Beckham discussed on PTI today on Pardon the Interruption they are going to discuss Beckham on the final segment, "Showdown." it will be on in like two mins so i will discuss what they say.
There talking about him on Around the Horn now. Bill says he's overated as a player. Jay agrees he's all hype. Max says he is making his way into the American consciousness . The end.
It is Jay Mariotti vs Bill Plaschke in the debate. They will debate "Beckham as a household name." The host sets up the debate by showing clips of him playing and some freekicks goals and says he was sold to 9 time Euro Cup champions Real Madrid for $41million. Plaschke discusses Beckham as if he knows about him and soccer. He says even if soccer becomes big in America he won't be a household name because he is not good enough. He mentions Becks is not a complete player because he can't play defense and sounded legitimate for a moment and then mentioned they he wasn't even good enough to start against Real in the semis. Obviously he didnt know about all the crap going on. Mariotti says he has the potential to become very big solely off of his image and his wife. Mentions "Bend it like Bechkam" and all of that. To end it the host Max Kellerman says he is already becoming a household name and will be famous.
Beckham was the third topic discussed on PTI today, that is very big. it seems as though a lot of people complained that they did not cover it very well. Wilbon and Kornheiser were asking eachother if they did not give enough attention to this story. they mentioned that it is the biggest story in the world and if it should be a big story in this country. Kornheiser said it would be big here if he came to MLS but soccer isnt big enough in this country for it to be covered now. Wilbon responded that 12% of the residents in the US are foreign born and that means most likely 12% of the nation is interested. Kornheiser ends it up saying something about Raul, Figo, Zidane, and "your boy" Ronaldo.
Yep. They said they got a whole lot of email. Time to send them more and remind them that it's not just the foreign born who have interest and that it is way above baseball,etc. in participation in this country and that they better be careful or Julie Foudy will find them.
you know what wolves? this is the first time i agree with someone who wants to email espn or some group (in this case PTI.) as it seems they read them.
they talk about soccer often on PTI. this beckham deal certainly has non-soccer people talking. hell, my boss and co-workers today asked about it and they are certainly not soccer fans, so word has certainly spread about this deal. ha, they interviewed lennox lewis in the "5 good minutes" segment and at the end asked him about the beckham deal...
they asked Lennox if he liked Beckham's moved (obviously they asked him cuz he is English). He said he likes the move and "footballers, as we say in England," like to move around and get new challenges or something like that. He also comments on how he has seen Beckham play on several occasions and he can definitely curve it. Kornheiser then asked him who is bigger in England. Lewis says something like "well of course i'm bigger, i stand 6ft 5"," he then pointed at them and laughed acknowledging that it was a joke.
i have to say Beckham is defintely becoming a star in this country. if he can get some interviews on big shows (like the ones he previously recorded, if they still air) and get on the cover of some girly magazines he will definitely be a star imo, just may not be one for being a soccer player. i dont see why mtv cut his presentation of an award and the movie awards, they showed a lot of clips of him anyway.
Lads, I'm pretty new to these boards and since the Beckham story is massive news where I come from (Dublin, Ireland), I was just wondering (a) what's the media coverage like in the States? (B) Forgive me if I sound ignornat, but what's the deal with footie in the US? How popular is it? Of course, I know the US international side are a pretty good outfit (I've seen some of your players, Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride and Landon Donovan in Europe), but what's the grass roots support like? And how's the MLS - what's it like? I know an Irish lad, ROnnie O'Brien is playing with Dallas (I think) but we get sweet FA coverage over here? Again apologies in advance, but I've heard that soccer is pretty much a girl's sport in the States. Any truth?
You should start a thread for this on it's own with the same questions. As far as forum. Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps MLS Fans or somewhere.
Beckham discussed on PTI Oh my god does this show search out the worst sportswriters in the country and put them on TV? Mariotti is a yutz and Plaschke is world famous for his ranting that only 5 or 6 teams have a reasonable chance of making the MLB playoffs when the season starts (8 teams eventually make the playoffs BTW). The ignorance must have been astounding...
My wife asked me about it!!! First sports question from her in at least 6 months. Mr. Tony had Ray Hudson & Tommy Smyth on his radio show this morning to discuss it. Clah-sic!!!
