Beckham - Hope for Soccer in USA!!!?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes
That's right. David Beckham will leave Real Madrid and move to Los Angeles!!!
Will soccer finally receive its due recognition in the US? It's been tried before, with Pele (can't type accents on Windows). Or will we just get another rich British celeb (and wife) to knock around in the tabloids?
That's right. David Beckham will leave Real Madrid and move to Los Angeles!!!
Will soccer finally receive its due recognition in the US? It's been tried before, with Pele (can't type accents on Windows). Or will we just get another rich British celeb (and wife) to knock around in the tabloids?
Comments
It's funny how a few sporting news networks are treating this as breaking news. David Beckham is on the last leg of his career. The fact is, the MLS desperately needed a star player to keep its league above water and Beckham was just the player to fit that necessity. Let's be honest here...
(Spline back me up here!)
The fact is, the MLS desperately needed a star player to keep its league above water and Beckham was just the player to fit that necessity. Let's be honest here...
The future of the MLS isn't quite as dire as you make it out to be.
Several clubs are already profitable (including the galaxy before Beckham) and the league has a lot of things going for it that mitigate risk (collective ownership, new advertising initiatives, strict salary caps, tv rights deal with ESPN, the influx of hispanic immigrants, and yes, recruiting aging but still popular players beginning with Becks). This is more likely a move to spur even more interest in the organization-- rather than a last-ditch attempt to "save" something that's not quite in need of "saving" at any time in the near future.
Beckham will probably not have an impact much on the game itself, but he will phenomenally increase the amount of press that is indirectly buzzing around the MLS. That is the positive.
The $250M, I think, comes a lot from Adiddas, who sees the market opportunity to sell gear to the already giant youth soccer community, as well as to middle-aged women who will be undoubtedly following the life of Becks.
On another note, we just sent Clint Dempsey to Fulham for 2 million pounds. !!! I think that might be a record signing for the MLS.
I know American soccer is crap.
It's not England, Spain, or Italy, but a good MLS match is about as interesting as a decent French or Dutch match. And it's better than Mexican soccer in my opinion.
This sounds like a very expensive temper tantrum.
As far as I can figure, he earned more money with the old contract than the new one
old contract: £32 million (=$63 million) + 50% of image sales (= $20 million)
total value $83 million per year.
new contract: $10 million + 100% of image sales (= $40 million)
total value $50 million per year
The only advantage financially is that he gets to play for 5 years instead of 2 at Real Madrid. And maybe he likes LA a lot more as a place to live - he already has a house and a soccer camp there.
This sounds like a very expensive temper tantrum.
The marketing dollars for his endorsement deals are probably well spent.
And it's better than Mexican soccer in my opinion.
Maybe Mexican but definitely not Latin America...
That soccer can be gorgeous at times.
If this elevates the quality of the gameplay, along with stealing a few fans from lesser sports like hockey, football and basketball
Maybe Mexican but definitely not Latin America...
That soccer can be gorgeous at times.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the Latin American leagues aren't very strong -- it seems like a lot of the good latin american players come to play in the MLS or Mexico. The South American Leagues are better, but they're still worse than the European leagues. The MLS is also worse than the european leagues.
American soccer is probably most stylistically similar to german soccer. We have amazing keepers and work really hard, but finishing and the counter attack aren't emphasized the way they are in England, and control isn't so much emphasized the way in is in southern europe. The best soccer is probably EPL and La Liga.
\tCompared with American-style football, soccer is far too boring for the average sports fan. The biggest fan of "soccer" that I know couldn't even stay awake through the best parts of last year's World's Cup. It's dreadful, coma-inducing television. I'm sure it (like baseball) is more entertaining in person... on TV it's a snoozefest.
This is wrong, because soccer is the world's most popular sport, and to get there is has to have "average" appeal -- evidently, there is something about it to like. This past World Cup was shit, so I don't blame your friend. The English FA Cup is a far more exciting tournament, albeit less star-studded. In fact, it might be the coolest sporting event ever.
I have been watching professional soccer for a few years now, and honestly I've lost a bunch of interest in American football. I still watch a game now and then, but American football is such a hassle -- most of it is advertising and stoppages. American football is about one thing: the NFL making money. In professional soccer, there's too much competition among the leagues of the world, so the fans win. If there's anything preventing America from getting big into soccer, it's that the major networks don't have a format in soccer that can be buried in as much advertising. However, there are far more people in America who play soccer and hence buy soccer stuff than there are people who do the same for football (probably 10x).
I meant South America when I said Latin America.
This is wrong, because soccer is the world's most popular sport, and to get there is has to have "average" appeal -- evidently, there is something about it to like. This past World Cup was shit, so I don't blame your friend. The English FA Cup is a far more exciting tournament, albeit less star-studded. In fact, it might be the coolest sporting event ever.
I have been watching professional soccer for a few years now, and honestly I've lost a bunch of interest in American football. I still watch a game now and then, but American football is such a hassle -- most of it is advertising and stoppages. American football is about one thing: the NFL making money. In professional soccer, there's too much competition among the leagues of the world, so the fans win. If there's anything preventing America from getting big into soccer, it's that the major networks don't have a format in soccer that can be buried in as much advertising. However, there are far more people in America who play soccer and hence buy soccer stuff than there are people who do the same for football (probably 10x).
I have no arguments. Actually, I think we're both right.
Which is true, from what I've gathered.
(note, I'm not much of a sports fan in any way ;p)
Nor football, but usually the cheers and loud noises wake me up during that. :[
Sports = Naptime for me ;/
We don't even call it the right fucking name! What the hell is "Soccer". It's clearly football. The US doesn't take "soccer" seriously so they don't deserve a good team. Besides, if Beckham played for the US, that would make him the biggest pussy in the history of soccer. Euro Football is so much cooler and UK appreciates him way more than the US does.
He wanted a similar type of deal with Real Madrid...image rights wise, and he wasn't gonna get it. Was that a deal breaker? I doubt it though.
By the way, Beckham's Madrid contract is worth £6 million per year and not £32m per year as someone else posted. (Not even close). He makes almost triple his salary through endorsements, including Gillette £7m, Adidas £3m, Vodafone £1.7m and Pepsi £5m.
At this point of his career it was a no brainer. He's not the same player anymore, but he doesn't have to be to be a success in the MLS. The attention he has created thus far is exactly what the MLS needs.
He'll pack the stadiums and him and his wife(and MLS soccer directly and indirectly) will be in the news constantly. For good and bad reasons.
The most recognizable athlete in the world(arguably) coming to the MLS can only be good for the league. Will the "Beckham Effect" last long enough to raise the level of the league? We'll see. An "immediate" effect could be that other team owners will want their own "Beckhams" and will find the cash to sign other famous footie players to their teams.
Baseball is low scoring...
Is that a problem?