In addition to branding, I have a long-standing interest in soccer. I am invited to write guest columns for Soccer America. Recently, I wrote about David Beckham’s coming to America. If you want to read the full article, and my prediction about his impact on professional soccer, go to www.socceramerica.com. Click on “Soccer Business Insider” and then “A Naysayer’s View.” The title alone should give you a sense of the story.
The article was written and submitted around the first of June. SA decided to sit on it until sometime closer to ”Becks” debute with the LA Galaxy. However, one small reference in the article, and an announcement from Victoria Beckham, his wife, prompted SA to move up publication.
I suggested Beckham’s ultimate impact on pro soccer would be akin to Victoria announcing she was coming to America to reunite the Spice Girls in an attempt to save the recording industry. Once SA got wind of the rumors that she was holding a press conference (which she did) to announce a Spice Girls tour, I doubt it was coincidence that SA published my article prior to her announcement.
Beckham remains a solid, world-class soccer player. When healthy, he will make a contribution to the lowly LA Galaxy, but even that is unlikely to propel them into the MLS playoffs, which all but five teams in the league will make.
Purely by accident last Saturday night, albeit just before halftime, I stumbled on Beckham’s first game being broadcast on ESPN. He played about the last 15 minutes of the game, and if the night was any indication of the validity of my prediction, his greatest contribution was the enormous media coverage, publicity and celebrity attendance he generated.
The game itself was won by Chelsea, who with less than two weeks of preseason training under their belt, had fleeting moments of brilliance against an LA Galaxy team supposedly in mid-season form, but unable to mount an attack. An uninspired 1-0 result will hardly make rabid soccer fans of the newcomers sipping champagne in the skyboxes. For the unfamiliar, the score would appear to be a respectable showing by the American team. The game was much more one-sided than the score would suggest.
I am thrilled Mr. Beckham is here, I am more thrilled that his real soccer impact will be felt through the hundreds of academies he is launching for youth players across the country. I am most thrilled that Posh Spice and her friends are restricting their “world” tour to about 10 cities, and then, that too will pass.
