So after much media hype, Beckham made his US debut last night. He played 15 minutes with limited action and he was clearly favoring his ankle injured 6 weeks ago.
Will Beckham’s presence kick start Soccer in the US or is it still going to be an afterthought? Will it take over the void seemingly left by the NHL? With all the PR problems in the NFL will a seemingly “well behaved” Beckham be the role model American kids crave?
My wife watched the whole game plus the pre-game show, and she is not really a big sports fan. I watched the game and I have never watched a whole MLS game before, although I will watch the occasional international match. My son made me TIVO the game and he watched the whole thing this morning and he is 6.
How many Americans are watching the Tour with no Armstrong?
There would have been a little more excitement if he had come in healthy. They must be using the Dolphins player personnel staff.
His wife is about as “out there” as Paris Hilton, so that should help. We all love a train wreck. But we usually don’t watch the trains if there is no wreck.
The problem with this thing is that Beckham is only interesting to people who are into the Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, E! News scene. He isn’t particularly interesting to the sports enthusiast. He’s no longer at the top of his game, and the team he’s going to is horrible. He’s only interesting to the ladies who like looking at his picture, which is fine in and of itself, but it’s not going to revolutionize soccer in the U.S.
The key demographic that soccer needs to capture are the 18-40 males. Beckham is hot, but I don’t think the 18-40 males care about that. His wife is very strange, but again I doubt the 18-40s are going to care about that – or her – either. I predict no real effect.
I slightly disagree. The demographic that soccer needs to grab to become successful in this country is 6-18 year old males. If you are 18 or older and do not yet have an interest in soccer, it is too late for you. The Beckham affect that soccer people want is that young males will choose to play soccer ahead of other more popular sports. They need these kids to be the best athletes also. As long as they are losing the best athletes to the big 3 sports, soccer has no shot here. I look at Beckham as an investment for the future.
I’m not sure if you mean he is “hot” or if he is a great soccer player. If you mean “hot” (and I think you might) I suppose that I might buy season tickets to Victoria, as well, as long as she would promise not to talk.
If you mean great soccer player, there is no doubt about that, but with his ankle injury, he has come over as damaged goods = train wreck for the team that bought him.
Maybe another reason this move won’t pay dividends in increased popularity – from my very unscientific observations, soccer is huge among the 6-18 girls – they play it and they watch it. Even today, however, the boys seem to drop out because it conflicts with baseball or football or lacrosse. Between the ages of 6 and 18, the future TV sports fan is playing sports. We have to look to what they’re playing to see what they’ll be watching in the future. If I were 12 years old and a boy playing sports, I’m not sure what would lure me away from the traditionally popular sports; I’m pretty sure, though, it wouldn’t be some aging star who has all the girls in my class drooling (unless, of course, I looked like Beckham:).
I can’t see this changing much. The annoying thing is that we now are constantly hearing about PoshSpice, who to me resembles a preying mantis carrying a couple of cantaloupes. Come to think of it, perhaps this move was more about her than Mr. Beckham?
Youre asking the right question but the wrong people. Nobody on this forum will have a say on wether soccer will be a success here or not.
Ask on myspace, or whatever is the cool site this week for 14 year olds because thats the audience MLS is after.
We are all too old to get into a new sport no matter how entertaining it might be…so when a grumpy old fart like Art gives soccer no chance I have to think its going to be HUGE.
As for the the POsh Beckham comments…that lady is dumb as a fox. She took a dumb as a post, incredibly shy soccer player with a voice like a 12 year old girl and turned him into an international media phenomenon. She dressed him up gave him a hip haircut and promoted the hell out of him. She’s a marketing genius…and she knows that the LA Galaxy might not be the biggest club in the world, but Hollywood is the biggest media market and thats where she wants her boy.
That TV show she did, Coming to America or whatever it was called was freakin funny too.
I agree, it will be hard to get anyone already ingrained in the Football, Baseball, Basketball mindset to start adding another sport into the mix. I played soccer, so maybe my mindset is a little different, but in my world, I see this as a reason to watch. If I watch, my kids will watch, and being 6 and 4 they will turn into fans.
However if it has to compete with NASCAR, soccer has no chance with my boys. They love NASCAR.
Problem is, tons and tons of people have played soccer in this coun try. It has been a solid youth sport for decades, and we even have an entire demographic called “Soccer Moms.” Unfortunately for soccer, not many of us grow up and continue to enjoy it. Not too many Americans like a sport with so little scoring and guys who play act and cry like little girls. I personally like to play soccer and would probably encourage my kids to play as well, but I don’t find a whole lot of fun in watching it.
Problem is, tons and tons of people have played soccer in this coun try. It has been a solid youth sport for decades, and we even have an entire demographic called “Soccer Moms.” Unfortunately for soccer, not many of us grow up and continue to enjoy it. Not too many Americans like a sport with so little scoring and guys who play act and cry like little girls. I personally like to play soccer and would probably encourage my kids to play as well, but I don’t find a whole lot of fun in watching it.
I agree, nearly 100% on all of the statements you made in that post. If it was 1 year ago I would have written the same thing.
For me, Beckham’s coming to the league has given me a reason to watch. We will see if that is powerful enough to keep me watching.
I know we’re suppossed to make a “final decision” on Beckham’s influence based on the 15 mintes we saw, but I’m going to wait. I know it’s not 21st Century or very American, but I’m going to just watch and see what happens.
Beckham will help American soccer. Just having someone of his caliber (even if not in his prime, he’s still good, and still performing well in Euro soccer) come to the MLS is good.
To what degree soccer takes off is yet to be determined. Hosting the 94 WC was suppossed to be the turnaround. Getting the MLS was suppossed to be the turn-around. Beckham is suppossed to be the turnaround.
We’re all looking for the “turnaround” and I’d signal everyone to “look around”. We’ve got a 12-team American professional soccer league that’s going on it’s 13th season and has some guys making a VERY good living of playing professional soccer in the States.
Mexico cannot beat us on American soil. The US under-20 team looks very good. We’re all looking for a “turnaround”, but American soccer has already begun turning around.
I know, as an American, I’m suppossed to talk of soccer as if knowing a little bit about it makes me gay, but really the sport is more successful and competitive than we would have ever though 13 years ago.
The “critics” will always say what they want. Who could have predicted the NBAs fall and hocley’s disappearance or the surge of NASCAR (amazing to me). Non-rednecks watch stock car racing. Go figure.
Beckham will bring what the MLS needs … attention. Attention leads to all the players being seen, not just Becjham. There are already some foreign stars in the MLS, and more attention might bring more.
We’re comparing 13-year old MLS located in a country where soccer is 5th (maybe) on the list of professional sports to soccer leagues that have been around forever in countries that worship soccer. Let’s keep some perspective.
Soccer’s singular problem in the US is the 2x45 minute format, not the scoring, not the crying, not the popularity of other sports. TV commercial advertising drives sports revenues in this country and without multiple opportunities to sell Budweiser, Frito Lays and Cheese Wizz, there will be no revenue and no money to market the sport.
