Does the USA like David Beckham?

..........I want to know what you think. Sucks that he leaves Europe, but what do you think of him, if you know him that is?

Discuss.



Also, what does the highest sportsman earn in the USA? Beckham will get $1 Million each week we are told. Is this as much as the most for NBA and NFL ?

 

Shaq and Kevin Garnett make about 20 million per year, but 1 mil per week for a guy and a sport that nobody in America watches or hardly cares about?! :shock: What a terrible investment. :lol:

I know that guys like Cris and Jrem love soccer, but the truth of the matter is that most Americans just aren't into it very much for whatever reason. Soccer is kind of like hockey in the US. A few people like it, but the majority would rather watch something else. Putting that much money into this guy and hoping that he can popularize soccer in this country is such a hoop dream. It's not going to work IMO.

 

Yeah but I think they needed that much money to make him leave Real Madrid and the UCL to join the American league.

Most of the soccer players in Europe make that, the best will earn around €150'000 each week (so about $200'000 according to my currency converter lol)

But what does America think of David Beckham? I heard The Game said he "was gonna kick David's ass" wow what a loser.

 

I agree with Bryant (My God, I can't believe I'm saying this Bry )

What a terrible investment...Beckham isn't as good as he used to be, and they pay him that much to come play in the most obscure league in the world...TERRIBLE!!!

David is obviously in it for the money, nice retirement plan in America I would say!!

 

He isn't as good no, but he will still be the best service provider in the league. Easily.

He hit such hot form at the end of the 2007 season. David, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Mahamadou Diarra were the reason Madrid won back La Liga in my opinion. Shame Capello is such a loser, and he has gone now anyway!

What was said of his coming though? and the general opinion? I saw so many news channels in the USA reporting it like Jesus was coming to America or something..lol.

 

Sup, to answer your question, Americans as a whole believe soccer blows. Some of the reasons they attribute are the perceived lack of high scoring, its "sissy" nature (although only a small number of Americans can run around a field for 90 minutes for even 1 year) and the fact that it's not high-octane (watching Barcelona, Manchester United or Arsenal debunks that). Although amongst young kids (except young blacks), it is somewhat popular and is the fastest growing sport amongst kids 10-21. Also, with the growth in the Latino population (Latino children over 5 now make up about 27% of the child population), soccer is expected to see a steady and consistent development. Whether they can compete with the rest of the world is anoter issue and i think not, as the past World Cup proved(as you know, they were overrated and ranked 5th in the World, yet lost to Ghana and Czech Republic).

To your second question, the highest sportsman in the United States in Tiger Woods who earns a whooping $100 million a year. If Beckham is going to get a million a week, that is outstanding and perhaps he might compete with Woods for the highest earning athlete in America.

I honestly believe the Beckham deal in the short term might seem outlandish, but in the long term might work out well. As i previously stated, soccer is growing in America and Beckham is a multinational superstar (he's so popular that some people in Singapore have an icon of him they "pray" to). The MLS might not be the most popular soccer the league in the world (or the best, for that matter) but Beckham's move might be the beginning in a series of high-profile signings in the MLS. Some have argued that since even the best player ever (Pele) played here and didn't make the game popular, how can Beckham? The answer is simply in the question. We are in a new era from that time. Soccer is much more established worldwide and well known, and the fact that Beckham is white will make many young white kids look up to him even more. At least, that is someone they can watch, admire and can be like. Young white kids often can watch Lebron and Kobe but cannot model themselves after them simply because Kobe and Lebron are black. But with Beckham, they can.

Sure, Beckham isn't as good as he once was, but are you guys just realizing this? He's seen a decline, ironically, since he signed for Real Madrid in 2003. Beckham is only the game for the money to be honest (as are hundreds of players) and honestly, he came here because his wife has been dying to come live in America for the longest. Also, mark my words, Beckham will try his hands at acting.

 

C'mon Jrem, it's not like we can't be civilized enough to agree every once in a while ya know. lol

 

hmmm...i have to admit that those are some really interesting points you have there. i never thought about the fact that white kids can look up to Beckham as a role model, and also the effect that the latino community can have on soccer. very interesting indeed. do you think soccer will ever be more popular than the big 3 (baseball, basketball, and football) in the US Cris?

 

How much of that is from actually playing golf, and how much is from endorsements?

 

I really do think that if that stereotype of "low-scoring" and "sissiness" can be done away with, soccer will be very popular here. Whether it'd be as popular as baseball and football remains a mystery to me. Quite frankly, it will be more popular than basketball because the NBA is the third most watched league in the country besides the NFL and MLB. As you know, NBA ratings are in the toilet and i don't see that changing anytime soon. As i said, latinos will have an effect on soccer. After baseball, soccer is the most popular sport amongst latinos - you can go to any area with a sizeable latino population and see for yourself - and as their population increases, so will the exposure soccer gets.

