Beckham to MLS: What it really means.
So the Beckham Rule came through with its intended target. David Beckham has signed a 5 year, $250 million dollar deal with AEG/LA Galaxy/MLS to play for the LA Galaxy. It is reported that Beckham will start suiting up for the Galaxy in August, which will give him two months off after he finishes with Real Madrid. So, other than a lot of money going to Beckham, what should we expect? Is this going to be a good thing? If it is, who will benefit?
The biggest thing to remember is that Beckham is not an over the hill, washout player who is trying to hold onto his former glory. Yes, he is no longer in the England squad, but that most likely has more to do with his former England coach than anything else. Beckham is still one of the deadliest crossers in the sport. He will be playing out on the right wing and will be whipping in crosses at MLS keepers in ways that they have never seen. His free kicks will do things US fans have only seen on DVD, yet we will see them in MLS Soccer Specific Stadiums, while he is wearing green & gold, hell, adidas might get him green & gold shoes. He will bring a new level of play to the Galaxy and to MLS, and this my friends, is a good thing.
I see his move to MLS as a good thing for soccer in the USA as a whole. It will get the casual soccer fan interested in the league and will bring in the non-soccer fans who have heard his name. As I stated in a previous post, my girlfriend is now happy that we have DC United season tickets, just so we can see him, and be so close to the field. He is going to single handedly increase the Galaxy home ticket sales and the road ticket sales any time the Galaxy play away from HDC. More ticket sales means more parking revenue and more concession revenue. Don’t even start about his jersey sales. You will see tons of little soccer playing girls wearing LA Galaxy jerseys with the #7 on the back and with Beckham across the shoulders. More money for Garber & Co. off of jersey sales alone. Just think of how much the TV rights would have been had this happened last season?
Getting back to the field, I think one of the biggest ways that Beckham will impact is in US Soccer, namely, Landon Donovan. With the arrival of David Beckham, that huge, bright spotlight that had been burning Landon for 2 seasons will be moved over to Beckham, and will allow Landon to do the one thing he has always wanted to do; just play the game. I fully expect his on field performances to step up considerably, because the weight of the club will no longer be on his shoulders, it will be on Beckham. US Soccer will in turn benefit from a better Donovan, as he will be a better National team player as well.
That said, this is it on my David Beckham commentary.
The biggest thing to remember is that Beckham is not an over the hill, washout player who is trying to hold onto his former glory. Yes, he is no longer in the England squad, but that most likely has more to do with his former England coach than anything else. Beckham is still one of the deadliest crossers in the sport. He will be playing out on the right wing and will be whipping in crosses at MLS keepers in ways that they have never seen. His free kicks will do things US fans have only seen on DVD, yet we will see them in MLS Soccer Specific Stadiums, while he is wearing green & gold, hell, adidas might get him green & gold shoes. He will bring a new level of play to the Galaxy and to MLS, and this my friends, is a good thing.
I see his move to MLS as a good thing for soccer in the USA as a whole. It will get the casual soccer fan interested in the league and will bring in the non-soccer fans who have heard his name. As I stated in a previous post, my girlfriend is now happy that we have DC United season tickets, just so we can see him, and be so close to the field. He is going to single handedly increase the Galaxy home ticket sales and the road ticket sales any time the Galaxy play away from HDC. More ticket sales means more parking revenue and more concession revenue. Don’t even start about his jersey sales. You will see tons of little soccer playing girls wearing LA Galaxy jerseys with the #7 on the back and with Beckham across the shoulders. More money for Garber & Co. off of jersey sales alone. Just think of how much the TV rights would have been had this happened last season?
Getting back to the field, I think one of the biggest ways that Beckham will impact is in US Soccer, namely, Landon Donovan. With the arrival of David Beckham, that huge, bright spotlight that had been burning Landon for 2 seasons will be moved over to Beckham, and will allow Landon to do the one thing he has always wanted to do; just play the game. I fully expect his on field performances to step up considerably, because the weight of the club will no longer be on his shoulders, it will be on Beckham. US Soccer will in turn benefit from a better Donovan, as he will be a better National team player as well.
That said, this is it on my David Beckham commentary.
posted by Brian at 1:21 PM
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