Breaking like Beckham

[Pyro]

So this is what happens when you throw alot of money around. Take note MLS!

It is no coincidence that "Bend it", 20/20, Washington Post and Frank Deford (!) all hopped on the Beckham bus at the same time. Oddly enough Man U is coming to the States this summer too.

This is a directly pointed marketing campaign to break Beckham and Man U. in the USA. Think about how frustrating it must be for Corporate America to know how massive soccer is in the suburbs and they can’t effectively deliver their ads and products to the Soccer Moms and their families. MLS can’t figure out how to really grab the spotlight despite a successful World Cup and some big-name sponsors. Corporate doesn’t have a pitch man who can relate to these masses; until now. Beckham is living the American Boys dream: Controversial Professional Athlete married to a model quality ex-rockstar wife and lives the rock and roll lifestyle! The most appealing marketing tool to middle America possible. Beckham is the catalyst that the Yankees, Rupert Murdoch and just about any other corporation waiting for the “big soccer cash-in” has been looking for. Sorry Landon and MLS, corporate doesn’t have the patience to wait for you to develop. They don’t want to hear, grassroots and 20,000K stadiums. They want filled 75,000k stadiums and their logo on the front of the jerseys and that’s what Man U is delivering. After all, the powers that be got Deford to write a glowing column about Beckham including a paragraph describing his two goals. In one of his previous anti-soccer rants, DeFord goes on about not understanding how anyone can get excited about not scoring or a tie game and here his is raving about two goals in a game that ultimately contributed to the team’s elimination.

Tommy Smyth is right, it will take two Beckham to break soccer in America, the question is, “Who is the Next Beckham?”

Another question is, can there be a battle brewing for soccer in America. There are a few believers out there with money who haven’t thrown their hat into MLS: Rupert Murdoch, Mark Cuban and Paul Allen come to mind. You get those three and a TV contract from a sports desperate NBC and BAM, St. Phil and Mr. Hunt will become second class citizens in American Soccer.

[Jeremy Goodwin]

Originally posted by Pyro
They want filled 75,000k stadiums and their logo on the front of the jerseys and that’s what Man U is delivering.Yep, Vodafone's just gotta press their market advantage in the states :)

Not that I wouldn't love to have 75k stadiums filled with rioting MLS fans.

[uniteo]

Originally posted by Pyro
Another question is, can there be a battle brewing for soccer in America. There are a few believers out there with money who haven’t thrown their hat into MLS: Rupert Murdoch, Mark Cuban and Paul Allen come to mind. You get those three and a TV contract from a sports desperate NBC and BAM, St. Phil and Mr. Hunt will become second class citizens in American Soccer.

Not a chance, no soccer league will ever thrive in the US without homegrown talent and MLS has all the good young US talent locked up.

Could some new big investors radically alter the way MLS is structured and boost fan interest by bringing in some big names? Absolutely.

Could a new league with a bunch of foreign stars supplant and exceed MLS? No way.

Also, you're looking too hard for the 'soccer has made it' bandwagon...the Post has covered soccer better than any major paper for years, if I'm not mistaken, Time Warner/AOL owns both ABC (20/20) and CNNSI (Frank Deford) and may very well have distribution rights for "Bend it", which, if you haven't seen the movie, has almost NOTHING to do with Beckham, and even less with Man U.

Remember the absolute media strom around the women's world cup? The media showers during las year's world cup? Just a nice media convergence here. They represent a greater interest nationally in the game but no kind of revolution. And don't underestimate the catalytic effect of political harmony between the US and UK in making Beckham palatible to the US public.

[Malaga CF fan]

Beckham's popularity is a complimentary good at best for US soccer and the MLS. Plenty of soccer people are well acquainted with ManU and Beckham, and they won't have any trouble selling out 4 games in 75k stadiums. I would venture to say that Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus or AC Milan could do the same, but I agree that ManU is the biggest draw.

This is just another pebble or stone contributing to the critical mass that soccer needs to really succeed here. Just like the movie, Bend It, or the World Cup last summer, or the Women's World Cup, or improved attendance at MLS matches (the last couple of weeks excluded).... all of these are successes that will, in the long run, contribute to widespread soccer acceptance. But Beckham is not US soccer's messiah... neither were Pele or Beckenbauer. Why? Because they aren't American. If we are looking for that athlete to raise the game to national prominence, it is going to be an American kid, who might or might not marry a pop princess and live the "royal" lifestyle that Beckham lives, and will be larger than the sport, just like Jordan or Tiger Woods. We may see that kid soon enough, but the timing has got to be right, and it's not the right time yet.

