How David Beckham changed America's perception of "Soccer"
The coming of David Beckham at the Los Angeles Galaxy lineup a couple of years ago may not have provided a large amount success for the club itself, however it has absolutely raised the profile of the "beautiful game" in the United States.
David and Victoria brought together the VIP personality culture and the privileged sections of the footballing world in a way that had in no way been seen formerly in The United States. Previous to his appearance (in fact even at this moment), the eminent American soccer players may well only dream of making a part of the sky-high figures bandied about when Beckham's overall wages are mentioned
Nevertheless still, he seems to have had the desired influence of raising the sport at grassroots level, as well as in the celebrity world. This was emphasised by the huge crowds on show when Chelsea, AC Milan and Inter Milan appeared in America for a pre-season competition. Every game was played in front of a sell-out multitude. I seem to bring to mind over 100,000 being at one match concerning Chelsea, dwarfing the numbers seen at pre-season games even in England.
The increase in the fame of "soccer" has also seen a growth in the blogs and fan-sites appearing in the States, and a few have caught my eye of late as they appear to have a entirely different manner of looking at football than the English population. Maybe we should modify it to "soccer" as well, it may change our attitudes!
I particularly enjoy the funnily named Amongthethugs.wordpress.com (a reference to a paperback by American author Bill Bruford about English hooligans from the nineties i suppose, although it is not related to on the blog). This is a blog set up by six West Coast soccer fans, who between them cheer on five different English teams, furthermore they have a amusingly entertaining view on the soccer scene in Britain. No-one is safe from their jibes and i notice myself on a regular basis checking back to look into who their jokes are aimed at next.
They did of late asked why Carlo Ancelotti would deliberately throw a contest against Wigan which i found quite humorous, and they projected a new eye protection for Van Persie to wear when he next faces Adebayor.
A further article that tickled me is the likeness of Carlos Tevez to a Caveman! You have to see them to get the jokes, so go over and have a peek. You will not be dissatisfied. The good-natured ribbing of the clubs supported by the other writers is something you simply don't get in angry old England! If you are into soccer and like a guffaw, test it out, you won't be dissatisfied with AmongTheThugs (.wordpress.com)
So you can spot that the "David Beckham effect" has had a much further reaching bearing on the American football scene than anybody had anticipated. Although he may perhaps have been earning obscenely excessive income, he has had the desired effect of enticing more and more "soccer" supporters to matches than has ever been seen previously.
And the American view of "soccer" is perhaps something that I would like to see exported to Britain, as the fans here just seem to take everything much too seriously!
My name is Pat McLachlan and i have an Article Marketing website called http://justwebsitereviews.com and I also contribute to http://www.casinogamesonline.com.au. Pop in and have a look!