Well, whether Beckham can make soccer popular here or not is a big question mark. I mean many have tried in the past and it just hasn't worked. Pele, holding the World Cup here, our women winning the WC, launch of MLS, etc..
Nothing's really worked, so who knows. One thing is clear: Americans turn out in masses to see soccer if it's top quality, as evidenced by the tours of Europe's top clubs filling stadiums (and I'm talking big ones like Giants Stadium, not SSS like Home Depot Center).
So, the thing about Beckham is this. As long as he ends up making financial sense for the LA Galaxy, then other owners will follow. The Galaxy were the first MLS team to make a profit, and now 4 others are either doing so or on the verge (we'll see at the end of the year).
So, does Beckham make sense from a financial perspective? Well, despite the highly touted $250 million dollars he is supposed to be paid over 5 years, most of that is NOT paid by the Galaxy. The Galaxy only pay something like $5.5 million in salary to him each year.
And even before Beckham touched that ball today on the pitch, the Galaxy got $13.3 million in revenue through his signing, which is over 2 years salary! And note what the CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group says:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aUAxd1irwwng&refer=europe
``We've already made our money back,'' said Tim Leiweke, 49, chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based company that owns the Galaxy. ``We were never worried about our financial commitment.''
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So, if this is the case, well expect more signings by next year.
Oh, and did anyone catch the announcers saying Shevchenko might want to play in the US next year? Now, he IS a great player. Beckham might not be a great footballer (though he is good enough to play for England), but he might be the beginning of MLS being taken more seriously.
Of course, we'll see. As I said, all who tried previously have failed.