[Lanky134]

Originally posted by uniteo
Also, you're looking too hard for the 'soccer has made it' bandwagon...the Post has covered soccer better than any major paper for years, if I'm not mistaken, Time Warner/AOL owns both ABC (20/20) and CNNSI (Frank Deford) and may very well have distribution rights for "Bend it", which, if you haven't seen the movie, has almost NOTHING to do with Beckham, and even less with Man U.

Disney owns ABC, and the movie is Fox Searchlight production.

[Lanky134]

Originally posted by Malaga CF fan
If we are looking for that athlete to raise the game to national prominence, it is going to be an American kid...

Would Freddy count? :)

[AndyMead]

Originally posted by Lanky134
Would Freddy count? :)

Freddy is yesterday's news. Fro has been called in to train with the U-15s!

[kenntomasch]

Originally posted by Pyro
There are a few believers out there with money who haven’t thrown their hat into MLS: Rupert Murdoch, Mark Cuban and Paul Allen come to mind.

Cuban has said he's not interested. Allen's name keeps getting dragged into the discussion, but his interest is dubious as well. And one thing Murdoch likes is making money. Lots and lots of money. Which ain't gonna happen in American soccer.


You get those three and a TV contract from a sports desperate NBC and BAM, St. Phil and Mr. Hunt will become second class citizens in American Soccer.

And if my mom had two wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

NBC is not sports desperate. They made deliberate, shareholder-based decisions not to lose their corporate ass on sports rights fees that lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Get this through your heads, people: No one but Disney will have soccer. Quit wishing and hoping that Fox or NBC or somebody is just sitting there drooling waiting for the contract with ABC to expire so that they can throw millions at MLS.

[Etienne_72772]

Pyro: Are you saying there is a conspiracy to make soccer succeed in this country?


But weirder things have happened. Who'd have thought four boys from Liverpool would transform Rock & Roll in America 40 years ago?

[kenntomasch]

When Conspiracies Collide.

I think that's like matter and antimatter mixing.

[AndyMead]

Originally posted by kenntomasch
Cuban has said he's not interested. Allen's name keeps getting dragged into the discussion, but his interest is dubious as well. And one thing Murdoch likes is making money. Lots and lots of money. Which ain't gonna happen in American soccer.


It looks like both Cuban and Allen might be interested in being minority local partners. With Allen that might be good enough to get a team into Seahawk Stadium with another primary investor.

The league seems interested in Bob McNair (Houston), but he's apparently still absorbing the shock and awe of starting a new NFL team. I suspect next Thursday's game could potentially help with that effort.

Jeff Leary (Philadelphia) and his organization seem to be subtly changing their tune. In the past it was "thanks, but no thanks." It looks like they've moved to the "indifferent" category. Once again the ManU/Barca spectacle could only help.

But then - yuck -

While the new NFL stadiums in Seattle, Houston, and Philly are nice, I'd rather not have MLS expand into them. But beggars can't always be choosers. Sigh.

[kenntomasch]

That's Jeff Lurie.

[Lanky134]

Originally posted by Etienne_72772
But weirder things have happened. Who'd have thought four boys from Liverpool would transform Rock & Roll in America 40 years ago?
They did, and that's why it worked...

We're talking about the Rutles, right? :)

[kenntomasch]

http://www.lyrics.com/r/rutles,_the/the.rutles.jpg

The Pre-Fab Four indeed.

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by AndyMead
It looks like both Cuban and Allen might be interested in being minority local partners...

Why do you say that?


Just curious...

[kenntomasch]

He just made it up. :)

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by kenntomasch
He just made it up. :)

He should run with it on the front page of the ECG!!

[Chris M.]

Originally posted by kenntomasch
http://www.lyrics.com/r/rutles,_the/the.rutles.jpg

The Pre-Fab Four indeed.

Memories that will last a lunch time.

[owendylan]

Originally posted by Jeremy Goodwin
Yep, Vodafone's just gotta press their market advantage in the states :)

Not that I wouldn't love to have 75k stadiums filled with rioting MLS fans.

Well they do own 45% of Verizon Wireless, although I think you would be hard pressed to find 10 people who actually know this.

[skipshady]

Originally posted by owendylan
Well they do own 45% of Verizon Wireless, although I think you would be hard pressed to find 10 people who actually know this. I knew this. Including yourself, 2 down, 8 to go. :D