Beckhamania
This ad was on the LA Times website. Things are getting out of hand. Ridiculous.
I'm pretty sure that the people who designed this ad are completely oblivious to the tragic irony of this image, given that Becks is no longer an England player, let alone England captain. Indeed, dropping Beckham has probably been the only praiseworthy act of Steve McLaren's England reign.
I was rather sympathetic towards Beckham to begin with, because he did give his best to United (considering his lack of success at Real) and his decline and exit from the England team was fairly sad and ignominious (and not helped by being a pillar/symbol of the Erickson error era). But if this is the sort of publicity that he's going to get, then he doesn't really need any sympathy, does he?
It seems to me that the marketing of American sports is almost always centred around individuals. However, while fans can be similarly obsessed with their favourite players, the nature of football (the one the rest of the world plays) is such that it is much more difficult for one player to truly dominate or take over a game, unlike a star quarterback, running back or high-scoring basketball player.
Good luck, David. I'm not sure what exactly the Galaxy's publicity people are expecting you to do when you get there, but unless you play every game the way you did in the match against Greece before World Cup 2002, the fans are going to be disappointed.
A star quarterback touches the ball on every offensive play, so he literally holds his team's fate in his hands.
A star basketball player - Kobe, Jordan, whatever - also touches the ball on almost every play.
A star pitcher throws the vast majority of pitches in a game.
A star batsman bats in almost every inning.
Even star running backs or wide receivers are going to be the focus of the majority of their team's plays.
A star footballer can barely touch the ball for 90 minutes, then suddenly produce five seconds of genius that decides the game. But that means that for the other 89 minutes and 55 seconds, he might basically be doing nothing. Not to say that he isn't playing well, but that's just the nature of the game. Very few players are spectacular for 90 minutes, and those players tend to be the exciting dribblers like Ronaldo, Giggsy or even Maradona.
And Becks definitely isn't that kind of player.
Comments
It's utterly disgraceful behaviour from Capello and Real...they should just release him and let him move to the US now, or loan him out to another team. Beckham deserves more respect than this, especially because he is a player who has always given his all - whether for United or England.
If anything, one of the biggest criticisms of Beckham is that he tries to do too much, to the detriment of the overall shape of his team. So to suggest that he might not give his best for Real if selected is simply an insult.
So which European team, if any, do you support? And how did you end up being a soccer fan? Just curious...
C. Ronaldo is fun to watch, I just wish he stayed on his feet a little more often.
I root for Shevchenko when I can, I hope he can fully make the transition to English play.
I miss Roy Keane.
I played "soccer" is high school and it just followed naturally after that.
Who is your team/players?
I support Manchester United - always have, always will, and named my son after Ryan Giggs - and it's fair to say I despise Thierry Henry - good player, but I certainly have a different impression of his personality than you do. :-)
As for Sheva, can't complain since his arrival appears to have tripped up Chelsea. Although he was (finally) dropped last night and Chelsea promptly snapped out of their slump and thumped Wigan 4-0.
My favorite players? All from United, obviously. Keano was our heart and soul while he was with us, and I wish him well as manager of Sunderland now. But my personal favourite for the past decade has been Gary Neville - not the most skillful, but he would die for the cause if he had to, a true Red Devil through and through.
How often do you get to watch Premiership or European games in the US? Or is it mainly highlight packages?
Oh, and if you've been watching Ronaldo this year, you'd see that he's been keeping his feet a lot better. He was just named Premiership Player of the Month for the second straight month, and has been red hot. He's one behind Chelsea's Drogba for top scorer, having scored something like 7 in United's last 5 league matches.
In the US there are two channels to choose from if you want to watch the beautiful game - Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV. I'm an FSC fan myself because they show a LOT of EPL games live when they're played.
On the subject of Gary Neville, I've never doubted his commitment for the England cause, and I think his Dad has one of the best names thus far, Neville Neville.
Stand up if you love the Toon...
If you should happen to be starved of Premiership chat, stop by this blog anytime!
And I'll "luv it" when we beat Chelski to the title...
This particular ref never gives anything in Newcastle's favour - should be an intriguing second-half.
and yeah, i think a lot of people are waiting for a 12" or 13" MacBook Pro - Apple would have a sure winner on their hands. A MacBook simply isn't the same, 'cuz it isn't aluminium! I'm assuming you meant a smaller MacBook Pro, because they already have Core2Duo-based MacBook Pros.
Ouch, the Tottering Spurs just scored off a cross from the man who shouldn't even be on the pitch. That must hurt.