 

Soccer is more popular Latinos from Central and South America whereas baseball is more popular with Latinos from the Carribean from what I've seen....but since most Latin immigrants come from soccer loving nations...we should definitely see growth in its influence as Laydeezman said. Honestly the NFL is going to rule in America for years to come because virtually every team has a shot at winning the Superbowl and the NFL markets its TEAMS not INDIVIDUALS like the NBA. In pro baseball...only a handful of teams have a realistic chance at winning the World Series (why do they call it the "world series") so many people tune out. In reality...NASCAR has just about caught up to baseball though some people don't consider racing a sport. Increased media attention, the changing demographics, and Beckham can certainly make footballing more prominent in American culture.

 

Woods makes 87 million per year. With like 95% of his income coming from ads. Buick, Nike,etc. Last I heard anyways.

As for this topic, I don't live in the US, so I can't say what state it is there. But in Canada, it's 3rd I'd say. Hockey is number 1, curling 2, baseketball/baseball, then I'd say soccer. Our MLS team Toronto FC has sold out every game, and can't wait for the Beckham appearance.

Speaking of soccer. As many may know, Canada is hosting the under 20 fifa world cup. I got a chance to see USA vs Brazil. Very fun game. Adu impressed me. He was in another class of his own out there. And tickets was cheap too. Like $25 for good seats.

Cris, Naija comes here on thursday. They've advanced to the next round. Tickets went on sale on saturday, and was sold out sunday morning. We will take over the stadium that stadium. It looks like we have a good chance to win it all. I don't know if you're following the under 20 team. This is the first time I'll get a chance to be cheering for the boys.

 

How can LA Galaxy afford $1m a week to Beckham? :?

Lol his team mates are quite annoyed maybe? lol

 

It depends on the fans Sup. There is a Mexican population in LA and he would be fine. Posh however,is fame poor in the US.

 

I think she is quickly making up ground - did you see the photo shoot of them in W? That was hot, hot, hot!

 

After clicking on espn.com and seeing the headline about David Beckhams arrival in L.A. (which i'm sorry, i absolutely, positively do NOT care about) and after reading some comments by the users on there, i got to thinking. A better way for soccer or any other sport to get better is to bring in better players, not washed up players who only have star appeal like Beckham (from what i hear about him). I hear that this guy Ronaldino is pretty good (i've never seen him play though). So basically i was thinking, why not pay a guy like him, or whoever is the top player in the world all that money instead of Beckham? And maybe even bring over 4 or 5 more of the top players in the world as well? Maybe soccer in the U.S. would actually see a little bit of growth if the players were actually exciting to watch or something.

Another thing that i have to say is this. I almost resent the fact that they are trying to popularize soccer in this country to such an extent where they have to pay this guy 250 million dollars. To Jrem, and Cris, and all the soccer lovers here, i apologize, but i have to be truthful about it. It makes me dislike soccer a little more than what i did before because i kinda feel like they are trying to take fans/attention away from the other games that i love (basketball and football). I don't think soccer will ever overthrow either of the two in popularity, but i guess i'm kinda selfish in that i don't even want any challengers to those two sports. It's kind of like an average man whose dating a HOT woman. When he sees other, better looking guys, he might feel a little threatened by that, and he becomes defensive. He wants the HOT woman all to himself, and he doesn't want to share her. What i'm basically saying is this. I don't want ANY challengers to the big 3. Now hockey, whatever happens to that, i don't care. And the only reason why i'm protecting baseball is because it used to be Americas pastime, so it gains some cool points for that.

Also, can someone pleeease explain to me how soccer is exciting? I've seen a few games before, and it seems like all they ever do is kick the ball back and forth around midfield. There is no scoring. Can someone please give me some insight into this phenomenon and why it's so popular around the world. I'm admittedly ignorant, so bear with me on this okay. :lol: :wink:

 

Yes, I had seen her and she still need some meat in those bones.

 

I think he should lose posh. He's clearly out of her league!!

I watched some Beckham videos on youtube earlier....the accuracy of the distant passing, the free kicks, the dead ball accuracy...that precision is the best of all time.

 

Posh was on TV last night but I missed it. She was on NBC on a reality special. Has anyone saw it?

