Bend It Like Golden Balls!

July 13, 2007, Friday the 13th. Some say odd and unusual things happen on this day. Well, something unusual was happening at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA today. At 10am on a Friday, a crowd that can rival some MLS games has gathered with enthusiasm. There were kids, girls, parents, Englishmen, and Angelenos. Majority of the people were wearing either Los Angeles Galaxy, Manchester United, Real Madrid, or England shirts. They anxiously await "The Coming".

As David Beckham walks on to the pitch with an entourage including Los Angeles Galaxy Manager Alexi Lalas, AEG's Tim Leiweke, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The crowd breaks out into a rousing rendition of "There's only one David Beckham". Welcome to America by Def Leppard blares from the stadium speakers. A fairly large banner that reads "BEND IT LIKE GOLDEN BALLS" produces that familiar sheepish smile. He seems surprised at the size of his welcoming party which filled a quarter of the stadium. Lalas opens the ceremony with "if you have cameras, this is a good time to take off your lens caps." Lalas, Leiweke, Garber, and Yallop make short speeches before Golden Balls is introduced. Confetti drops as he poses with the new Galaxy home jersey before he proceeds to the podium. "I have played for the two greatest teams in the world, Manchester United and Real United, I have played 11 years for England and will continue to do so, but this is my biggest challenge". He continues by saying that "his family comes first, while footba .. i mean soccer comes second. I guess I will have to get used to that." He fumbles the word soccer every time he used it.

The mood changes as they present the shirt to Mayor of Los Angeles. The cheers turn into boos. He screams "Who Loves David Beckham?". But this insincere act fails to win the crowd over. I was amused by the crowd reactions and failed to listen to the Mayor's speech. Lalas announces that shirt sales are astronomical and are still available at official outlets. Beckham waves to the crowd, and then he's off. The crowd slowly disperses, most of them heading to the shop to purchase the new Galaxy shirt.

This is truly an exciting moment for American Soccer. Who would've imagined that a top CURRENT International will be playing in the MLS? Pele, Beckenbauer, and Cruyff are better players, but none of them played in the North American Soccer League while still being able to compete in the International Cups. Yet here is David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy who could be playing for England (should they qualify) for Euro 2008. Unbelievable.

The next few months in the MLS should be very interesting. How would this impact the league? How about the advertising industry? More importantly, how would this better US Soccer?

Being an Arsenal supporter, I've never been a fan of Beckham. I'm warming up to him now.

* Here is David Beckham's first advertisement for ESPN.