Bend it like Beckham

The British are coming. The British are coming. \nBut this time let’s not be as scared. That is, unless you’re a Major League Soccer goalie. Then you might be shaking in your shin guards.\nDavid Beckham has arrived in L.A., and the red carpet has been more than rolled out for the soon-to-(hopefully)-be savior of American soccer. \nBeckham, an international soccer superstar who is married to Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham (the Spice Girl) has traveled across the Atlantic to play for the Galaxy for five years at the small price of $32.5 million. He is scheduled to play his first game with his new team on Saturday against Chelsea Football Club as part of the World Series of Football before the Galaxy continue their league play in the MLS, America’s soccer league.\nI know what you are thinking – We have a soccer league here in America?\nYes we do, and now that Freddy Adu has become an adult, there has been no reason to talk about it.\nSince the MLS doesn’t make headlines by having its players shoot guns outside strip clubs or abuse their spouses, they decided to make headlines by bringing over one of the biggest names in soccer.\nBut will he really make that much of a difference?\nI’m here to tell you that he will have no long-term effect on American soccer.\nAmericans like scoring, and they like a lot of it. Americans like having a superstar making the winning goal to carry his team to victory.\nBeckham isn’t that guy. \nHe is an unbelievable player and one of the best in the game, but he’s a passer. He’s a setup man. He won’t be kicking in that many goals or making spectacular jukes to get around defenders. Instead, he will place a perfect cross to his teammate to head in. \nBut we Americans don’t like our stars to play that role. We want them to make the plays we can ogle about on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays the next day. We don’t want to see them run down the sidelines, kick the ball and then have some long-haired no-name head in the goal. \nThat’s not how we roll.\nBut Beckham will play well. He will do his thing and make the Galaxy a much better team than they were. He might even sell a few more tickets.\nWith all that said, when his contract ends, soccer will likely still be unpopular in the States.\nAmericans aren’t going to take to this sport, so stop trying to shove it down our throats. And we Americans need to stop pushing our football down the throats of the Europeans. \nWe can stick to football and they can stick to futbol. It will all work out.\nBut I can’t be completely negative with the arrival of Beckham in the States and his future influence in our country. \nHe has already given us one great thing that will keep us entertained and busy for months, if not years – Posh Spice.