 

Wow Bry, you must really hate this game :lol: . Okay, where do i start? I agree with your beginner that Becks is washed up. But virtually everyone knows that by now. Beckham hasn't performed well (if you exclude his brief renaissance in the 2nd half of last season's La Liga run) since 2004. But the reason why he came here has been evidently noticeable to every person - publicity. The Los Angeles Galaxy (and the MLS at large) are minions compared to the Serie A, English Premiership, Bundesliga and La Liga - european soccer leagues in Italy, England, Germany and Spain respectively-. Soccer is the world's most popular and profitable game (sorry NBA and NFL). How about raising the stakes here in America as well? When you answer that, you've also answered the question as to why Beckham came here.

I watched the "introduction" ceremony to the fans last week and whilst it was not as grand as i expected, it seemed more like a coronation ceremony to me, given the way he was treated by the press and fawning fans alike. I hadn't seen such media adulation since Barack Obama's brief honeymoon with the press last year - but that is another story.

About the best soccer players coming to the MLS (namely Ronaldinho, Henry, Eto'o, Van Nistelrooy, Kaka), let me just say that the chances of that happening are as probable as me getting the gold medal in women's skating. Listen, Europe has had the best leagues in soccer since, well the beginning of soccer leagues and i'm not sure money alone will change any of that. These guys get name recognition - and money and fame - from playing in Europe and the same will never, ever happen here in America with the shitty ass MLS. You might not know this, but teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona FC are prepared to pay a similar amount that L.A Galaxy paid to keep their players. Take, for example, Ronaldinho. Arguably the best in the world, he is a World Cup winner, two time FIFA Player of the Year (the award for the individual best player), UEFA Champions League winner and the most marketable player in soccer. He has a buyout clause in his contract for Barcelona FC which would require any team that wants to buy him to be prepared to pay the sum of 150 million pounds, which is the equivalent of $300 million. Right now, only 3 teams in the world can afford that kind of dough and they are Real Madrid, AC Milan and Chelsea.

Now if a teams can afford that kind of cash for a single player, does that not tell you a lot about the stature of soccer in Europe? Shit, $300 million can buy 2 or more MLS teams :lol:. In Europe, there are more opportunities to showcase your sheer talent and talismanship than anywhere else in the world. Why do you think talented US players immediately jumpship there at the blink of an eye? Also, American billionaires like Malcolm Glazer, Tom Hicks and George Gillett are buying out Premiership teams like crazy; why? Simply because they stand a better chance of success than with MLS teams. (Also keep in mind that Malcolm Glazer owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

For the aforementioned reasons, soccer will never be as popular in America as in Europe. Its awareness might be heightened by Becks but Rome was not built in a day. It will almost become like football and basketball, where it is popular around the world but we here have the best leagues.

Quite frankly, i do not resent the fact that David Beckham is getting paid $250 million dollars to make the game popular. It is kind of like an investment in a bank. And to be fair, it seems like it might work, at least for now. Beckham's arrival has seen an increase in sold Galaxy merchandise and the tickets for his first five games at home have overwhelmingly sold out. So far, so good.

Bryant, i totally "sympathize" with you :lol: but to be honest, i am not sure that the powers that be are seeking for an out-and-out soccer revolution and you have nothing to worry about for, according to a national poll taken sometimes weeks ago, only 15% of American adults understand the game of soccer and are at all interested. However, amongst American youths between 10-21, that number rises to 62%. So to be fair, most Americans are still interested in Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning than are interested in David Beckham and Ronaldinho.

I understand that you're a little selfish about your own interests 8), but at least you're honest. I honestly feel you can enjoy hoops and football whether or not it wears out (and that's unlikely). Soccer ain't big over here but i am an avid player of beach soccer as well as futsal (indoor soccer) and just the plain field game. Every sunday, i play beach soccer on South Beach and when i feel like it, i go play with the Cuban kids. It's much fun.

Like you, i don't give a fuck about hockey myself and i could care less for the future of the god-awful game with a dwindling fanbase. It's so awful that they have to recruit Canadians :lol:.

Lastly, Bryant, soccer is very exciting. It will not bring in billions of fans if it were as bad as you made it out to be and sorry Americans are not passionate about it, but the rest of the world is. If you think that there is no scoring in soccer, you need to start watching soccer a bit more. The English and Spanish leagues clearly debunk that myth. If you watch a competition like the annual UEFA Champions League, you'd appreciate the game a bit more. True, the game is mostly played (and decided) in midfield and rightly so, as some of the game's best players have been midfielders for example Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Bobby Charlton, Jay Jay Okocha to name a few. But there are just as many greats who were scorers and made the game beautiful e.g. Ronaldo, Pele, Maradona, Alan Shearer, Roberto Baggio etc. There is a lot of scoring in soccer which can be appreciated when watched.

P.S. - I do not know if i am alone on this but i honestly do think Posh, Beck's wife, looks better as a blonde than at any other time in her life. Contrary to the media lampooning, i actually like her new blonde hair and to me, she looks lovely.