the Beckham effect is a positive one for soccer in the USA.
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