There is just no way around it, even in the Dutch sports media, David Beckham is in LA. It makes me sick. Not necessarily the man himself, after all, he is a gifted player, but the stupid short term marketing trick that got him playing in the US in the first place. Soccer is slowly but steadily growing in the US, and this could potentially be the worst possible news for Major League Soccer.
Sure, he drew 66,000 people to Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and fans all over America go to see games just because he is there, which generates money for a league that has never in its history been profitable. But will it last? I'm not so sure. Remember the last time a foreign star came salvaging the game of soccer in North America? In 1975 the Warner Bros. owned New York Cosmos, then a struggling team playing on a field that was painted green to give the illusion that grass was growing there, signed Brazilian legend Pele to a salary that even the best in Major League Baseball didn't make. Just the value of his contract was enough of a reason for Americans to go see him play.
In fact, until 1980, even after Pele's retirement, games attracted crowds that would have made European clubs jealous. But there was never a new player worthy of being called 'the next Pele'. Many of the stars of the European game have come to the NASL in those days, but they just saw it as a chance to earn some extra cash in the European close season. American fans may not have understood the game, but they couldn't be fooled by half-hearted efforts by players who were supposed to be world stars.
Who is to say, that a similar thing won't happen to Major League Soccer? Beckham is such a hype already, that when he retires, Major League Soccer will find it extremely difficult to find someone to replace him. Good quality Americans are usually perfectly capable of knowing MLS for what it is, and will prefer to try and make a name for themselves in Europe or Latin America, and foreign stars aren't necessarily attracted by the idea of playing in a country where their sport is merely a footnote on the sports page. If the disappointed fans decide to stay away, the league may very well fold in just a few years.
I do care about the fate of soccer in America. In fact I'm a dedicated follower of the MLS, as well as the USL. If it all works out, Major League Soccer may one day become the greatest thing soccer has ever seen, but it doesn't help if the powers that be try to help it along by blindly signing a big name player, not knowing what comes next.
Beckham isn't the only problem, by the way. Next season the league will for the first time ever consist of 14 teams, with the return of the San Jose Earthquakes, and even that is a stupid move in my view. With all the good players moving to Europe anyway (Adu, Altidore, Szetela, they're all on their way), this will only dilute the quality of the teams, which may very well alienate real fans.
The way I see it, MLS should downsize to a number of teams that warrants the best possible quality of soccer, they shouldn't try to sign players just to generate a hype, and for the time being they shouldn't try to attract fans who normally wouldn't even come to soccer. Just make sure that those who do love soccer keep coming to the games, or watch it on TV. More kids play soccer in the US, than in any other country, and one day there will be world class players, who will bring the international successes that the US Soccer Federation are so desperate for, and then enough fans will embrace the game to take MLS to the next level. But please, MLS, be patient.
No, I haven't returned to MySpace. This acquaintance goes back eleven years.
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You are Sandusky, OH
Loser! You are boring, have no sense of adventure, no sense of humor, you have no friends, in fact you're no good to this world. You are definitely Sandusky, OH!
Famous Sandusky, Ohio, residents: probably a few hockey players, but no one worth a second glance
* Soraya
