Yeah - Posh - not David ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_en_tv/tv_posh_s_show Will be interesting to see if any MLS exposure comes of it.
A lot of people were saying she wanted to get into broadcasting, which is why there were a lot of people speculating Becks would come to LA before it was announced. I guess they were right.
By the time they arrive they will be so over exposed that they'll be 'old news' hollywood style. ....inflated heads at Front offices everywhere,off the field follies,Posh will flop. As far as tickets go....It will prove dull after the first year to soccer mommies and trendy soccer fashio-emos and will suffer the same fate as Adu did.Interest will go down quicker than a prom dress at midnight. If Becks can help fill the seats with people who actually like and appreciate the sport minus the Flash..cool. Hopefully those same folks will see a quality MLS product and wanna stick around.
That's the thing with these rumors, throw enough of them out there (Fowler, Davids, Berger, ZiZou, Ronaldo, Figo, et al.) and one's bound to pan out.
You have a valid point here, but let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. This is causing the average American to talk about professional soccer. That can only be a good thing. So they go to a couple games because it's the 'in' thing to do. Maybe they'll like it and go to more. Think about it - things like presidential elections aren't decided by people on the extremes. They're decided by the person in the middle who is swayed by hype and media attention. It's the same way in the sporting world. Avid supporters constitute a small number of the people who end up shelling out cash for tickets, swag and the like. Taking a look at Posh and Becks' privelaged life will have one other nice side effect - it will show how successful a soccer player can become. I know teenagers probably won't be watching this show, but if there is extra incentive (the possibility to make loads of cash) to continue playing soccer into high school and college it will help keep some of the good athletes from playing football or other sports because they dream of making it big as pros.
You sort of bring up a good point. But only sort of. For all the wrong right reasons. That is why everyone is looking at this as huge. Flash and Hype.everyone admits that.right? And that is a reason why teenagers may stick with soccer once they see they can make money? That is what's so F****ed up about sports these days. Its already happening...look at Mourinho and his club of fancies. Hell even in La Liga...Real Madrid once passed on Ronaldinho because he was "too ugly and not marketable" tsk....tsk... Good Lord I hope this beautifull sport doesn't start creating spoiled,overpriced,crybabies like the NFL and NBA and NHL and MLB etc.... I know you need no proof,but I happened upon a DETAILS magazine at the bookstore today with Mr. Spice on the cover. Check it out on details.com ...and I quote from the article... "Coming to America allows Beckham to jettison all the negative assiciations regarding his fading soccer potency because,brilliantly, he's found the one place in the world that couldn't care less about any of that." HA...it even hits on a rumor I heard on TV about him becoming friends with Tom Cruise and is looking into scientology..HA...Even worse than Mormons.... I see potential banners with that one. smell ya later.
I totally hear you and agree with what you're saying, but I'm not sure it's possible to take the high road and still grow the game domestically the way MLS hopes to. It's about both the buzz and quality of play. If the game continues to progress in terms of domestic talent people still won't take notice. Hard core fans will, but not casual people. The truth is that if LA hadn't gambled on Becks somone else would have. Possibly a high to mid-range European side. His talent is no more the issue there than it is here. He's a bankable star. What he offers us in extra incentive is credibility. Let's also not forget that football in Europe isn't this pure thing, either. It is filled with greed (the Italian scandal), dirty dealing and malice. American athletes aren't the only ones after the mighty dollar. You don't have to look any farther than Chelsea or Real Madrid to find clubs that spend more lavishly than the Yankees.
