The friends of this writer obviously know little about soccer or are just upset about the crazy publicity. David Beckham has been playing excellent soccer over the past several months not just for Real Madrid who were in a tailspin without him and came back to win the championship with him being a central part of the turnaround. He also turned around the England national team once they realized they were much weaker without him and were forced to call him back to the team. He is arguably the greatest crosser of the ball ever! Real Madrid is one of the top few soccer clubs in the world and they tried to get Beckham to void the deal with the Galaxy as they realized their blunder in letting him go. While not a frequent goal scorer he will appeal to young kids and could very well help soccer in this country. Once he heals up I expect at least 2 or 3 good years of top level soccer from him.

I agree, Greg, that he's not yet on the downside of his career. He's got another 3 years left as you say. but... this is still a disaster. One one hand, bringing in Beckham will alienate the "true" fan who is not into all this glitz and glamour etc (just like Beckham will alienate his teammates when he flies first class with his family and they in coach). On the other, he's the worst type of player to bring in to make the casual fan stick around - a freekick specialist.

With all this hype - it's set up to fail: he MLS and Beckham will have all of America's attention for a few weeks and then they'll say - much like Kevin Garnett did on Sat nite: "is this a joke?" They're expecting a Michael Jordan type who'll take over the game, make soccer interesting and exciting to them, and what they'll get is a freekick specialist who will touch the ball all of 90 seconds in a 90 minute match.

It's something the rest of the world can get into, but not America - this will shut the door - and hard - on the MLS gaining foothold in the US. Then we'll have to wait another 30 years, for the next league and next star to "save soccer" in the USA. (It was 30 yrs since Pele, right?)

[and before (if) you peg me as a hater, I'm European and was at one time a DI soccer player - love the game - I have no biases or anything against the MLS and/or soccer.]

As far as I know, only one midget ever played in a major league baseball game, Eddie Gaedel for the St. Louis Browns in 1951. I think Zac Bissonnette does not have his facts straight when asserting that Beckham's playing in major league soccer in the US is "reminiscent of the publicity stunts Major League Baseball teams pulled in the first part of the 20th century -- bringing in a midget to bat when the team was out of contention."

What's wrong with bringing attention to a sport that needs help? As for your comment of MLS being more like WWE than MLB or NFL... I would rather be associated with a professional sports entertainment business that doesn't insult it's viewers by claiming that the finishes aren't predetermined. The NBA, WWE, Pro Boxing and World League Soccer aren't the only pro sports fixing games and hiring athletes for financial gain. C'mon Suckers!


Go ahead pro sports marks! Bash me for being realistic!

Some decades ago: Pele & Beckenbauer traveled a long way to the US. Probably using Panam transportation... Two world wide soccer icons, one native from South America, the other one from Europe. Two stars, and a negative result for the MLS, as soccer didn't prove to be a good business with audiences tied to sports as baseball, basketball and football.

Thirty years later: As time has passed and MLS executives have felt the increasing interest that US citizens (probably influenced by new communities as the Latins) have demostrated in the last World Championship last year, they may now be analyzing to add to the league:
- International teams: how about a Real Madrid US, a Manchester United US, a Boca Juniors US, a Estudiantes de La Plata US?, and
- Top players (in their last years of their brilliant careers probably): Ronaldo, Ronaldinho (Brazilians); Veron and Crespo (Argentina); and even why not think on a Zidane return (does the package include a grant that Materazzi will join the MLS as well?)

The writer and his friends (imaginary friends?) have no idea about soccer. It sounds more like an assumption, a quick fancy, than facts. Beckham IS at the peak of his soccer career. Did you the last few weeks of the Spanish Liga? or England's Euro campaign? Probably not. He was instrumental; he made all the difference.
Remember, if goals are what fans want, they will be disappointed. He won't be scoring goals as much as we want him to because he's a playmaker. But when he gets the opportunity, he will do it in style with all that bending business.
And please, please don't ever compare soccer with any game. Btw is WWE a sport? a game? Looks like freak circus to me. And don't even try with Baseball (the most boring sport along with cricket) or American football... these games are not universal, but American. Soccer is very universal.