Beckhams in America: Take Two

For all of you who don't pay attention to American soccer(well on its way to being the most popular sport in our nation), MLS opened its 13th season this past weekend. Now, I could give you a breakdown of every team in the league, all the big off season acquisitions and trades and the expected story lines of the year. But you wouldn't read that, would you, you soccer-hating bastard. So instead I'll give you an update on David Beckham and MLS's noble experiment to bring soccer to the doorstep of every American household. But I promise not to talk about Posh Spice, lest MissMet confuse me for a gossip blogger.

After last years fanfare and endless hype, Beckhams actual impact was a bit underwhelming. But you cant really blame him, running on a bum ankle hurts, and doest do much for your soccer game. Many fans were a bit angry at Beckham for the injury, as their home teams often made them buy multi-game packages to get a ticket to see the LA Galaxy come to town. This year will at least start off better. Beckham is fully healed, and even played for the English national team in a recent World Cup Qualifying tune-up against France. Beckham won't be the only star on the Galaxy, with American soccer poster/pretty boy Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz, who returns to the team after 3 years in Dallas, giving the team a chance to contend. Really, being based in heavily Hispanic Los Angeles, the Galaxy should have the best team in the league, but they dont. That honor goes to Houston, who is coming off back-to-back championship seasons.

Now, Beckham playing soccer in LA was obviously the biggest story of last year, but most Americans were more interested in the fallacious $250mil salary that he was supposed to be paid over five years. In reality, that was one mans (whose, ehhh, I'm too lazy to find out) estimate on how much Beckham could make with endorsements in toto. Beckham really did take a massive paycut to come to America. And how has that worked for the league so far? Since he came over, a few other big names in international soccer have followed, such as Marcelo Gallardo, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Denilson and Juan Pablo Angel. These additions, especially the ones from Central and South America have helped boost attendance and increase the overall quality of play. Attendance and merchandise sales have been increasing over the last few years, specifically since teams started building soccer-only stadiums(as opposed to renting football stadiums), with a league-wide per game average of 16,771 last year.

Since the founding of MLS, teams have been banking on the fact that since soccer is the biggest youth sport in the US and Canada(yes, even Canada), a few youngsters would grow up to be life long soccer fans. The growth has been slow, and sometimes steady, but the league is still around, and theres something to be said for survival. On a side note(as if this has been a consistent post), one of New York's Red Bulls, Jozy Altidore, writes a weekly blog for the Times here. The guy can write a coherent sentence, which makes him a rarity in the sports world. Anyway, soccer isnt going away any time soon. Sorry haters.