Welcome to the BigSoccer boards. Even though this is a bit off topic, I'll throw in some answers to your questions. The media coverage in the States regarding Beckham has been fairly large, front page news in many cases. Soccer in the U.S. is a relative "niche" market and minor compared to American football, Basketball, Baseball and Hockey. However, the market is solid and growing. And big league talent usually attacts big crowds. The US national team usually draws at least 30,000 to 40,000, if not more, and the upcoming ManU tour has sold out most of the venues. MLS is another story. MLS, while regarded as having improved immensly, is regarded as minor league by most soccer afficianodos, compared to the big Euro leagues. Thus, attendence is mediocre at best (15,000 to 16,000 on average). The level of play in MLS is generally on par with the English first division, or perhaps the lower part of the Premiership. However, the level of talent coming out of MLS is getting better and better, as evidneced by Brian McBride and Landon Donovan, as well as the good performance of the US team (comprised of a lot of MLS players) in the WC. Ronnie O'Brien plays for the Dallas Burn in MLS. Unfortunately, his leg was broken by a brash, studs up tackle and he is out for the season. That's too bad, because he was playing very well. Soccer is regarded my the much of the mainstream sports media and "Joe Six-Pack" as being either a kids sport, girls sport, or foreigner's sport and get's little respect. That is changing as well, as there is now more and more soccer coverage and simpathetic sports writers and media outlets. Grass roots support is excellent. Those who've played or follow the sport are pretty loyal. And their numbers are ever increasing. Soccer is still a bit of a "bastard step child" in the American sports scene, but it is continually, gradually, gaining in popularity and acceptance. The topic of this thread, which is discussion of the Beckham/Real Madrid thing on two ESPN talk shows (mainstream sports media) is indication that the tables are turning for soccer, and for the better.
JeffS, Thanks for taking the time to answer that one for me and apologies for screwing up your thread!
Becks on sportscenter so that makes 3 shows. Also more on beck on the weekend sportscenter. Things are starting to change. Lets see what kind of media the ManU tour gets, its to bad becks wont bearound for that now.
Since I've no idea where this topic really SHOULD be, this is as good of a place as any, I guess. As for media and Beckham, I was kinda stunned when one day LAST week, there was a report on the local (AM 950 Indianapolis) ESPN affiliate about the possibilities of Beckham to Barca. It was an ESPN report that all affiliates seem to air every 15 or so minutes. As for local coverage, I've seen or heard about our A-League team exactly ONE time in the media (news and sports tv and radio) since I moved back here in early 2000, and that was on a morning news show (the local show on the Fox affiliate). The sport is making waves on a National Team level, but the league is still pretty far behind it. But then again, I'm 3 hours from either Columbus or Chicago (closest MLS teams), and in a different market (and an auto racing/high school-college basketball down, too), so I don't expect much local news. As for the reputation of the sport, at least around here it's not so much a 'girl' sport anymore (though a few guys I know in their mid-30's still see it that way), as most intelligent adults see it for a real sport, just not one they're interested in following. But it's the one sport that most children play (I did, in the 80's), and so there's no where to go but up in popularity. But it'll probably never, ever reach the levels of popularity in Europe and South/Central America, simply because the US, instead of having multiple levels of one professional sport, has multiple professional sports. US football, basketball, baseball and hockey already fill the calender (and, except for June/July, there's at least 2 of them running simultaneously). And then there are the college sports (football and basketball, and in some places, baseball and hockey). Just based on that, soccer would do well to be considered one of the Big Five (or Big Four, if it could pass up hockey, which I still don't quite 'get'). While average attendances of 15,000 or so for MLS games might sound like a lot, it's not enough to push MLS into 'big time', due to not much media/tv coverage, and only 10 teams across the whole nation. And the fact that most still play in either huge US football stadia (with 60,000+ seasts, making the stands look empty), or tiny temporary facilities (which are substandard - I can't even WATCH Dallas play on TV on that HORRID field) means the 'atmosphere' isn't quite where it should be, yet. But the success and rise in popularity of the Nats, young players like Donovan and eventually Adu, the fact that MLS is still around (thank you Phil and Lamar!), and the sheer number of youth that play the sport should mean the sport is 'here to stay.' MLS will probably pretty much be a feeder league for Europe for some time, too. As for the skill level...not having ever seen an England Division 1 match, I couldn't compare. But I get to see a lot of Mexican and South American on FSW Espanol, and I'd say Mexico's league is better (more money and fans), and the top Brazilian and Argentinian teams, too. But most MLS teams could probably survive in Brazil and Argentina (based on pure skill...those places would be hell to play in). So MLS is definitely one of the top 4 leagues in the Americas (Mexico tops, IMO), and could rival for top in a few years.
It's also been making most of the local newscasts here in LA. Especially the reception in Japan. One station will say he joins other superstars at RM such as Renaldo and Zidane then the next station will say, Raul Gonzalez and Roberto Carlos. On CNN the anchor pronouced Real like you would the word in English.